Joint Actions on Operationalization of the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA)

Establishment of Operational Structures for Implementation of the F-SAMA at Sub-Regional and Regional Levels

Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (SAM) in Africa is an urgent imperative and an indispensable pillar for attaining the Malabo Declaration: Zero Hunger Vision by 2025, Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals – and Agenda 2063, the Prosperous Africa We Want. Doubling agricultural productivity and eliminating hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025 will not be realized unless mechanization along the food value chain is accorded utmost priority. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the important role mechanization can play in ensuring continuity of farm operations even during uncommon situations that the world is currently witnessing.

Understanding this situation, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through an Africa-wide consultative process, developed the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA) in response to the request of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water, and Environment. The F-SAMA, which was subsequently launched in Rome on 5th October 2018 during the 26th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG), has ten priority elements geared towards informing policy and decision-makers in the Member States, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, and the wider development community dealing with agricultural development on the significance of mainstreaming SAM in their overall national and regional agricultural development programmes.

The AfricaMechanize platform, www.africamechanize.org, designed in the context of being an Africa-wide sustainable agricultural mechanization platform, has been developed by the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) as an ICT-level knowledge platform for SAM technology exchange at a pan-African level, following recommendations of the December 2016 stakeholders’ consultative meeting co-organized by FAO, World Bank, AGRA, ACT, and others in Nairobi, Kenya. The need for an information platform for SAM in Africa is further reinforced in Element 10 of the F-SAMA as one key option of sustainable institutions for regional cooperation and networking. From November 2020 to December 2021, eight webinars/virtual discussions were conducted with Heads of Agricultural Mechanization and Engineering Services [HAMES] and other stakeholders of SAM in Africa on the ten priority elements of F-SAMA and operationalizing the framework in Africa. The webinars attracted more than 1,500 participants and 60 speakers from over 75 countries globally (45 from Africa). The virtual discussions were conducted through the AfricaMechanize information platform and jointly organized by FAO, AUC, ACT, and other key mechanization stakeholders in Africa.

Building on the successful exchanges and lessons learned through the webinars, a resolution was passed at Webinar number 8 held on 2nd December 2021 to organize the first virtual meeting of HAMES across Africa to establish operational structures for supporting the joint implementation of F-SAMA programmes and projects at subregional and regional levels, noting that: (i) The agricultural mechanization units in Africa are at different levels of development [departmental, divisional, or section level], and (ii) they are led by officers with different designations, among others, Directors, Assistant Directors, Heads, Commissioners, or Chief Engineers, which are collectively referred to as HAMES herein. The objective of Webinar 9 is to actualize this resolution. It will convene the first virtual meeting [FVM] of HAMES to initiate actions towards operationalization of two overarching elements of F-SAMA, namely:

a) Element 9: Need for a Long-term Vision; Policy and Strategy Issues

b) Element 10: Creating Sustainable Institutions for Regional Collaboration and Networking 

The webinar will be held online from 09.00 to 12.00 hrs GMT on Thursday, 31st March 2022, using the Zoom communication tool, in both English and French. Read more: F-SAMA Webinars Announcement