RESAKSS ANNUAL CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL EXPENDITURES AND FACILITATE AGRICULTURAL JOINT SECTOR REVIEWS IN AFRICA

10 years ago,  in Maputo, Mozambique, African Heads of State and Government pledged to allocate 10 % of their national budgets to the agriculture sector as part of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) agenda for stimulating agricultural growth, poverty reduction ,reduction, and food and nutrition security . The commitment, which is also known as the Maputo Declaration Target has rallied African governments to increase spending in the agricultural sector in the past decade. However, the rapid increase in spending has not been enough for Africa as a whole to achieve the 10% budget target for the agricultural sector; countries need to further increase investments, especially on agricultural research and development.
On November 12-13, about 150 African policymakers, donors , researchers, civil society organizations, farmers’ organizations, private sector, and other key stakeholders  will gather in Dakar, Senegal to  discuss country’s performance toward meeting the 10% Maputo Declaration Target , the implementation of agriculture joint sector reviews (JSRs), and country level strategic analysis and knowledge system (SAKSS) platforms . Organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the conference themed “Achieving the Maputo Declaration Target and Prioritizing Public Agricultural Expenditures” is the 2013 Annual Conference of Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS), a program facilitated by IFPRI in the in support of CAADP implementation.
The Prime Minister of Senegal and its G8 partners will open the conference on November 12, the event will be combined with a presentation of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN) Cooperation Framework for Senegal.  ReSAKSS and the NAFSN share the same goal of promoting growth, food security and nutrition through increased agricultural investments.