Assembly/AU/ 7 (X)I Page 14 the rural areas and the rest of the economy. The Pillar focuses on the required policy and regulatory actions, infrastructure development, capacity building efforts, and partnerships and alliances that would facilitate a smallholder friendly development of agricultural value chains to stimulate poverty reducing growth across African countries. To address issues of market access for African agricultural and food products, the AU and NEPAD in collaboration with the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of West and Central Africa (CMA/WCA) are developing a Framework for Improving Rural Infrastructure and Trade Related Capacities for Market Access. The framework focuses on efforts to expand the supply base to respond to future demand opportunities and develop value chains to raise the competitiveness on domestic, regional and international markets. VI. RECENT SPECIFIC INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS THE HIGH FOOD PRICES (a) AU/NEPAD Workshop on High Food Prices 32. In response to the crisis caused by the high food prices, particularly taking note of the demonstrations and riots in some African countries, the AU/NEPAD convened a four day workshop for 18 African countries, from May 20-23, 2008, to identify food price induced constraints and propose practical solutions to the crisis. The participants included representatives of over 30 development partners, NGOs, farmer associations and research institutions and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). A total of 160 persons attended the workshop. The workshop represented an important milestone in building a coordinated African agriculture and food and nutrition security response to the high food prices within the framework and principles of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). 33. The workshop recognized that the impacts of the high food prices have far reaching consequences in Africa, especially for countries which are net food importers where the rising food prices will divert the meagre national resources from development activities to meet the urgent food import needs and will make the fight against hunger an uphill struggle. However, the workshop also recognized that the crisis has provided the 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. 34. The workshop made the following recommendations: 1. 2. The AU/NEPAD encouraged member countries to honour their commitment to the Maputo Declaration of allocating at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agricultural and rural development and also invited development partners to honour their pledges and commitments to support the agriculture sector development. The participating countries stated that they have already begun addressing the crisis using their national resources. The participants acknowledge the assistance provided by the development partners and called upon them to increase and sustain the urgent financial and