“BAMAKO DECLARATION”

11th Session of the African Farmers' Committee

Bamako, 25-26 March 2003

Farm producers represented by the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) have taken note of the recommendations stemming from the 25th session of the Board of Directors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) held in Rome on February 19 and 20, 2003.

They appreciate the declarations made by the President of IFAD, the Director General of the World Food Program (WFP), and particularly that of the UN Secretary General.

In support of these declarations, the African Farmers Committee of IFAP adopts a “Bamako Declaration” proclaiming a peaceful new green revolution in African agriculture over the coming decade so that the African continent finally achieves food security on a sustainable basis.

Agriculture is at the heart of development, and in this regard, farmers insist that it be the priority in the policies and strategies of national governments, development partners, and international financial institutions for the sustainable development of the African Continent.

Further, agricultural policies must be conceived with a long term perspective.

In this regard, they support the declaration of Abuja concerning the agricultural component of NEPAD.

Representatives of farmers who are members of IFAP meeting at the 11th session of the

African Farmers’ Committee in Bamako on March 25 and 26 March 2003 set as their objective for the next decade to reduce hunger, a source of misery and poverty on the African continent.

We are therefore launching an urgent appeal to our respective governments, agricultural development agencies such as FAO, IFAD, WFP, and the World Bank, indeed to all the international community, to take concrete measures aimed at attaining this objective.

The priority areas are as follows:

- the elaboration of a program for rural women, who account for a significant portion of food production;

- the enhancement and protection of the health of rural populations in respect of HIV-AIDS, malaria, and so on,

- infrastructure, especially for water management, for transportation, and for waste management

- provision of inputs and agricultural equipment

- research, extension and training, and information systems

- marketing, quality control and processing units.

- Protection and conservation of the environment


In order to implement these priority areas, we recommend the following measures:

- the allocation to agricultural development of a substantial portion of the resources of our countries;

- the reversal of the shift of resources to the detriment of the agricultural sector by aiming for the internationally agreed objective of earmarking 0.7% of GDP for development aid;

- an increase in support for the agriculture sector from financial institutions such as the World Bank, the ADB, the ABEDA;

- the strengthening of partnerships between agricultural organizations, which are the key community interveners, and other partners such as governments and financial institutions;

- the rectification of imbalances in international agricultural trade in favour of the developing nations;

- the facilitation of access to tools and resources, e.g. land tenure, water, credit, and genetic resources;


To achieve the above objectives, it is necessary to have:

- a concerted and sustained effort of capacity building of farmers and their organisations, and institutional support

- a change of attitude towards farmers, who must be respected as the central players in all strategies to achieve food security in the Continent.


Application of these measures and initiatives by our governments and partners will ensure that our New Green Revolution will succeed and that the spectre of famine and poverty will be eliminated from our continent.

Farm leaders, members of IFAP, meeting at the 11th Session of the African Committee, 25-26 March 2003, request His Excellency Amadou Toumani Touré, President of the Republic of Mali, to be their spokesperson with other world leaders, development partners and international financial institutions, for the acceptance of this Bamako Declaration in the elaboration and implementation of appropriate policies and programmes for agricultural and rural development.

Signed in Bamako on March 26, 2003

The Members of the IFAP African Farmers’ Committee