Assembly/AU/ Decl.2(XI) Page 1 DECLARATION ON RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF HIGH FOOD PRICES AND AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at the 11th Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Sharm El-Sheikh in the Arab Republic of Egypt, from 30 June to 1 July 2008: Recalling our decision to adopt the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) at the Maputo Summit in July 2003 as a framework for accelerating agricultural development; the Sirte Declaration on Challenges of Implementing Integrated and Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Water in Africa in February 2004; the outcomes of the Abuja Summit on Fertilizer; Recalling further the Declaration of the Food Security Summit held in Abuja in December 2006 that called for a Green Revolution in Africa; Welcoming the Declaration of the High Level Conference on World food Security convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its Headquarters in Rome, from 3 to 5 June 2008, and in particular the recognition of the need to increase food production in the world; the outcome of the 25th FAO Regional Conference for Africa, held in Nairobi in June 2008; Concerned by the current crisis caused by the high food prices and its adverse impact on African countries, particularly the poor and vulnerable household segments of the population; Welcoming the establishment by the UN Secretary-General of the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis; Recognizing that the high food prices will divert the meagre national resources from development activities to meet urgent food imports needed adequate nutrition; Mindful that the major causes of the high food prices include rising demand for cereals particularly in rapidly growing economies; grain-based biofuels production and the ensuing competition between food security and energy needs; supply shocks due to the environmental negative impact including climate change, desertification and drought on our capacities to feed a growing global population; low farming productivity as a result of low investment in agriculture especially in Africa; higher energy prices leading to higher input and processing costs, particularly increased prices of fertilizers and transport; Aware that the crisis can provide an opportunity to build a coalition of responses across the African continent, offering a vehicle for an African agricultural renaissance that raises small scale farmers’ incomes, enhances livelihoods, nutrition and ultimately food security for Africa.