Maputo Declaration

ONE’s first petition in Africa delivered to President Kikwete in Tanzania

Mar 1st, 2012 1:35 PM UTC
By Wangui Muchiri

“Farming is the future.  Famines should be consigned to history.”

A group of smallholder farmers and ordinary African citizens marched to the State House in Tanzania today, to deliver a petition signed by more than 16,000 African ONE members.  This was the first time Tanzanian President Kikwete had received a continent wide petition, and the first time ONE had delivered a petition on African soil.

ONE members and partner organisations march to State House

President Jakaya Kikwete captured the soul of the event when he explained its importance, saying:

“It is important because it reminds us that Agriculture is the life-blood of our country, sustaining our people in towns and villages and meeting their basic needs.”

ONE’s Dr Sipho Moyo presents the petition to President Kikwete

Mrisho Mpoto (aka MJOMBA) a famous East African poet, agreed:

“Hunger is not acceptable. Hunger makes people suffer, affects child’s mental growth, diminishes the honour of the family and nation. World leaders have a role to play. Invest in agriculture, support the future generation and attain the MDGs”

The petition calls on African leaders to provide greater food security for ordinary Africans by investing more in support for smallholder farmers.  ANSAF, (Agricultural Non State Actors Forum), who have been key partners in the Hungry No More campaign, were also present.  Campaigners called on President Jakaya Kikwete to take the lead on investment in sustainable agriculture, setting the standard for other African Heads of State.

Dr. Sipho S. Moyo, Africa Director at ONE, said:

“If you want to reduce poverty, you need to go where poverty is. Reducing poverty will mean targeting investments towards smallholders in order to employ local labor, supply local markets and spend earnings in local markets which creates multiplier effects in rural economies, improves local food self-sufficiency and reduces rural inequality.

This is why President Jakaya Kikwete’s government commitment to continue focusing on building an enabling environment for smallholder farmers, is encouraging. Currently only 7 African countries have kept their promise to do 10% – this number must increase by the tenth anniversary in 2013, and we are delighted Tanzania is leading the way”.

The petition also challenges African leaders to demonstrate their resolve in tackling famine and other agriculture related problems on the continent by:

• Targeting investments in small-holder farmers (especially women) and encouraging sustainable private resources for agricultural development
• Fulfilling the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture, which called for 10% budget allocated to Agriculture and Rural Development
• Improving transparency and accountability in budget and expenditure processes so progress towards achieve the Maputo Declaration and the Comprehensive Agricultural Development Programme can be monitored

The petition is part of a campaign led by ONE in Africa, ANSAF and other African partners stressing on the importance of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than three-quarters of the poor live outside of urban centres and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Audax Rukonge, ANSAF’s Executive director said:

“MKUKUTA and the Tanzania Five Year Development Plan commits the government to address food insecurity and poverty, among others. In the Tanzanian context, and probably most of African countries, poverty is a rural phenomenon, and agriculture is the main livelihood source. Tanzania can attain some of the Millennium Development as well as MKUKUTA Goals if we invest in agriculture and particularly smallholder farmers. Let us increase the share of agriculture that benefits smallholders and transform the sector for equitable economic growth”.

Studies show that in 2010 agriculture contributed at least 24% to Tanzania’s GDP, accounted for 60% of its labor and provided 34% of its exports. This was far more than the 17.3% contributed by the Manufacturing, 28.2% from minerals and 22.5% from the tourism industry. The strategic importance of agriculture to Tanzania’s fight against poverty is therefore not debatable.

The potential for agriculture in Tanzania and across the region is immense – the right investments now can help ensure that agriculture helps lead the economic transformation of the continent.  Currently, Tanzania spends close to 7% of its budget on Agriculture. Nearly ten years ago African leaders made an historic promise to their people, – especially those amongst the poorest – it was to spend at least 10% of the budget on agriculture and farming. Few have kept this promise. Before the 10^th anniversary its time they all did so as part of other improvements to beat hunger and boost wellbeing across Africa.

Following today’s event ONE and partners will take the campaign to forthcoming regional events including the AU Summit in Malawi in July.

A big thank you to all ONE members who signed the petition. With your help we really are making a difference!

Hugh Masekela joins our Hungry No More campaign

Jan 24th, 2012 12:04 PM UTC
By Dr. Sipho Moyo

As our Hungry No More campaign continues, famed musician and trumpeter Hugh Masekela joins us in calling on African leaders to focus investments in their agricultural sectors, which will contribute to growing their economies and reducing extreme poverty.

Hugh Masekela

Hugh’s support couldn’t come at a better time as the African Union Summit begins this week with our Heads of State in Addis Ababa. Now’s the perfect opportunity to continue our campaign and press our leaders to take action. We’ll be presenting your petition and signatures at the AU later this week!

Here’s what Hugh has to say:

Growing up as a musician in South Africa I witnessed first hand the man-made obscenity that was apartheid and used music to protest against injustice.

Apartheid is now consigned to the history books, but another obscenity still exists on our continent. A famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months.

Yet the current crisis is a man-made disaster that could have been avoided.

As our leaders prepare to meet next week in Ethiopia to attend a critical summit, please join me in signing ONE’s petition:

The petition reads:

Dear African Leaders,
We are haunted by the famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months. We respectfully request that you help make this the last famine by:  1) supporting delivery of promised emergency aid; 2) increasing effort on peace and security; 3) keeping the long-term promise toward spending 10% of national budgets on agriculture and food security; and 4) doing so transparently, so citizens can ensure this money is well spent.

