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Growing Africa's Agriculture

KOFI ANNAN WELCOMES COMMITMENT TO INVESTMENT IN CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE

 

Durban, South Africa, – In a keynote speech at the High Level Panel on Climate Smart Agriculture – Africa: A Call to Action, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), will welcome investment in climate-smart initiatives in Africa.

Speaking at the Launch of the Early Action Investment Platform, Mr. Annan will:

  • Acknowledge that we are far from the ambition needed to meet the target of limiting global warming to 2°C.
  • Note that this lack of action by politicians and institutions has eroded trust between governments and their citizens.
  • Emphasise the opportunity that Durban offers to rebuild trust between the North and the South, between the powerful and the weak, and between citizens and their leaders.
  • Stress the importance of building on what has already been agreed in Copenhagen and Cancun to strengthen the institutions of the Convention on Climate Change that are the common framework for action.
  • Call for developed countries to deliver on their commitment to mobilise 100 billion USD by 2020 for the Green Climate Fund, and clarify where the money will be sourced and how it will be accessed.
  • Welcome the inclusion of agriculture in Climate Change discussions, and highlight the potential that investments in climate smart agriculture in Africa will have in terms of both mitigation and adaptation.
  • Call for decisive leadership at national and international level, and new partnerships with academic institutions, businesses and non-governmental organisations, to fulfil Africa’s agricultural potential. 

Mr. Annan will stress that while the climate change discussions are taking place against a difficult financial background this must not be used as excuse for delay, warning “the financial crisis has shown the gravity of waiting for disaster to strike before taking action”.

He will call for progress towards an approach “based on common but differentiated responsibilities and the respective capabilities of countries”

He will welcome the more prominent role that Africa is now playing in climate change discussions and say the continent ” is both particularly affected by, and has a huge potential to help mitigate the negative impact of climate change.”

He will add that climate change poses “a real threat to agriculture production and food security, particularly in Africa”. 

But with the right policies, Africa’s rich agricultural potential could be harnessed to “help achieve global food security, counter the impact of climate change through sustainable agriculture, and provide a platform for wider development throughout the continent.

“Realising this potential will not happen by chance”, he will say, but needs “the engagement and expertise of scientists, governments, multilateral institutions, farmers’ organisations and business”. 

He will conclude by warning that climate change is “an all-encompassing threat” and the world could not wait for inter-government agreement to take action. 

“We need the creativity, leadership, resources, expertise and solidarity of every organisation and individual if we are to find solutions to this common challenge.

“We all have a part to play as well in ensuring our leaders do not shy away from the hard decisions necessary to ensure the world we pass on to future generations is a stable, secure, and healthy one”, he will say.

- Ends -

Contact:

For media inquiries, please contact:

Name: Kathryn Kirk

Telephone: +41 22 919 75 35

Email: media@kofiannanfoundation.org;

Notes to Editors

Kofi Annan served two terms, from 1997 to 2006, as UN Secretary-General. In 2001, Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Since leaving the United Nations, Kofi Annan has established a Foundation which aims to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer more secure world. 

Please visit: www.kofiannanfoundation.org.

Mr. Annan is also Chair of the Africa Progress Panel. Please visit: www.africaprogresspanel.org. 

 

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About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programmes develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural value chain ­from seeds, soil health and water to markets and agricultural education.

AGRA's Board of Directors is chaired by Kofi A Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Namanga Ngongi, former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, is AGRA's president. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK's Department for International Development and other donors, AGRA works across sub-Saharan Africa and maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Accra, Ghana.