APD African Union has started

The agricultural policy dialogue between the African Union and Germany to strengthen the resilience of food systems in Africa (APD AU) began work in November 2023. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (IAK) as lead partner in a consortium with the Andreas Hermes Akademie (AHA) and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN).

Immediately after the signing of the implementation agreement by representatives of the African Union (AU), the German Embassy and the GFA Consulting Group GmbH (GFA) in Addis Ababa on Nov 16, 2023, the kick-off meeting of the consortium took place on Nov 17, 2023 at IAK in Leipzig. Representatives of the AU and the project team then met for the first time in Addis Ababa.

The APD's objective is to accelerate the transformation and strengthening of food systems at the level of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and African Union (AU) member states through a support programme (ISM-PRASS) to be developed by the AU Commission. As part of this co-operation, the APDwill serve as a platform to facilitate and strengthen the joint exchange of knowledge, experience, technology and skills in areas of mutual interest.

The project will focus on strengthening the capacity of the AU Commission in developing strategic guidelines, developing and testing an implementation mechanism and knowledge management. The Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development of the AU Commission (AUC-DARBE) is the central partner in this endeavour. In addition, cooperation is planned with the development organisation AUDA-NEPAD, the RECs and other stakeholders from science, business and civil society.