From June 17-19, 2009, the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) will host a workshop to discuss a European Commission and IFAD program, “Support to Farmers’ Organizations in Africa Programme” (SFOAP) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Co-sponsored by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), and Science Foundations for Livelihoods (Scifode).

Organized jointly by ECOWAS and ReSAKSS-West Africa, this workshop aims to present and discuss the findings of national studies undertaken by ReSAKSS-West Africa to monitor progress in the agricultural sector and living conditions in nine West African countries, including Ghana.

From April 20-24, 2009, African Ministers of Agriculture, Livestock and Land met at the Headquarters of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa to address the challenges posed by climate change, agricultural trade, investment financing in agriculture and the participation of the rural poor in development.

On February 26, 2009, the ECOWAS Commission held a working meeting in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss West African countries’ progress towards the implementation of CAADP. ReSAKSS representatives attended the meeting and provided guidance to ECOWAS and countries in West Africa on the agricultural investment and growth options available for them in order to successfully achieve the CAADP targets of at least 10 percent budgetary allocation to agriculture and 6 percent agricultural growth rate, and how they can successfully organize their CAADP roundtables.