Presentation EN
Strategies for agricultural development
The “All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme” (www.euacpcommodities.eu) was launched in September 2007 as an initiative of the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat. Its roots can be traced to the EU Action Plan on Agricultural Commodities, Dependence and Poverty (COM (2004) 89), the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton (COM (2004) 87) and a number of ACP initiatives linked to agricultural commodities identified during the Cotonou and Doha negotiations. As a result, this programme fully acknowledges the link between production, value addition and trade in agricultural commodities and poverty reduction.
It has a budget of 45 million euros of which a third is earmarked for the cotton sector.
The main objective of the programme, which ends in December 2010, is to reduce poverty while improving and stabilising the revenues and living conditions of agricultural commodity producers in ACP countries. Given the scope of this goal, an extension of the programme through the end of 2011 is being examined. (read more ...)
To achieve its objective, the programme is working to develop the capacity of all parties involved in the industry to design and implement sustainable strategies
The choice of commodities as leverage in the fight against poverty is justified by their crucial significance for the employment and income of millions of rural households and by the disastrous effects of declining and unstable prices.
The strategies supported by the programme are intended to:
- Stimulate the productivity and competitiveness of farmers
- Increase labour productivity
- Reduce income fluctuations
- Use diversification and other approaches to create new commercial outlets
- Facilitate the use of market-based risk management instruments
In order to fully understand their needs, producers, industrialists, financiers, government representatives and regional organisations were consulted through five regional workshops held during the first half of 2008. (read more ...)
The implementation of programme activities is very innovative and meets the expectations of the Paris Declaration since it mobilises five international organisations currently active in the field of agricultural commodities to achieve its goals. These are the World Bank, the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This approach makes it possible to take advantage of their complementary in terms of areas of expertise and also provides an opportunity for the five organisations to demonstrate their ability to cooperate, coordinate, and develop synergies. The conclusions of the workshops ferd into the elaboration of programme activities and work plans which were subsequently ratified by the Programme’s steering committee.
An EU-ACP steering committeeThe programme’s steering committee is responsible for defining and monitoring the programme’s directions. (read more ...)
It is also responsible for its strategic management. It consists of seven members representing the ACP States, the cotton Partnership Steering and Monitoring Committee (Cos-Coton) (www.coton-acp.org) and the European Commission (EU). The steering committee is assisted by the Coordination Unit which ensures planning, monitoring and follow-up of all programme activities.
Four categories of results are expectedThe programme has defined four categories of results to be achieved:
Result 1: Commodity strategies and implementation plans (read more ...)
(click here to access the list of activities aimed at attaining Result 1)
In order to attain this result, the programme supports activities which:
- Assist one or more countries, sometimes an entire region, in jointly defining strategies and implementation plans for one or more value chains and in implementing the actions required
- Facilitate, in some cases, the translation of identified strategies into national and regional plans and policies
(click here to access the list of activities aimed at attaining Result 2)
In order to attain this result, the programme supports activities which:
- Contribute to strengthening the organisational capabilities of chain actors
- Improve market operations (production factors, products and capital)
- Lead to productivity gains thanks to more effective use of production factors and services
- Improve marketing and vertical integration capabilities
- Work toward greater diversification
Result 3: Market-based risk management instruments(read more ...)
(click here to access the list of activities aimed at attaining Result 3)
In order to attain this result, the programme supports activities which:
- Contribute to raising awareness about commodity risk management (CRM) instruments which seek to reduce producer vulnerability to price volatility
- Facilitate producer access to these instruments and to their use
Result 4: Complementary aspects of and synergies between the international organisations, the EU and the ACP actors (read more ...)
Mid-term review
The AAACP Programme underwent a mid-term review eighteen months after its launch. The review was carried out by a team of independent consultants between January and April 2009 with the goal of “reflecting on ways to deepen the programme’s approach and make its implementation more effective.” (read more ...)
The review reconfirmed the relevance of the objectives pursued by the programme and the means chosen to achieve them: a focus on agricultural commodities, a value chain approach, the regional dimension, the participative method, and pooling of the competencies of the five international organisations...
Some adjustments were recommended to improve the programme, particularly with respect to its overall management which has been made complex by the large number of participants and the diversity of activities planned in a vast geographical area.
During the midterm review workshop, discussions were held with programme partners and ACP stakeholders to seek guidance on programme orientation in using the second tranche envelope. A report highlights the main discussions and conclusions of the MTR workshop.
Information letter N°4 provides more information on the results of the mid-term review.