Background
ACORD is uniting practical work and research at community level with strategic advocacy at national, sub-regional and global levels. Throughout the consultation process to help determine the new line of Pan African programming, the value of ACORD's well rooted presence on the ground became very clear. Through its practical activities derived from its area programming and thematic work, the potential exists to amplify the results and experiences and generate well informed advocacy issues that have a legitimate basis. The Pan Africa programme is developed in this context. For 2006-2010, the focus of ACORD's work at the Pan African level will be on food sovereignty.
Food Security: Adequate access, availability and affordability to healthy and culturally acceptable food meeting dietary needs and food preferences for healthy and active life
Food Sovereignty: The right of peoples, communities and countries to define their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food and land policies, which are appropriate to their unique circumstances (ecologically, socially, economically and culturally).
Contributing to the MDGs
Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8. Develop a global partnership for development
Priority of Food Sovereignty
The strategic positioning on food sovereignty is in response to the particular challenges and opportunities in Africa where agriculture provide the livelihood for 70 percent of the population. Agriculture, food sovereignty and food security are therefore particularly critical for development on the continent. Meanwhile international agreements and processes, such as the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between Africa and the EU, and the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), will potentially have wide-ranging negative consequences for Africa. EPAs aim at opening markets under the principle of reciprocity. However, as long as EU maintains its common agricultural policy (CAP) with high level of agricultural subsidies and export support, dumping of surplus agricultural products on the African market is likely to continue. Given the different levels of competitiveness in European and African countries, there is a great risk that EPAs will lead to the destruction of small farmers' livelihood and increased food insecurity in African countries. There are already examples that dumped frozen chicken from Europe undermine local chicken production in Mauritania and elsewhere.
Changing this situation is beyond the capacity of the local level (area programmes) alone, but through a Pan-African programme with well founded research, cross-country examples and targeted advocacy to influence policies in the North, it should be possibly to make a difference.