Major Group: Science & Technology
CSD-17 IPM, Thematic Discussion on AFRICA,
Thursday , 26 February 2009
Contribution on Behalf of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group
Lindiwe Majele Sibanda,
International Council for Science (ICSU-delegate, lmsibanda@fanrpan.org)
Madame Chair,
The Scientific and Technological Communities endorse both the African Green
revolution and the African Climate Solution which are being implemented in line with the
African Union?s Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP).
Africa has the plans, what we now require is action. This action Madam Chair, calls for
the application of agricultural knowledge, science and technology to be at the forefront
in providing viable policy options.
The food crisis has been a wake-up call that has given all actors an opportunity to
reflect, accept mistakes made and acknowledge that the challenges we face call for a
new development model which is ?people centered and knowledge based?.
Madam Chair there is need for Africa to seriously regard research and technology
development as an integral part of the development process; our African policies
currently lack integration, they focus on short term objectives and on structural issues
rather than human capital. Africa needs to invest in and utilize its social capital. The
need to promote interactions between research, knowledge use and policy development
is more urgent now that ever before.
The African Green revolution can only be a reality when Africa genuinely PUTS
FARMING FIRST; There is need to (i)Increase the level of education on crop, livestock
and natural resource management for farmers; (ii) Promote the development of villagebased
knowledge centres; (iii) Provide access to scalable information technologies for
farmers to receive weather, production, and market alerts, as well as other early
warning signs to help them make the right decisions for sustainability and productivity;
(iv) Establish open and transparent two-way exchanges that capture the ?voice of the
farmer? creating space for Africa?s women farmers to actively participate policy
formulation and implementation ; (v)strengthen national data collection and policy
analysis capacity, enhance involvement of universities and research institutions in multistakeholder
public policy debates, and the use research evidence to inform policies.
Africa and the International community need to rally behind existing African research
and policy networks such as FARA, FANRPAN, ASARECA and ECOWAS.
On climate Change, what is most urgent for now- is for Africa to mobilize the S&T
Communities to provide evidence in support of the Africa Climate Solution which is
endorsed by the African Union and African Ministers of Environment and Agriculture
and is being spear headed by the Common Market for East and Southern
Africa(COMESA). The Africa Climate Solution promotes - carbon sequestration through
agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU) and calls on Carbon markets and new
financial mechanisms to reward improved agricultural practices. Whilst it is
acknowledged that agriculture has a mitigation potential, the current Kyoto Protocol
excluded carbon sequestration from agricultural soils due to methodological barriers
that science can resolve.
The current era offers a momentous opportunity for change and we can only win over
our challenges if we address the fundamentals. Madam Chair, increasing agricultural
productivity calls for massive public and private sector investments. Financing of African
agriculture is a fundamental prerequisite that urgently needs attention. The Scientific
and Technological Communities is calling for increased investments in R&D. This can
only happen if all African countries honor the commitments made in Maputo in 2003, to
allocate 10% of the national budgets to agriculture.
Madame Chair, There will be nothing for Africa to celebrate in at the COP15 in
Copenhagen if the Post Kyoto climate regime does not acknowledge the contribution
that sustainable agriculture can make to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Negotiations are on-going and Africa can only win the case if the global S&T
communities are constructively engaged to accompany the African Climate Solution
which many delegations have already alluded to at this meeting.
I THANK YOU.
Thursday , 26 February 2009
Contribution on Behalf of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group
Lindiwe Majele Sibanda,
International Council for Science (ICSU-delegate, lmsibanda@fanrpan.org)
Madame Chair,
The Scientific and Technological Communities endorse both the African Green
revolution and the African Climate Solution which are being implemented in line with the
African Union?s Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP).
Africa has the plans, what we now require is action. This action Madam Chair, calls for
the application of agricultural knowledge, science and technology to be at the forefront
in providing viable policy options.
The food crisis has been a wake-up call that has given all actors an opportunity to
reflect, accept mistakes made and acknowledge that the challenges we face call for a
new development model which is ?people centered and knowledge based?.
Madam Chair there is need for Africa to seriously regard research and technology
development as an integral part of the development process; our African policies
currently lack integration, they focus on short term objectives and on structural issues
rather than human capital. Africa needs to invest in and utilize its social capital. The
need to promote interactions between research, knowledge use and policy development
is more urgent now that ever before.
The African Green revolution can only be a reality when Africa genuinely PUTS
FARMING FIRST; There is need to (i)Increase the level of education on crop, livestock
and natural resource management for farmers; (ii) Promote the development of villagebased
knowledge centres; (iii) Provide access to scalable information technologies for
farmers to receive weather, production, and market alerts, as well as other early
warning signs to help them make the right decisions for sustainability and productivity;
(iv) Establish open and transparent two-way exchanges that capture the ?voice of the
farmer? creating space for Africa?s women farmers to actively participate policy
formulation and implementation ; (v)strengthen national data collection and policy
analysis capacity, enhance involvement of universities and research institutions in multistakeholder
public policy debates, and the use research evidence to inform policies.
Africa and the International community need to rally behind existing African research
and policy networks such as FARA, FANRPAN, ASARECA and ECOWAS.
On climate Change, what is most urgent for now- is for Africa to mobilize the S&T
Communities to provide evidence in support of the Africa Climate Solution which is
endorsed by the African Union and African Ministers of Environment and Agriculture
and is being spear headed by the Common Market for East and Southern
Africa(COMESA). The Africa Climate Solution promotes - carbon sequestration through
agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU) and calls on Carbon markets and new
financial mechanisms to reward improved agricultural practices. Whilst it is
acknowledged that agriculture has a mitigation potential, the current Kyoto Protocol
excluded carbon sequestration from agricultural soils due to methodological barriers
that science can resolve.
The current era offers a momentous opportunity for change and we can only win over
our challenges if we address the fundamentals. Madam Chair, increasing agricultural
productivity calls for massive public and private sector investments. Financing of African
agriculture is a fundamental prerequisite that urgently needs attention. The Scientific
and Technological Communities is calling for increased investments in R&D. This can
only happen if all African countries honor the commitments made in Maputo in 2003, to
allocate 10% of the national budgets to agriculture.
Madame Chair, There will be nothing for Africa to celebrate in at the COP15 in
Copenhagen if the Post Kyoto climate regime does not acknowledge the contribution
that sustainable agriculture can make to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Negotiations are on-going and Africa can only win the case if the global S&T
communities are constructively engaged to accompany the African Climate Solution
which many delegations have already alluded to at this meeting.
I THANK YOU.