MUNYONYO —The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) of Uganda in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are set to host the 10th Anniversary of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme.
Anniversary will under the theme “Inspiration, Inclusion, and Innovation’.
To be held at the Commonwealth Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda, from 25 – 27 November 2019, President Yoweri Museveni will preside over the three day event.
Following the 10th FAO-China SSC anniversary, MAAIF, together with the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) of the People’s Republic of China, and the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC) will host the 2019 FOCAC Africa-China Poverty Reduction and Development Conference, themed: “Partnership for Transformation in Africa” from 27-29 November 2019 at the same venue.
FAO says FOCAC conference will enable collaboration and discussion on how Africa and Chinese poverty reduction and development experiences on agricultural modernization, special economic zones, development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, industrialization and the Africa-China cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The two functions, to be held back-to-back, will attract over 200 international delegates from over 40 countries, including Honourable Ministers of Agriculture from the various SSC participating countries and close to 150 national participants.
South-South (SSC) and Triangular Cooperation (TrC) have been effective in creating jobs, fostering production, productivity and profitability, building infrastructure and promoting trade in countries across the global South.
The FAO-China SSC programme has benefited over 70 000 direct recipients at the grass-roots level in rural areas and hundreds of thousands of indirect beneficiaries
During the last two decades of South-South Cooperation at FAO (1996-present), the financial commitments amounted to over USD 370 million, and more than 2000 experts and technicians were deployed worldwide. Currently, FAO has approximately 40 SSTC projects in more than 90 host countries, including Uganda.
Through FAO-China SSC Programme, Uganda has benefited from the implementation of SSC projects since December 2011, receiving support in the implementation of strategies to enhance the agriculture sector and helping to resolve agricultural constraints, including low levels of production, productivity and profitability in priority crop commodities, livestock and fisheries sub-sectors.
Some of the technologies and crop varieties introduced through SSC include: value addition in beef and potatoes, foxtail millet, improved apple agronomy, hybrid rice, livestock feed processing and feeding, agro-machinery, biogas and rice-fish culture.
