17 December 1981

Situation of food and agriculture in Africa

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation,

Recalling the Programme of Action of the World Food Conference and the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition, adopted by the Conference,

Recalling also the Declaration of Principles and the Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development,

Noting with concern that, over the past two decades, the situation of food and agriculture in Africa has drastically deteriorated, resulting in a decline in food production per capita and a reduction in average dietary standards below essential requirements,

Deeply concerned at the unabated encroachment of the desert in many countries of Africa, which has continued to accentuate the food problem on that continent,

Noting that a decision on food and agriculture was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-sixth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa from 23 February to 1 March 1981,

Deeply concerned at the critical food shortages currently affecting many countries in the African region, which necessitate a distressingly large allocation of the scarce foreign exchange of those countries for the import of food-stuffs, to the detriment of their over-all development;

Recognizing the commitment and determination of Africa to devoting its limited resources on a priority basis to agricultural development in accordance with the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa, adopted on 29 April 1980 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its second extraordinary session devoted to economic matters, held at Lagos on 28 and 29 April 1980,

Recognizing that the responsibility for the development of food and agricultural production lies primarily with the developing countries themselves and that there is an increasing effort and growing commitment by the developing countries to accelerate the development of their food and agricultural sectors,

Recognizing the role of food-sector strategies, which emerged from the World Food Council, as a means for interested developing countries to adopt an integrated approach for increasing food production, improving consumption and attracting the necessary additional international resources,

Recognizing the central role of science and technology in raising global agricultural productivity and output, as well as the importance of appropriate infrastructure such as storage facilities and a system of transport conducive to the efficient distribution of agricultural products within each country and throughout the African continent,

Recalling its resolution 35/108 of 5 December 1980 on the Transport and Communications Decade in Africa, Stressing that the current shortages of food-stuffs demonstrate the continued vulnerability of many countries in the region to food crises due, inter alia, to crop failure, drought, soil erosion, low reserves and the high level of post-harvest losses,

Recalling its resolution 35/69 of 5 December 1980, concerning the critical situation of food and agriculture in Africa,

Noting that an important document on the problem of famine in Africa was published jointly by the Organization of African Unity and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which explains in more detail the nature of famine and the means of eradicating it in Africa,

Noting with appreciation the assistance provided to African countries through bilateral and multilateral channels, inter alia, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the World Bank and other competent organizations,

Recognizing the vital role played by transport, infrastructure in food situations, particularly emergency food situations,

Recognizing the useful contribution that the effective execution of the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa can make to the improvement of the food situation, in particular, and to rapid over-all development of Africa,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on food problems in Africa and expresses its concern at the inadequacy of the results achieved in the implementation of its resolution 35/69;

2. Urges all the countries of Africa to implement, in accordance with their national development programmes and priorities, measures to increase substantially their food and agricultural production;

3. Calls upon the international community to continue to support efforts undertaken by African countries at the national, subregional and regional levels to increase food production through, inter alia, the provision, on a priority and long-term basis, of additional financial and technical assistance to Africa by organizations of the United Nations system, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Development Programme and other organizations involved in the financing of agricultural development, and through an increase in lending by the World Bank to the agricultural sector in Africa;

4. Stresses that international assistance should not only take the form of food aid and the corresponding additional support but, more important, should also support national efforts for the restoration and development of agricultural production, specifically crops and livestock, in the regions affected;

5. Urges Governments and the international organizations concerned to provide the necessary technical, financial and food assistance to food security projects in the region, especially in the countries of the Sahel and the Sudano-Sahelian countries, in the framework of their own activities, including strengthening the Food Security Assistance Scheme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations through the participation of current and prospective donors;

6. Calls for the urgent consideration of the adoption of a positive and flexible approach to the financing of agricultural development by external institutions and Governments, which would finance, inter alia, recurrent expenditure in connexion with investment and the cost of factors of production, and for the granting of concessional terms as appropriate;

7. Recognizes the role of the international community, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme in mobilizing food aid and agricultural assistance in Africa, and requests existing and new donor countries to increase the resources required to meet African needs for food aid and agricultural development,

8. Recommends that the Programme for the Control of African Animal Trypanosomiasis and Related Development, endorsed by the Conference of the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its twentieth session in its resolution 8/79 of 28 November 1979, should be implemented on an urgent basis under the over-all co-ordination of that organization and with the active financial and technical support of the international community;

9. Urges all relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to intensify their activities in Africa to assist Governments, inter alia, in the areas relating to food production, agricultural processing, integrated research and extension services;

10. Also urges the international community to assist countries in the African region to achieve, by 1985, the following goals:

(a) A significant improvement in their food situation and the laying of the foundations for the attainment of self-sufficiency in cereals, livestock and fish;

(b) Significant progress towards attaining a 50 per cent reduction in post-harvest losses, through, inter alia, the construction of storage facilities;

(c) An improved transport infrastructure to facilitate food distribution at the national, subregional and regional levels;

(d) Expanded and more effective agronomic research, with special emphasis on improved seeds and an adequate supply of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals suitable for African conditions;

11. Further urges all relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to expand their training programmes in the building up of national capabilities for the preparation, execution, monitoring and evaluation of agricultural development projects;

12. Requests the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, to take every necessary measure, including the holding of joint meetings with a view to considering the possibilities for implementing General Assembly resolution 35/69 and the present resolution;

13. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Organization of African Unity and organs and bodies of the United Nations system, in his final report called for in resolution 35/69;

(a) To identify the perceived problems in the attainment of goals set forth in paragraph 10 above;

(b) To estimate the amount of external resources needed to attain those goals;

(c) To report on the level of technical and financial resources which the United Nations system will deploy towards the attainment of those goals and to suggest ways of attracting extra funding;

(d) To report on the action-oriented plans of the relevant organs and organizations of the United Nations system which will implement the present resolution.