The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, in collaboration with the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) will on Thursday, 15th hold the 3rd ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers (CPM Meeting in Nairobi.
Kenya will be chairing The CPM meeting which is the highest Organ of the Association with a clear mandate to provide guidance to ASARECA on regional and national strategic matters in Agricultural Research for Development.
Speaking today when he announced the upcoming meeting , Agriculture and Livestock development Cabinet Secretary , Mithika Linturi said the Country is privileged to host this high-level event as it enhances the visibility of the country and facilitate exchange of knowledge among senior political, policy and research leaders, especially on priorities that bind us together as a continent..
He noted that some of the mandate of ASARECA is to establish Centers of Excellence for selected and priority commodities in Africa such as promoting bio fortified crops for enhanced food and nutrition security in Eastern and Central Africa,
The CS who is also the Chairman, of ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers (CPM) added that the support also comes in the policy and advocacy efforts to mitigate and control the Aflatoxin challenge in the region including emerging pests and diseases,
“ASARECAs mandate should develop, disseminate and scale up proven technologies in agricultural production, strengthen strategic partnerships with private sector networks for enhanced trade and commercialization of agricultural technologies and innovations and also coordinate actions aimed at enhancing the adoption of agro ecological approaches for the attainment of sustainable food and seed systems”, the CS said .
Mithika explained that Africa is endowed with water, food, resilient varieties, fantastic climate, and a youthful population and therefore Africans must leverage on this strength to produce enough food to feed itself and also beyond.
ASARECA Executive Director Dr. Enock Warinda said the meeting will bring in all the ministers from the 15 member countries to discuss matters pertaining to agricultural research for development in eastern and central Africa.
“Food scarcity is a problem. Climate change is a problem. There are a lot of vagaries of weather changes and there is also pest and diseases and all these requires a concerted effort, a combined effort of the ministers of agriculture”, he added.
During the meeting, Dr. Warinda noted that the ministers will be discussing and coming with practical solutions including seeking financial support from donors and partners’ allied to agriculture and come out with very practical, top-end priority regional programs that can help to support the youth, alleviate poverty and bring in support for the smallholder farmers .
“We need to make sure that food and nutrition insecurity no longer becomes an insecurity, but it becomes a security where people of all walks of life can have free access to food”, the Director noted.
The meeting he added will further deliberate on some of the technologies that may be scaled out, may be replicated and that may be made available at very minimal or no cost at all, so that the region can have free access to these technologies.
The ministers are also policy makers and they will want to also discuss on how the 15 countries can encourage free flow of goods through trade, encouraging the smallholder farmers, the mama ‘mbogas’ in the village there to have and produce high quality produce and not just sell at the local market.
“The ‘mamas’ should have access to other international markets like Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and so forth and as ministers who approve the policies that allow for free flow of goods, trade, and exchange of these products this meeting is very important”, Dr. Warinda said
ASARECA is a not-for-profit Inter-Governmental Organization created in 1994 and owned by the National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs) of 15 member States in Eastern and Central Africa (ECA).
Its overarching mandate is to Transform Agriculture for Improved Livelihoods, Sustained Economic Growth, and Inclusive Development in ECA in alignment with SDGs
“ASARECA was formed to make sure that the organization delivers on its mandate and the meeting set for Thursday Dr. Warinda said will also contribute to the vision 2030 of the of Kenya and all the other manifestos by the current government.
The theme of the meeting is, “Together Transforming Agriculture for Improved Livelihoods, Sustained Economic Growth, and Inclusive Development in Eastern and Central Africa”.
The 15 member countries that form ASARECA are Kenya , Burundi, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Somalia, , Madagascar, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
By Wangari Ndirangu
