DAKAR, Senegal (29 July, 2013) – A billion people around the world face severe poverty and hunger and two billion are malnourished. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of the population rely on agriculture for their livelihoods and they do so with low levels of agricultural productivity. Food Security is one of the most important development needs of our time. A glaring gap in the agriculture sector has often been inappropriate policies, and inadequate planning and budget allocations that are compounded by inefficiencies throughout the value-chain.
What role can African Ministries of Finance and Agriculture play in jointly strengthening the planning and expenditure management in the Agriculture Sector?
Senior officials from at least 12 African countries and several international experts will meet in Dakar, Senegal to discuss the challenge of agriculture policy and efficient government spending in agriculture at the Agriculture Sector Dialogue of the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI).
The Agriculture Dialogue will be hosted at the King Fahd Palace Hotel in Dakar from 29 to 30 July 2013 in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Senegal. The theme of the meeting is “Value for Money in Agriculture: the Policy Challenge and Efficiency Spending”. This dialogue aims towards improving efficiency in spending in agriculture and providing an opportunity for African countries to share ideas and obtain an in-depth understanding of the challenges in the sector. CABRI has established dialogues as an additional peer learning mechanism comprising thematic seminars for a small number of countries to allow for in-depth exchange of knowledge and experience. The discussions will lead to recommendations on how to plan, finance and manage public spending in the sector more efficiently. Another goal of the dialogue is to improve the communication and mutual understanding between finance and line ministries.
The Agriculture Sector Dialogue in Senegal is the fourth in a series of sector dialogues. Previous CABRI dialogues have focused on the health, education and infrastructure sectors. Policy officials and international experts from various organisations across the globe will engage in roundtables, panel discussions and group work to examine specific challenges and agriculture financing mechanisms. The discussions will be based on a set of background studies undertaken by CABRI that address specific agricultural policy issues in Africa and provide a set of recommendations that can be implemented in African countries.
CABRI is a professional network of senior budget officials of African Ministries of Finance and/or Planning.
In line with the motto: “Connect – Share – Reform”, CABRI events provide an opportunity for senior budget officials and representatives from line ministries to connect and exchange experiences and knowledge with their African peers.
For additional information about the Agriculture Dialogue and the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative in general please contact Ms Nana Boateng at nana.boateng@cabri-sbo.org or visit website.