African Union Hosts Annual Policy Dialogue with Policy LINK Support

screenshot of Malabo Policy Learning event landing page

The African Union (AU) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Policy LINK, AKADEMIYA2063, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other regional experts, convened the Malabo Policy Learning Event (MAPLE) from December 1-2, 2022. This virtual event, which this year took place immediately after the 18th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform, was attended by more than 138 stakeholders from the private sector, academia, youth organizations, AU Member States, regional economic communities, and development partners.

MAPLE is an annual policy dialogue that brings together technical networks, as well as country-level policy practitioners and leaders, to discuss important agricultural policy topics and share learning.

MAPLE is an annual policy dialogue that brings together technical networks, as well as country-level policy practitioners and leaders, to discuss important agricultural policy topics and share learning. The event also generates actions that can drive progress toward the commitments made in the Malabo Declaration, which establishes strategic priorities for Africa in terms of reducing hunger and poverty, boosting intra-regional agricultural trade, enhancing resilience, and building mutual accountability.

This year’s MAPLE event focused on the “Implications of the 3rd Biennial Review (BR) on Food Security and Nutrition.” The theme reflects CAADP’s commitment to using the BR, which measures Member States’ performance against the Malabo commitments, as a learning and accountability tool. It also acknowledges the serious food safety challenges faced by countries across the African continent this year and complements the theme of the Partnership Platform, “Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A pathway to strengthening the resilience of agro-food systems on the continent.”

Policy LINK helped the AUC design, develop, and facilitate the MAPLE 2022 event, including bringing together multiple stakeholders to collaboratively shape the agenda, helping select speakers prepare their presentations, supporting event logistics and communications, and facilitating the event’s main sessions.

The event’s first session focused on the policy implications and lessons from the 3rd BR cycle. Panelists from the AUC and AKADEMIYA2063 described how policymakers are currently using BR data to strengthen the implementation of the CAADP agenda and shared ideas for improving the BR process. Proposed ideas included changing the narrative around the BR reports (emphasizing behavior change rather than rankings) and identifying mechanisms to encourage and sustain high-level political participation in disseminating the BR results and putting in place mechanisms and support to strengthen data collection and quality at the country level. In addition, experts representing Eastern, Central, Northern, Southern, and Western Africa provided updates on their respective region’s progress toward achieving the Malabo commitments and how BR data are informing agriculture policy. The panelist for Eastern Africa, for example, noted the need for more investment in the region, while the panelist representing Western Africa stressed the importance of costing and planning for the requirements to achieve the Malabo commitments through national agriculture investment plans.

*A screenshot of the opening slide from this year’s Malabo Policy Learning Event, which was held virtually.*

The second session focused on how global dynamics—including climate change, COVID-19, and Russia’s war on Ukraine—are affecting food security and nutrition on the continent. Panelists from the FAO, Ghana’s Ministry of Agriculture, and AKADEMIYA2063 discussed the impacts of these dynamics, as well as how CAADP, individual countries, and institutions can effectively mitigate these impacts. Ghana, for example, has responded to the spike in global fertilizer prices caused by the war in Ukraine by promoting the use of and investment in organic fertilizer.

Panelists also discussed ways to enhance resilience to global shocks and stresses, including by increasing local production, enhancing food distribution systems, and fostering strong regional networks and integration. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in particular, can bolster regional trade and reduce the reliance on global markets for staple foods and fertilizer.

The third session of MAPLE 2022 featured a discussion of nutrition policy, strategies, approaches, and tools that have worked in Africa, as well as lessons learned. After the FAO panelist defined “nutrition” in the CAADP context and explained its importance, the session turned to lessons learned in financing nutrition and discussions on how enhancing food safety and intra-Africa trade facilitation can help to improve nutrition in the continent. Panelists outlined relevant frameworks and mechanisms established under AfCTFA to improve food safety and trade.

An expert from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) demonstrated how blended finance models could make financing more readily available to the small food and agriculture system businesses well placed to improve the availability, accessibility, and affordability of nutritious foods. Another panelist raised awareness of AfCFTA and its tools and emphasized the need for countries to align their food safety and trade policies with the AfCFTA framework. Among the ideas and recommendations proposed were investing in the production of indigenous crops, improving access to more nutrient-dense foods from animal sources, creating awareness and customer demand for safe, nutritious foods, strengthening linkages between nutrition sector actors (including across the AU Member States), and developing metrics for measuring nutrition performance and outcomes.

The AUC is expected to publish a communique capturing key takeaways and action points from the event. The communique should inform AUC improvements and guide efforts to deliver on Malabo commitments. Policy LINK will continue to support stakeholder efforts in these areas, both through backbone support for CAADP and country buy-ins.