Feature written by Babatunde Omilola, ReSAKSS-Africa Wide Coordinator
As 2009 comes to a close, it is only appropriate to look back on the accomplishments of the past year and the challenges and opportunities for the next. 2009 saw the momentum for agriculture at its highest level in recent years. World leaders met on several stages to commit to the agriculture for development agenda, pledging over $20 billion over three years for global food security at the meeting of the G-8 in L’Aquila in April and reaffirming these commitments and others at the FAO World Summit on Food Security in November. For Africa, both donors and governments reaffirmed their commitment to pursuing the CAADP agenda at two successful CAADP partnership platforms (CAADP-PP) and the Rwanda post-compact meeting. Significant progress was also made in implementing CAADP, with 11 countries and one region – ECOWAS – signing CAADP compacts during the year. In addition, the US government endorsed the CAADP as a model for agricultural development in Africa and beyond. In November, ReSAKSS held its 1st annual conference to discuss its support to CAADP through knowledge management, policy planning and monitoring and evaluation.
