On 4 July 2007, CTA and other partners organised the first ‘Brussels Development Briefing’ – part of a series of discussion meetings on ACP-EU development issues.
New! on the subject of Rural development in ACP countries
Key documents and organisations
Biodata of panelists and discussants
Welcome remarks by organizers and introduction
Hansjörg Neun and Isolina Boto, CTA [presentation]; Peter Ballantyne, Euforic; Ferdinand Nyabenda, ACP Secretariat [speech]; Philippe Mikos, European Commission
Panel 1: The macro-economic environment and its impact on the rural poor
Chair: Marc Debois, European Commission
Panelists:
– Steve Wiggins, ODI [presentation]
– Thomas Elhaut, IFAD
– Professor Al Binger, Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre [presentation]
Panel 2: Policy context: the African regional integration process
Chair: Ramesh Jaura, IPS Europe
Panelists:
– Professor Marcel Mazoyer, Institut National Agronomique
– Michael Waithaka, ASARECA [presentation]
– Mamadou Cissokho, ROPPA [presentation]
Panel 3: Aid effectiveness, harmonisation and alignment amongst donors
Chair: H.E. Mr. Errol Humphrey, Ambassador of Barbados
Panelists:
– Bernard Petit, European Commission [presentation]
– Michael Wales, Global Donor Platform for Rural Development
– Denise Auclair, CIDSE
Closing remarks
Hansjörg Neun, CTA
Brussels Development Briefings 
It is imperative that support to rural development in ACP countries reach the poor. In developing the strategies to help ACP countries, the interests of the farmers of Africa should be taken in consideration as they have the experience of the way agriculture should be done in Africa. It is not proper to make policies in offices in Europe without involving the small farmers in Africa as they have the tradition and culture appropriate for their countries.
For aid to be effective there should be harmonization and alignment amongst donors. Currently, each donor has its own directives and this put on the receiving countries undue responsibilities for preparing project differently for different donors and there are then numerous costly missions to the developing countries. The donors should try to harmonize their needs for performance assessment and evaluation report when there are a number of donors, they must choose amongst themselves a leader who will take care of the project thus eliminating the needs for numerous evaluation missions and reports. The appointed leader should be the one that has been most successful in similar projects that they have done before.
Policies should be such that food security is possible and that there can be poverty alleviation. The non regulated international market will not ensure food security. There should be national, regional and global strategy to ensure food security. The right to food should become a human right.
Lesson learnt
It will be arduous to have a single coherent policy in eastern and southern Africa because of the high variability of space, low productivity and fragile resource base. A common regional market will have to be created as this represents around 400 million people. Intra regional trade should not be hampered. Example of policy changes include seed companies producing and selling in different countries, regional training curricula, pilot countries for developing quality standards and policy guidelines for products produced in African biosafety regulation in the region.
Comments and observation
Mauritius, particularly the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute can take the lead in producing cane varieties suitable to the African region. It can also be involved in optimizing energy production and usage in the African region. It can provide advice for cane cultivation.