CAADP compact to be signed by Zambia soon

28 April 2010, The Zambian Chronicle
URL: http://zambianchronicle.com/?p=6089

Lusaka:  Zambia is soon expected to sign the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) compact. CAADP aims to help African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculture-led development.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya said Zambia and Zimbabwe will sign the compact within the next few weeks. Mr Ngwenya said this when he addressed delegates to the Malawi CAADP compact last Monday when that country signed the compact.

This is contained in the latest e-COMESA newsletter availed to the Daily Mail in Lusaka yesterday. He said within the context of CAADP, the COMESA secretariat in partnership with Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is designing a regional compact.

He said a draft regional compact is expected to be presented to COMESA ministers of agriculture next month in Swaziland. Mr Ngwenya said the process of developing a compact involved wide consultation with stakeholders in member states focusing on opportunities and challenges faced by COMESA region.

"It is our hope that Malawi will take advantage of its regional framework for the benefit of its own advancement and ultimately, that of the region. I encourage the Republic of Malawi, particularly those with whom we expect to be involved in implementing CAADP after the compact signing to explore, familiarise with and take advantage of some of these existing and emerging COMESA protocols and regional programmes that are being implemented through our secretariat," he said.

Malawi becomes the sixth member State to sign the CAADP compact after Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Swaziland and Uganda.

Meanwhile, COMESA's investment promotion arm, the Regional Investment Agency (RIA) is promoting 150 projects among them six regional ventures with an initial investment cost of US$40 billion.  The proposals include six large region-wide projects aimed at facilitating and enhancing connectivity among member states in transport and energy sectors that where promoted at the just ended 3rd COMESA investment forum held in Sham El Sheikh, Egypt.