For more information and logistical detail, visit the conference website.
Africa is now one of the fastest growing regions of the world. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita has been strong since the late-1990s. However, the continent still Africa faces major challenges as well as opportunities linked to rapid urbanization, a growing middle class, an increasing young population entering the labor force, rapidly changing food systems and agricultural value chains, the effects of climate change and more volatile global food and energy prices.
The 2015 ReSAKSS Annual Conference will bring together state and non-state actors to deliberate on key findings of the latest ReSAKSS Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) that examines nature and implications of the above challenges and opportunities. The Conference and the report seek to broaden our understanding of the key drivers of Africa’s recent growth and the nature of its economic transformation. The goal is to go beyond the prospects of sustaining and accelerating growth to reach middle income status and reflect on the conditions and opportunities for achieving inclusive economic growth conducive to broad based employment creation and rising income for the poor.
The Conference is being organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC). It will be hosted by AUC at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 1- 3 September, 2015. The theme of the conference is “Beyond a Middle Income Africa: Transforming African Economies for Sustained Growth with Rising Employment and Incomes.”
In addition to discussing findings of the 2014 ATOR, the Conference will allow policymakers, researchers, advocacy groups, farmers’ organizations, the private sector, development partners, and other key stakeholders from within and outside of Africa to:
- Review progress in implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and in particular, progress toward achieving key CAADP goals and targets;
- Assess mutual accountability and review processes and associated capacities as well as their effectiveness in fostering evidence based policy planning and implementation;
- Evaluate progress and challenges in establishing effective country strategic analysis and knowledge support systems (SAKSS) platforms and agriculture joint sector reviews (JSR); and
- Exchange on the technical support required for the effective roll out of the Malabo Declaration and its Implementation Strategy and Roadmap (IS&R), the CAADP Results Framework, and the Guidance Note on Government Agriculture Expenditures.