Dr.
Patrick Kormawa, the newly appointed Sub-regional Coordinator for Eastern
Africa and FAO Representative to AU and UNECA, presented his credentials to
H.E. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
Welcoming
Mr. Kormawa, the Chairperson expressed her appreciation for the long standing
collaboration between FAO and the African Union Commission (AUC). Dr. Dlamini
Zuma called upon FAO to join the AUC and other development partners in the
implementation of the 10-year medium-term plan of the AU Agenda 2063.
She
highlighted that, at the AU Summit in Johannesburg last month (June 2015),
African women urged the Heads of States and Governments to promote
mechanization in the agricultural sector, to eliminate drudgery, low
productivity and to enhance competitiveness.
“Without
access to modern technology and innovation, transforming Africa’s agriculture
for prosperity and inclusive development would hardly be achieved in the short
run”, emphasized Dr. Dlamini Zuma. She urged FAO to work closely with the AU
and African governments to promote agricultural commercialization of the
small-scale sector and ‘send the hoe to the museum’.
On
his part, Mr. Kormawa expressed the commitment of FAO Director-General, José Graziano
da Silva, to the partnership between FAO and the AU, particularly towards a
hunger free Africa with the leadership of African governments and the AU. ‘It
is in this respect that FAO has reinforced the liaison and partnership function
to the AU by my appointment and separating the liaison function from that of
FAO representation to Ethiopia’, said Mr. Kormawa.
‘The
strengthening of the collaboration with the AUC will help keep the focus on the
importance of eradicating hunger as a precondition for achieving “accelerated
agricultural growth and economic transformation for shared prosperity and
improved livelihoods” as articulated in the Malabo Declaration’, Mr. Kormawa
added.
FAO
and AUC continue efforts to reduce undernourishment and malnutrition
Since
it was established 70 years ago, FAO has been supporting Member States in their
efforts to improve food and nutrition security. The assistance FAO provides is
tailored to country needs, focused on building capacity, sharing knowledge,
facilitating policy dialogue and innovative partnerships, and developing and
implementing agreements, codes of conduct, and technical standards.
The
FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, established in February 2007, is a
technical hub which supports 8 countries in Eastern Africa – Burundi, Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda – and has a core team
of professionals with multi-disciplinary expertise. It is responsible for
developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for
addressing sub-regional food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural
development priorities.
The
office also plays a very important liaison role to the African Union and the UN
Economic Commission for Africa. It has established collaboration under
partnerships with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the region as
well as with a large number of key development partners based in Ethiopia and
the sub-region.
Credit: FAO
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