EU‑AU Ministers Seals a Strategic Alliance for Climate‑Smart Agri‑Revolution at Conference in FAO Headquarters,Rome.
By Raymond Enoch
In a decisive move to reshape global food systems, ministers from the European Union and African Union converged at FAO Headquarters on Rome for the 6th EU‑AU Ministerial Conference on Agriculture. This conference is coming against a backdrop of climate urgency and financial imbalance, the conference spotlighted four transformative pillars: sustainable financing, climate resilience, innovation, and trade facilitation .
EU -AU Ministers and Partners at the conference unveiled ambitious plans to channel public and private capital into African agri‑food value chains, with the FAO launching new credit lines—such as a US $20 million fund for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia—and Italy’s CDP bank spearheading a US $110 million TERRA Programme for agrifood SMEs.
FAO Director‑General Qu Dongyu stressed the imperative for “collective action” in implementing its Four Betters framework—better production, nutrition, environment, life—aligned with AU Agenda 2063 and the EU Green Deal
He touted practical climate‑resilient initiatives like the SASI diagnostics in 49 countries and a deforestation‑free cocoa supply chain in West Africa.
Delegates emphasized innovation’s role in increasing yields and autonomy for farmers. Highlights included the DeSIRA initiative—backed by a €30 million EU investment—aimed at bolstering agricultural research capacity across African research institutions
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Ministers mapped a blueprint for harmonizing trade and market regulations, poised to deepen integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area. The agenda notably included food‑sovereignty safeguards and streamlined sanitary standards
A CIDSE‑sponsored policy brief presented ten civil‑society‑led demands, including banning hazardous agrochemicals, promoting agroecology, protecting seed sovereignty, and ending land grabbing—echoing growing calls for human rights and environmental justice .
Echoing Qu’s call for unity, the conference reflected the deepening symbiosis between the EU and AU in agriculture. The partnership now spans investment, sustainability, innovation, trade, and farmer‑led governance
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The ministers concluded with a public pledge: to operationalize the action agenda—something born from the 2019 ministerial declaration and bolstered by the first EU‑AU Summit’s “Joint Vision for 2030”
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The conference resolve to among among step efforts with, FAO, AU, and EU agencies will convene to finalize funding flows and governance frameworks.
Monitoring and Accountability: Civil society groups plan to publish quarterly progress briefs to hold stakeholders to their pledges .
The European Commission has floated the idea of a follow‑up summit to evaluate impact and scale assistance further
The summit in Rome wasn’t just a conference—it was a turning point. With structured investments, climate action, research pushes, and trade reforms launching in tandem, the EU‑AU alliance may well become the bedrock of a climate‑resilient, equitable agricultural future.
