This time the mission of the leaders will be to look at how to deal effectively with the huge food insecurity and malnutrition challenges that continue to plague Africa, in spite of efforts to boost agricultural productivity and to better coordinate programmes to deliver food security to the households where it is needed most.

It is not for lack of commitment that the continent finds itself in this undesirable position. Countless declarations and commitments have been signed on since the early 1970s. The challenge has, in all cases, been to follow through and implement such resolutions.

What will make this Summit different ? Probably — and unlike other Summits — because the Abuja Food Security Summit called by Nigeria’s President Obasanjo promises to be focused and outcome-based.

The leaders will have an opportunity to understand how far the continent has come with the implementation of previous commitments and will be able to chart the best way forward to resolve issues of hunger and malnutrition to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, among other undertakings.

The International Technical Committee (ITC) for the Summit agrees that this must not be another ‘talk show”. To this end the ITC has identified the five key outcomes as :

 Mobilise resources to implement priority food and nutrition security interventions at national, REC and continental levels, with emphasis on what ensures a rapid increase in African production of key commodities ;

 Expand markets, with particular attention to Africa’s own demand and to promote inter-African trade in staple foods ;

 Ensure systematic integration of nutrition considerations into all agricultural and food security interventions ;

 Identify African successes and support sharing of positive experiences with a view to their adaptation, replication and upscaling ;

 Establish a system for selecting key AU/NEPAD CAADP-related Summit commitments on which action to implement will be ensured and compliance monitored.

Mechanisms for internal mobilisation of resources to specifically address food and nutrition security will be sought - over and above the already-agreed-upon Maputo declaration of 10% allocation of national budgets to agriculture.

Source : nepad news - october 27, 2006