Blueprint for advancing rural development

Abdelmonem Fawzi

Africa has a rich soil. Nonetheless, this soil has not been properly cultivated yet. Around 60 per cent of the continent’s arable land has not been used yet. The Democratic Republic of Congo has 80 million hectares of arable land. Only 10 million hectares are cultivated.

These 80 million hectares of land can be used in feeding 2 billion people (the equivalent of the populations of Africa, Europe and Australia).

The agricultural food market in Africa can have a value of $1 trillion by 2030. This is why Africa can be rightly called the ‘world’s food basket’.

Most of Africa’s population lives in the countryside. However, this country side is noticeably underdeveloped. Rural Africans are usually denied the right to participate in the development process and reap the fruits of this development.

We are badly in need of developing the rural parts of Africa through a series of proper development programmes and initiatives.

Rural development, I believe, is much broader than agricultural development. Some aspects of this rural development can provide the poor with source of income other than agriculture.

The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) organized recently the African Rural Development Forum in Kinshasa, in collaboration with the government of the DRC, WFP, FAO, and IFAD.

The forum enjoyed sponsorship from DRC President and current President of the African Union, Félix Tshisekedi.

This is the third forum to be organised since 2016. The first was held in Yaounde, Cameroon.

According to Programme, Innovation and Planning Director at the African Union Development Agency, Estherine Fotabong, the second edition of the forum made it possible to consolidate and finalise the master plan, whose document approved during the third forum.

“Since the previous Rural Development Forum, we have worked on the development of several tools, including the operationalisation of a master plan for rural transformation,” she said.

The objective of the third forum is to identify scalable practices in rural transformation planning, discuss effective policies and decision-making tools for transformational rural development, share lessons on south-south co-operation, and approve the Operational Strategy for the Master Plan for the Implementation of Rural Development in Africa.

The forum is an opportunity to converge and question emerging trends and approaches in rural transformation, which could improve planning, learning and knowledge on sustainable rural transformation that fits the collective vision of Africa for 2063.

“We will identify the policies that countries could deploy to strengthen planning in rural territories,” Fotabong said. “We will also improve partnerships, share experiences and innovative approaches, and exchange knowledge on strengthening national capacities.”

For his part, Director of the World Food Programme for the Southern Region, Menghestab Haile, said the forum would restore agriculture to its place in the economy.

Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, participated in the forum, along with Burundian Deputy Interior, Community Development and Public Security Minister, Datus Nyandwi.

Rural development started as a story when African heads of state recognised the challenges faced by rural communities during the January 2011 African Union summit.

The heads of state also called for the presence of an integrated development initiative to promote rural transformation.

In 2013, AUDA-NEPAD organised its first Africa Rural Development Forum which allowed for a participatory approach to gather the opinions of member states, RECs, NGOs, the private sector and development partners on the content of the Rural Futures Programme for its finalisation.

Another important key outcome of the first forum was the adoption of the Cotonou Declaration on Rural Futures to support the structural transformation of the continent and guide its possible development pathways.

Additionally, the Cotonou Declaration called for the development of a rural development blueprint to be submitted to African heads of state and government for endorsement to pave the way for a shared commitment to implement actions at country and regional levels towards revitalising and transforming rural areas.

In 2016, the second edition of the forum on rural transformation consolidated and finalised the blueprint.

In organising the second forum, a rural economic transformation paradigm emerged from the conference.

The elements of this paradigm included the central role and responsibility of the state in leading the vision and creating a conducive policy and a legal environment.

It also included the mobilisation of the food and agriculture system, stimulating the growth of the rural non-farm economy, and strengthening rural-urban linkages.

The declaration of the forum also places particular emphasis on the development of a blueprint for rural transformation that will serve as a guide to the member states of the African Union.