Continental Stakeholder Dialogue on the 4th Biennial Review Results Helps Propel Member State Action
Group photo of participants in the continental dialogue.
From April 30 – May 2, 2024, stakeholders from across the African continent gathered to discuss the 4th Biennial Review (BR) Report, which was endorsed by the heads of member states in February 2024 and officially launched by the African Union (AU) at its headquarters in March 2024.
Participants listening in at the continental dialogue.
Convened by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) in collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the continental dialogue highlighted and sparked discussions on the 4th BR results. Attendees included AU technical offices (the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council, and the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development), AKADEMIYA2063, AGRA, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System, and the USAID Policy LINK project. Leaders of the BR Task Force and Technical Working Groups, regional technical experts, non-state actors, youth, journalists, and parliamentarians were present as well.
Godfrey Bahiigwa, PhD, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at the AUC, opened the meeting, conveying remarks from H.E. Amb. Josefa Sacko, the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment. “The African Union Commission is grateful for all your contributions as partners in the Biennial Review and your respective contributions. We are gathered here to examine the results from the 4th BR to have a common understanding of some of the policy implications from these results, accelerate actions, and draw lessons that will help us in the 5th BR report and the next agenda post-Malabo,” he said.
The meeting also strengthened the capacity of regional BR technical experts to interpret the results and advise both RECs and member states on policy implications. At the end of the four-day meeting, the Trainers/BR Team Leaders presented these policy implications, stimulating discussions on short-term needs as well as longer-term priorities that should be part of the post-Malabo agenda.
Next, the AUC and AUDA-NEPAD will launch a series of regional and national consultations on the 4th BR Report. Through these dialogues, RECs, technical partner institutions/organizations, BR Task Force and Technical Working Group leaders, experts, and other stakeholders will build a common understanding of the BR process and how to use the results to revise and improve their Regional and National Agricultural Investment Plans. The dialogues will also highlight the overall goals of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme Business Plan (2022-2026).
“These discussions...promote [the] usage of the results by member states through creating awareness and disseminating the Biennial Review toolkit. These results will inform the revision of the current Regional Agricultural Investment Plans and the National Agricultural Investment Plans," one of the technical experts noted in his presentation.