The Pan-African Farmers Organisation (PAFO) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) have partnered to strengthen the capacities of African farmers by supporting smallholder farmers, especially women and youth
The agreement includes AGRA supporting farmer’s organisations, to conduct political advocacy around areas of common interest at the continental, regional and national levels. AGRA also supports programmes that ensure that women and young farmers have access to resources that allow them to be more productive, unhindered by gender and socio-cultural norms, barriers to market entry and other institutional obstacles.
This agreement was signed during a ceremony at the PAFO headquarters in Kigali (Rwanda), by Elizabeth Nsimadala, president of PAFO, and Dr Agnès Kalibata, president of AGRA.
Elizabeth Nsimadala, president of PAFO, stated, “This partnership comes when PAFO is launching its new strategic plan for 2021/2025. We view this partnership as a strong one that will allow PAFO to implement its new strategy for the next five years. We must focus on achieving the 17 sustainable development goals”
“It is the right time to build an ecosystem where different players in the agriculture sector need to move together because our aim, in general, is to empower our farmers economically, to make sure we end hunger, poverty, to create gender equality and to work around food transformation,” Nsimadala added.
Dr Agnès Kalibata, president of AGRA, said, “I applaud the new partnership between AGRA and PAFO that brings the two institutions together to support smallholder farmers and other producers and help contribute to building back better across the continent in the wake of COVID-19. The partnership marks a major step forward towards building an inclusive, more resilient, and sustainable food system for African smallholder farmers, especially women and youth.”