Representatives of African governments at FAO hail concrete actions taken under the Director-General’s leadership
23 November 2020, Rome – Director-General QU Dongyu today met the Africa Regional Group, which brings together Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors from FAO’s African Members, to discuss important aspects of the UN agency’s recent work and achievements as well as ways to boost the sustainable development of Africa’s agriculture sector.
Africa Regional Group Chairperson Ambassador Hisham Badr of Egypt began by thanking the Director-General for a series of concrete actions since he took office in 2019, including the success of FAO’s 31st Africa Regional Conference hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe.
In particular, the Africa Regional Group acknowledged the strong support provided by FAO in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, comprising its partnership with the African Union and close collaboration on the AU-FAO joint taskforce, Ambassador Badr said.
He noted how the Regional Conference served to underscore the region’s key priorities, including the transformation of agri-food systems and promoting innovation, while giving special attention to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). Conference participants, including 95 ministers and other government officials from 48 countries also stressed that Africa’s needs must be strongly represented at next year’s UN Food Systems Summit.
During the meeting with the Director-General, the Africa Regional Group conveyed its support for FAO’s new Strategic Framework underscoring how it reflected Africa’s priorities. FAO’s development of a new Strategy for Private Sector Engagement and the focus on forming strong partnerships across sectors was also welcomed.
Lastly, Ambassador Badr congratulated the Director-General on several internal initiatives he has introduced at FAO such as the creation of the Women’s Committee and the Youth Committee, and the celebration this year of the agency’s 75th anniversary.
The Director-General thanked the Africa Regional Group for its strong support and illustrated some concrete actions taken by FAO over the last year, including the launch of the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and a renewed focus on SIDS, LDCs, LLDCs, agri-food systems transformation and on providing Africa’s youth with opportunities for a better life. He also referred to FAO’s efforts to combat the Desert Locust upsurge and the spread of Fall Armyworm both of which pose serious threats to food and livelihood security, especially in Africa.
The Director-General alluded to his recent participation at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, where he delivered a keynote statement. He described this as “a great honour” and a strong recognition of the contribution the new FAO is making to the development and transformation of global food and agriculture systems. He noted that his intervention came shortly after that of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “We talked about resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainable development,” he said.
The Director-General also shared with the Africa Regional Group a series of suggestions for actions required to boost agricultural reform in Africa. “You already have many strategies, initiatives, and roadmaps. However, the key question is how to implement agriculture modernization in Africa. This is a big question,” he said, and pointed to three key areas of action.
“First, you need a world-class unified infrastructure,” he said, stressing the need to strategically plan and design roads, highways, inter-connected railways, air routes and sea routes, especially along the continent’s coastal regions also as a means of promoting tourism. This could be achieved through a joint-holding company involving all African countries.
“Second, you need science and technology,” the Director-General said, which he added, would require the creation of an African Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Members could then affiliate their own laboratories and research facilities with the Academy, in line with international standards.
Thirdly, the Director-General said more investments are required, in particular through Public-Private-Partnerships and that this “should be embedded into national legal systems” noting that several countries in Africa have already established “enabling legal systems”.
“I think strategically, operationally, historically, you have to welcome the private sector, not only for agricultural production, but also along all the value chain, from research, down to the field, to the irrigation system, roads, and cold chain systems in the countryside” the Director-General said.
He also referred to the need for a change of mind-sets and for the continent to follow its own path rather than to try replicating what has been done in Europe, Asia or the Americas. “Africa itself is also much diversified, from the North to the South, from the East to the West. But you should set a benchmark across the continent. Private sector engagement is your benchmark for African modernization,” the Director-General said.
This would also entail a greater degree of collaboration between countries. “Africa has already started a free trade zone,” what is needed now are a set of common standards, a well-connected infrastructure, while each country should also focus on building up a competitive advantage through one special commodity product. This would enable the emergence of a “complementary shared economy”, the Director-General said.
The Ambassadors attending the virtual meeting took turns to commend the Director-General for his knowledge and dedication, expressing agreement with the points he made and the need to continue working together.
They also noted how his vision was in line with commitments made by African leaders through the African Union’s Malabo Declaration Goal of ending hunger by 2025, and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.