Aisha Umar
11 November 2009
Abuja — Agriculture Minister, Abba Ruma has said that the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has commenced a programme to fast track the realization of food security in the region. He said other packages by ECOWAS commission include promotion of global enabling environment for the development of regional agriculture, as well as, strategies for reducing food vulnerability and increase access to food.
Ruma speaking at international conference on financing regional agricultural policy in West Africa, yesterday in Abuja, added that it is for this purpose that ECOWAS has assembled ministers in charge of agriculture and funding partners to deliberate and adopt the draft regional partnership compact for the implementation of ECOWAS/CAADP in the region.
He stated that "it is hoped that this exercise shall affirm and dictate collaborative processes and the institutional framework that will drive the financial mechanisms for funding of ECOWAP/CAADP."
The Spanish ambassador, Angel Losada who represented EU said the international community by endorsing the I'Aquila Declaration expressed it commitment to "take decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty through improving food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture", this commitment is enshrined in the first of the millennium development goals and was reinforced during the UN General Assembly.
"We applaud ECOWAS for leading this ambitious effort, improving food security and income requires a wide and comprehensive approach aiming at rural development and reducing rural poverty, focusing on smallholder farmers and other vulnerable groups. And this is what ECOWAS aims at achieving with the implementation of the three mobilizing programmes that the commission will present here", he stated.
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