After the 31st FAO regional session, the Gabonese Minister of Agriculture spoke to the press on 29 October. President of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture of the EAEC), Biendi Maganga Moussavou, who carried the voice of this community, indicated that at the end of the work, 17 priorities were agreed and are in line with those of Gabon.
Held from October 26 to 28 in Zimbabwe by videoconference, the 31st regional session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) identified 17 priorities to be implemented for the next two years. President of the Council of Agriculture Ministers of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Biendi Maganga Moussavou, who presented the relevant priorities of his sub-region, declined to the press, on October 29, these priorities which integrate those of the 30th session.
These include the promotion of agriculture in sustainable development in the face of climate change; management of human-wildlife conflict; promotion of consumption and management of the bushmeat sector; development of the promotion of production basins at both national and regional level through opening up and access to markets and the development of energy and water infrastructure; support for managing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on agricultural and food systems; promotion of the one health initiative in the ECCAS area; development of agricultural technologies and smart agriculture in the face of climate change.
This list is growing with the review of agricultural calendars; the training of producers, their organization and the teaching of agricultural techniques from an early age through the review of training curricula and benchmarks; development and creation of vegetable production belts around urban and peri-urban areas with high population density; as well as the reduction of post-harvest losses comprising all losses of agricultural products mainly food along the agricultural value chain.
The Minister of Agriculture surrounded by the representative of FAO and an ECCAS commissioner on October 29. © Gabonreview
According to Biendi Maganga Moussavou, the priorities set are in line with the main programs underway in his country, which structure the sector in order to allow Gabonese agriculture to be competitive. “We are already at the forefront of what was recommended during our discussions,” he declared, especially since in Gabon on the question of database, the country has been involved since December 2018 in the General Census of Agriculture.
The first of its kind since 1973, it will provide exact figures and an exhaustive mapping of the actors from November. “We will be able to better offer them health and retirement coverage with the collaboration of the Ministry of Social Affairs but also allow them to benefit from better access to progress,” he explained.
The country is banking on the reorganization of its seed policy with plant multiplication centers and laboratories in collaboration with the Bill & AMP Gates foundation as part of the WAVE program, of which Gabon is home to the hub in Central Africa. 5 laboratories should be implemented, the first of which has already been completed. “In 2021 we will launch 6 plant multiplication centers in 6 different provinces to ensure that our farmers have quality seeds,” said Biendi Maganga Moussavou. To address the issue of land, the government is considering the creation of 40 high productivity agricultural zones (ZAP), 5 of which have already been announced over an area of nearly 50,000 ha.
The Minister of Agriculture also referred to the construction of a port hub for the tuna sector, the landing of continental fishery products and the forthcoming organization of a center of excellence dedicated to surveillance, thanks to the African Union (AU). The ministry will also rely on the Phase I seed program support project (PAPG1) to strengthen, among other things, agricultural tracks, storage and processing infrastructure, training centers. In addition, the food emergency plan developed in response to Covid-19 to make quality seeds and fertilizers available to small producers, ensure the development of large-scale agriculture and a nutrition program for the most vulnerable vulnerable will be a useful lever for the sector, as will the improvement of health logistics at borders, such as the logistics platform at Eboro, in northern Gabon.
