Equatorial Guinea:Over 2 Million Africans Petition African Leaders at AU Summit to Do Agric

MALABO -- During  the 23rd African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit that took place  in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from Jun 20 to Jun 27, Online platform ONE.org’s Do Agric forwarded a  petition — which calls on African leaders to recommit to spending at least 10% of national budgets on effective agriculture investments — gathered more than 2 million signatures of support from African citizens across the continent.The theme of the Summit was: “Agriculture and Food Security in Africa”

The petition has been hand delivered to a number of Heads of State, including Presidents JakayaKikwete of Tanzania, YayiBoni of Benin, John Mahama of Ghana, MahamadouIssoufou of Niger, and MackySall of Senegal. The petition has also been hand delivered to Vice-President Guy Scott of Zambia, to Prime Ministers Moussa Mara of Mali and BrigiRafini of Niger, as well as to Minister for Agriculture of Nigeria AdesinaAkinwumi, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security of Burkina Faso MahanaZougrana, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy, NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, and South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, SenzeniZokwana.

Receiving the petition on June 10 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, President JakayaKikwete said:

“I will champion this cause at the AU Summit. I will present this petition to the other Heads of State. We as African governments cannot succeed in taking agriculture forward unless we modernize it, instead of our people continuing to use the hand-held hoe and other farming implements from pre-biblical times.”

Ghana’s President John Mahama accepted the petition in Accra, Ghana on June 20. He hailed the initiative and reiterated Ghana’s commitment to improving the lives of smallholder farmers, adding that “your campaign is preaching to the converted as we in Ghana are already stepping up the policies and investments in agriculture.”

In April, D’banj and 18 artists representing 11 different countries came together to record the single “Cocoa na Chocolate” in support of the Do Agric campaign.  Addressing African leaders on behalf of the artists, D’banj said:

“We came together because we know Africa is rising. Yet the farmers who produce most of our food still struggle to survive. 70% of Africans are employed in agriculture. This week’s AU Summit in Malabo is a historic opportunity for you to change the lives of millions of Africans and create a better future for our youth through better agricultural investment.”

Ahead of the summit, Dr. Sipho S. Moyo, ONE.org’s Executive Director for Africa, said:

“It is time for our leaders to step up and Do Agric at this year’s summit during the AU Year of Agriculture. Millions of smallholder farmers are counting on you—including the over 2 million African citizens who have signed the Do Agric petition and the 400 million who live on less than a dollar a day.”

Last week, ONE.org and 120 partner organizations from across the continent released an open letter addressed to AU Heads of State reminding them of their 2003 promise to end hunger and extreme poverty for millions of Africans by 2024. The partner organizations also laid out 10 joint policy recommendations to accelerate economic development on the continent through an African-led agricultural transformation agenda steered by the AU’s own CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme).

ONE.org officially launched its “Do Agric, It Pays” campaign on 20 January 2014 along the margins of the 22nd Ordinary Session of the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in support of the 2014 AU Year of Agriculture. The campaign encourages African governments to keep their 2003 Maputo promise to invest at least 10% of national budgets in agriculture, and makes a case for better strategic policies and transparent public investments that will better support smallholder farmers, especially women, and lift millions of Africans out of poverty.