This is what Africa got from the G-8

Mobhare Matinyi, Washington DC. Please allow me to report on the outcome of the Summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) held at Camp David last Saturday as pertaining to African interests. Our continent was represented by four leaders, President Yayi Boni of Benin in his capacity as the Chairperson of the African Union, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who leads the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), Ghanaian President John Atta Mills and President Jakaya Kikwete. The invitation of the leaders of Tanzania and Ghana were influenced by the fact that, currently the two countries are leading the continent in food security initiatives, and coincidentally, or for some reasons, are increasingly becoming the darlings of Washington, an opportunity which affords them many privileges. The theme of the summit was G-8 Action on Food Security and Nutrition, and it saw the leaders of the rich nations, that is, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, and Canada, which comprise half of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), being asked to partner with Africa by committing their governments to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition aiming at ending global food insecurity.  According to reports from the US Department of State, the specific goals that call for partnership between the G-8 countries and African countries aim to increase responsible domestic and foreign private investment in agriculture. The goals also want to take innovations that can enhance agricultural productivity to scale, and reduce the risk borne by vulnerable economies and communities. In that sense, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition wants to take advantage of agriculture to pull 50 million Africans out of poverty over the next decade by aligning the commitments of Africa’s leadership to drive effective plans and policies for food security. The dream also plans to involve private sector partners to increase investment in agriculture. To ensure success, the G-8 has welcomed the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations’ World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation to the alliance. The New Alliance originates from the 2009 summit held in L’Aquila, Italy, where $22 billion under the so called L’Aquila Food Security Initiative, was pledged to ensure hunger does not humiliate humanity any more. Unfortunately, based on what has just happened in the Horn of Africa, I don’t think the G-8 leaders were serious in 2009, but this time let us take them by their word. Now, based on the findings of the 2012 G-8 Accountability Report and consistent with the Rome Principles on Sustainable Global Food Security, the G-8 agreed to promptly fulfill outstanding L’Aquila financial pledges and seek to maintain strong support to address current and future global food security challenges. Additionally, the G-8 agreed to strengthen coordination of their strategies, to accelerate national progress in African partner countries led specifically by Tanzania and Ghana, and launch new alliance cooperation frameworks that align with priority activities within each partner’s Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and of course, that means reliable funding commitments, specific policy actions, and the involvement of the private sector. The G-8 will also partner with the AU, Nepad and CAADP to implement the New Alliance dream, and leverage in particular the Grow Africa Partnership to create African ownership and replicate the results across the continent. The New Alliance will further support the preparation and financing of bankable agricultural infrastructure projects, through multilateral initiatives including the development of a new Fast Track Facility for Agriculture Infrastructure. Along the same line, the New Alliance will assist the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme with the goal of securing commitments of $1.2 billion over three years from existing and new donors. During the Camp David summit, the New Alliance also announced the signing of letters of intent from over 45 local and multinational companies to invest over $3 billion across the agricultural value chain in Grow Africa countries, Tanzania included. The summit further witnessed the signing by over 60 companies of the Private Sector Declaration of Support for African Agricultural Development outlining their commitment to support African agriculture and public-private partnerships in a responsible manner. To promote innovation, the New Alliance will launch several researches such as the Technology Platform with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, the Scaling Seeds and Other Technologies Partnership, and programmes targeting collection of data and information and communication technology innovations. The New Alliance will also work with the World Bank to reduce and manage agricultural risk, to improve nutritional outcomes and reduce child stunting, and to ensure accountability for results by convening a leadership council to drive and track implementation before the 2013 summit in the UK. Briefly, and without any analysis or skewed opinion, this is what Africa got from the G-8 in regards to agricultural development and food security.