Pan-African conference debates food security

The FANRPAN Regional Food Security Policy Dialogue is an annual week-long event where farmers, policymakers, researchers, private sector and civil society organisations from five continents assemble to discuss future priorities for addressing food security and share best practices which can be scaled up to other areas. The organiser FANRPAN, or the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, is a leading policy research group that generates evidence that informs agricultural policy developments in an effort to boost food security in the sub-Saharan African region.

With more than 265 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffering from chronic hunger, food security is a major issue to be tackled, especially in the face of climate change. 

During the conference, FANRPAN made clear the challenge ahead if Africa is to transform itself into the breadbasket of the world through effective evidence-based policies.

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, CEO of FANRPAN, said, “A safe, sufficient supply of healthy, diverse food is fundamental not only to preventing hunger in Africa but also to producing a new class of rural entrepreneurs through better integrated markets and improved knowledge.“

Amongst the numerous challenges that were addressed during the dialogue, the theme for this year was livestock and fisheries. As two of the most climate-sensitive agroeconomic sectors, the effects of climate change will have serious implications for the 200 million Africans who rely on livestock for their livelihoods, and the 10 million Africans employed in fisheries.

FANRPAN accepted the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the 14^th country node within the network, and it also announced that its remit will be extended to become Africa-wide.

Also at the dialogue, the 2010 FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award was presented to the President of Namibia, H.E. Hifikepunya Lucas Pohamba, was awarded the prize as recognition of his country’s achievement in creating responsible fisheries policies in Namibia, which have already been commended by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation in 2009.

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