Addis Ababa Ethiopia: On 8th July 2024, the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Union (AU), represented by the African Union Commission-Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The overall objective of the MoU is to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the AFAAS and the AUC to establish the arrangements necessary to ensure effective cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The objectives of the MOU include;
a) Ensure that CAADP processes sufficiently involve advisory services. provision in the implementation plan and contribute to making these services more effective and relevant
b) Ensure the availability and accessibility of appropriate and up-to-date knowledge on advisory services from a range of sources in Africa and worldwide
c) Strengthen the capacity of country level extension and advisory service stakeholders in determining national priorities and in improving their systems
d) Build partnerships at national, regional and international levels between agricultural extension and advisory services and other institutions contributing to sustained growth and transformation of agriculture
e) Build its own capacity to serve effectively as a continental African Organization that can sustainably support national agricultural advisory services to continuously enhance their contributions to national, regional, continental and global development objectives.
H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko during the signing of the MOU.
The MOU sets out the framework for cooperation in order to ensure closer collaboration and exchange of information between AFAAS and AUC in a manner that creates synergistic relationship and partnership in capacity building initiatives.
AFAAS and AUC have agreed to collaborate in the areas of strategic partnership including Agriculture, Science and Technology, and Trade and Industry.
H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko during the signing of the MOU.
Among other responsibilities, AFAAS will provide strategic advice to the AUC on promoting transformation of African agriculture for economic growth and development through enhancing agricultural extension, innovation, rural development in the context of CAADP agenda including the Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa; Provide, through mobilizing its constituencies, strategic advice to the AUC efforts to supporting AU Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in advancing the CAADP agenda, in particular on science, innovation, extension services and commercialization of agriculture; Provide strategic guidance and support to the development and implementation of the Agriculture Extension and Advisory services Agenda for Africa and Agriculture Extension Education and Training/lifelong learning; and Take into account in a complementary manner the relevant programs of the Commission with regard to Agriculture, Gender and Science and Innovations in the implementation of the collaborative activities under the MoU.
AUC and AFAAS signed the first MOU for the period 2015-2019 to collaborate and partner in the implementation of Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods in context of the Africa’s vision 2063.