Assembly/AU/Decl.2(XIII) Rev.1 Page 2 agricultural land management approaches can raise productivity and improve Africa’s resilience to climate hazards; ACKNOWLEDGING the potential contribution to investment financing through remittances (estimated at US$17 billion/year and which could raise to US$45 billion/year), knowledge, skills and related networks that could be realized by facilitating and harnessing increased participation of Africa’s diaspora in Africa’s development agenda; NOTING the importance to identify most vulnerable sections of society including women, children and the physically challenged and ensure that their special needs to participate in economic activities are embraced and supported in agricultural development strategies and investment programmes; WELCOMING the commitment of the United Nations High Level Task Force (UN-HLTF) to join other bilateral and multilateral agencies to strengthen CAADP and to operationalise the Global Plan of Action on Food Security (GPAFS) through CAADP in Africa; CONSIDERING the Report of the African Union Joint Conference of Ministers responsible for Agriculture, Land and Livestock held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 22 to 24 April, 2009, and the recommendations therein endorsed by the Executive Council; RECALLING and RELATING to past rural economy and agricultural development AU Summit decisions and declarations, UNDERTAKE TO: 1. Meet our individual and collective responsibilities and commitments to provide necessary leadership on comprehensive and Africa-wide approaches to address the root causes of poverty and hunger, and accelerate progress towards achieving the growth and budgetary targets set out in the CAADP Agenda and Framework; 2. Support relevant policy and institutional reforms that will stimulate and facilitate accelerated expansion of agriculture related market opportunities by modernizing domestic and regional trading systems, removing obstacles to trans-border trades, and increasing access by smallholder farmers to inputs and the necessary commercial infrastructure and technical skills to fully integrate them into the growing value chains; Adopted by the Thirteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Sirte, Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on 3 July 2009