Public-private partnerships needed to revitalize agriculture in Africa

Accra, April 20, GNA - The Executive Committee of the Sustainable Tree Crops Programme (STCP) partnership begins a meeting in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan, on Monday to assess its performance over the years and deliberate on issues facing the cocoa economy of West and Central Africa. The meeting brings together representatives of national and international institutions responsible for the cocoa sector, according to a statement issued in Accra by STCP.

It said ahead of the meeting, STCP partners, which include the global cocoa industry, major donors, national cocoa authorities and research institutions, are calling upon national governments, regional authorities and the private sector to formalize the present public-private partnership platform around tree crops. At the same time, they are encouraging the promotion of such value chain partnerships in other agricultural commodities, including food crops, towards the transformation of rural economies in sub-Saharan Africa STCP is managed by the Ibadan-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

It said a concerted effort across commodities was required if the six per cent national agricultural growth rate was to be achieved as targeted by African governments. The public-private partnership on which STCP is built has been heralded as an innovation that "never before existed for the cocoa sector".

The statement said STCP had demonstrated that bringing together government authorities, the private sector, development agencies and research institutions, working together towards a common goal, can strengthen the value chain and lead to significant increases in farmer income.

"Such revitalization benefits the local and global private sectors, which depend on a stable supply of quality tree crop products, and national economies that rely on agriculture as part of their growth and poverty reduction strategy."

STCP was launched in 2000 by West and Central African cocoa stakeholders, the global cocoa industry, the World Cocoa Foundation, and USAID, and is managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

STCP has been introducing production, marketing, and institutional innovations in the cocoa sector aimed at improving the economic and social wellbeing of tree crop farmers. For instance, its training approach has led to farmers increasing their cocoa yields on average by 15 to 40 per cent. The introduction of group sales and entrepreneurship, more transparent and direct transactions, and quality control have resulted in 5-15 per cent higher farm-gate prices for farmers. STCP is engaged with public and private partners in C=F4te d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia to identify the potential of the cocoa sector in contributing to rural transformation.

These demonstrated accomplishments and innovations are being integrated into new development initiatives by national and regional authorities and the private sector. Based on these achievements, the STCP partners recognize the significant role of agriculture in fighting poverty in Africa. 20 April 09