The Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA) has pledged to provide more support to Rwanda and all countries signatories to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), The New Times has learnt.

The pledge was made by COMESA Secretary General, Sindiso Ngwenya, while addressing agricultural experts during the signing of Ugandan CAADP Compact in Kampala yesterday.

Ngwenya said that it’s within COMESA’s obligations to elevate CAADP’s impact on member states since agriculture is an engine for the region’s economic growth and development.

"We at COMESA Secretariat are pleased to pledge our continued allegiance to CAADP and its objective of alleviating poverty in the region through formulation of broad and sound agriculture policies to increase food production,” he said during an interview.

He however appealed to member states and development partners to harmonise policies in order to overcome the challenges threatening food security and performance in the agricultural sector and ensuring sustainable remedies.

"We need to collaborate and efficiently work together to accelerate the implementation of CAADP through its holistic approach to doing business in agriculture,” he stressed.

He urged the government to consider increasing budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector to enable significant annual sector growth as contained in the CAADP objectives.

Meanwhile Rwanda’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Ernest Ruzindaza, who participated in the conference, welcomed this support, saying that it provides a remedy to hardships of food security in the region.

Rwanda was the first country in COMESA Region to sign CAADP Compact in March 2007 followed by Burundi, Ethiopia, Swaziland, and now Uganda.

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