The African continent is facing an escalating food crisis. The recent surge in staple commodity prices will hit many developing countries hard, and this is particularly the case for Africa which will have to find financial resources to pay for a commercial food import bill that on average amounts to US$17 billion annually alone.

At the continental level it is apparent that Africa has not been able to intensify agricultural production and generate intra-continental trade to feed growing cities or buffer the volatility of rainfed production.

The food crisis trap that threatens the African continent is not only the effect of the lack of investment in the agricultural sector, but also a product of its vulnerability to climate. Farming in Africa is largely done under rainfed conditions and Africa’s reliance on agriculture and its very low levels of irrigation make it singularly vulnerable to the vagaries of its highly variable climate. Africa has also, over recent decades, experienced growing environmental degradation such as deforestation, desertification, declining soil productivity, loss of biodiversity and depletion of freshwater.

Combined with the rapid increase in the price of the main agricultural commodities Africa is facing a parallel increase in the price of energy. The upward trend of energy costs and concerns regarding the effects of climate change has reinvigorated the interest in alternative energy, including bio-energy and, more specifically, bio-fuels. This interest further complicates the demands on water.

Africa has a vast potential for agricultural expansion and of both renewable and non-renewable energy sources but, notwithstanding the long series of national, regional and international commitments taken, the continent is lagging behind in terms of energy and agricultural productivity, with serious implications for development and trade balance.

The Conference will adopt a dynamic visionary framework that will primarily consider the actions/outputs stated in the declaration of the Sirte 2004 Conference as its entry point. The commitments agreed upon in 2004 have not been fully delivered or translated into concrete action while new pressing challenges have emerged and need to be robustly tackled. In particular, there is a need to address the linkages between water and energy at an accelerated pace focusing on the reciprocal impacts of the use of these resources on climate change and vice versa.

Substantial progress has been made in the recent past in terms of national, regional and international commitments. In 2002, NEPAD’s Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) offered a framework for investment in agriculture in Africa, with special emphasis on water control. In Maputo, in 2003, the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union committed themselves to allocating at least 10 percent of their national budgetary resources for agriculture and rural development. In 2004, the Sirte Declaration focused on ways to implement integrated and sustainable development of agriculture and water in Africa. In 2005, the Report of the Commission for Africa titled Our common interest highlighted the need for investment in water and energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, progress remains too slow, and Africa is lagging behind in terms of energy and agricultural productivity, with serious implications for development and trade balance.