By Abdallah el-Kurebe
April 8, 2016 – Abidjan: The government of Cote d’Ivoire has signed an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to commit $20 million for a five-year partnership programme to promote agricultural development in the country.
It also signed an expanded partnership to establish a liaison office in Abidjan, capital of Cote d’Ivoire on Friday, April 8, 2016 at the headquarters of FAO, Cocody-Abidjan.
The new FAO/Cote d’Ivoire Partnership Programme (FCPP), which will focus on national priorities as set out in the FAO Country Programming Framework for Cote d’Ivoire, will also foresee the possibility of supporting the South-South Cooperation activities in other African countries.
According to Toikeuse, “Through this new office, we will make available to our country and to neigboúring countries, knowledge and expertise in food and agricultural matters. ”
FAO DG the other hand said, “The new development in our relationship is an example for other countries to follow. FAO believes in knowledge and expertise sharing and we are confident that together we can boost South-South Cooperation in the sub-region.
” It has become clear that while we have the power to end hunger in our lifetime, we will only succeed if we work together, including through Southern countries assisting one another,” he said.
The areas of priorities as contained in the agreements included improving productivity and diversifying agriculture and fisheries; improving food security and nutrition; strengthening governance in agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries; improve environmental protection, natural resources management and disaster risk reduction; promoting agricultural jobs for youth and women; and developing policies and strategies to build the resilience of rural populations to disasters and crises.
The two agreements were signed on behalf of the Ivoirian government by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Albert Mabri Toikeuse and his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mamadou Sangafwa Coulibaly and FAO Director General, Jose Graziano da Silva, who signed on behalf of the Organization.
It is interesting to note that Cote d’Ivoire has been a member of FAO since 1961 with its office in Abidjan since 1986.