With access to suitable seeds, technologies, and improved connections to markets, small-holder farmers can generate more income, send their children to school, help to keep food prices affordable and help lift their communities out of poverty.

When they meet next week our governments must show real leadership and ensure this is the last famine in Africa.

Please take action now.

Thank you for your support,

Hugh Masekela
Musician and ONE member

Join Hugh and our partners in signing the petition today.

The Last Famine

Dec 19th, 2011 3:42 PM UTC
By Festus Gontebanye Mogae

As we launch our Hungry No More campaign we are privileged to publish the following guest post from Festus Gontebanye Mogae, the former President of Botswana and Ibrahim Prize Laureate.

When I served as Botswana’s President I made it a priority to address poverty in my country and during my time in office, and in the years since, I’ve witnessed real progress. In Botswana and across the continent, African leadership has helped get millions more children into school, reduce deaths from diseases like malaria, and make concrete advances against HIV/AIDS.

But like other Africans I’ve been shocked by the recent images of suffering that we have seen from Somalia. In just 3 months 30,000 children have died. This figure is so large it’s hard to comprehend, let alone think about how behind this number are countless stories of human tragedy.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. With your help we can make sure this the last famine in Africa.

Please join me in signing ONE’s petition right now.

The petition reads:

Dear African Leaders,
We are haunted by the famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months. We respectfully request that you help make this the last famine by: 1) supporting delivery of promised emergency aid; 2) increasing effort on peace and security; 3) keeping the long-term promise toward spending 10% of national budgets on agriculture and food security; and 4) doing so transparently, so citizens can ensure this money is well spent.

We have a moral duty to help save lives and encourage governments and donors to fulfil their promises, both the emergency aid now for the famine, and the longer term commitments made to invest in agriculture and food security – so we can together unleash the true potential of African agriculture and make this the last famine on our continent.

Please sign ONE’s petition now.

Thank you for your support.

Festus Gontebanye Mogae is the former President of Botswana and Ibrahim Prize Laureate.

Hungry No More in Africa

Dec 19th, 2011 2:43 PM UTC
By Dr. Sipho Moyo

Beyond being a season for being merry, this is also traditionally a season for giving. As we wind down the year, we at ONE in Africa are asking you to give a thought to the 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa, who still face extreme hunger.  If this thought leaves you unsettled, you’re exactly the person who should join ONE in Africa today together with our partners, the National Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition in Nigeria and the Agricultural Non State Actors Forum in Tanzania, as we launch our Hungry No More campaign in Africa.

This campaign will be focused on challenging African leaders to demonstrate their resolve in tackling famine and other agriculture related problems on the continent by:

• Calling on African leaders to fulfill the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture, which called for 10% of budgets to be allocated to Agriculture and Rural Development
• Target investments in small-holder farmers (especially women) and encourage sustainable private resources for agricultural development
• A call for African Leaders to be transparent and accountable on progress to achieve the Maputo Declaration

As part of the campaign we have also launched a video featuring a host of African stars including Didier Drogba, Nameless, Habida Malooney, John Allan Namu, Sauti Sol, Camagwini, Tumisho Masha, Dady Owen, Omotola Jalade and Sipho Mabuse.  With their help we aim to focus the world’s attention once again this critical issue.

Farming is vital to African economies, where 70 % of the population derives its livelihood from the soil. At the same time, agriculture development is crucial to poverty reduction, where food security is tied to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and especially MDG-1, which is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This campaign intends to elevate this issue on the global political and public agendas because there is a powerful connection between the Horn of Africa crisis and agriculture, and it is a shame that we still debate famine in the 21^st century. We also need to help ensure African governments keep the promises they have made so that we can break the cycle of famine on the continent.

While the food crisis in the Horn of Africa tragically illustrates the impacts of drought and conflict, it also brings to the fore the effects of neglecting agriculture and local food systems. Reports of an emerging food crisis in the Sahel region highlight just how important this issue is.

Got to one.org/africa, sign the petition, and let’s put an end to famine.

Let’s make this the last famine

Nov 11th, 2011 6:30 PM UTC
By Dr. Sipho Moyo

While you don’t hear or see it in the news anymore, people are still dying in the Horn of Africa from a catastrophic famine. It’s a moral imperative to save these lives and encourage governments and donors to fulfill their pledges to Africa, both the emergency aid promised now for the famine, and the longer term promises made to invest in agriculture and food security – so we can beat back extreme hunger across the continent and finally unleash African agricultures transformational potential. In that light, we at ONE are launching our first campaign encouraging African leaders to keep both the short term promises they made to fight the famine, and the great long term Maputo Declaration commitment they made to allocate 10% of national budgets to agriculture food security, which would help unleash the transformational potential of African farmers. All this must be done through transparent budgets, so African citizens can help ensure the money is well spent.

As we launch the campaign, it’s important to highlight the hard work and efforts that African organizations are doing to keep their leaders accountable. One such organization, the Pan-African Farmers Forum (known as PAFFO) is working to make sure that farmers’ voices from across the continent are heard at national and international levels. In particular, PAFFO’s leaders have called on all [African] states to “…improve the quality of support and put in place policies to support agricultural producers.” Moreover, PAFFO and its affiliates are calling for African governments to invest more in agriculture and keep the Maputo commitments so famine never has to stalk the continent again.

The campaign starts today with the release of our first public service announcement (PSA) featuring African talent and artists telling us the “real obscenity” is famine.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll have more on the blog and our website about this campaign. We hope you will join us!