Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18 March 2025 (ECA) – The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, outlining a framework for strategic collaboration between the two UN entities. The agreement, formalized in a signing ceremony on 18 March 2025 in Addis Ababa, aims to drive sustainable agriculture, regional integration, and climate resilience, while fostering innovation for economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and inclusive growth across the continent.
The MoU was signed by Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support) of the ECA, and Abebe Haile-Gabriel, Assistant Director-General of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization -FAO. This agreement builds on past collaboration under a previous MoU that entered into force on January 31, 2017, for five years.
“ECA and FAO recognize the benefits of increased partnership, cooperation and interaction for promoting sustainable development in Africa, particularly in the areas of agriculture, climate change, trade and economic diversification and food security. This MoU is even more timely as it is being signed on the margins of the 2025 Conference of Ministers of Finance on making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for Africans,” said Mr. Pedro.
The agreement comes against the backdrop of emerging shifts and increased vulnerabilities to climate change, requiring renewed focus on the transformation of agrifood systems. Furthermore, the recent re-design of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) through the Kampala Declaration and its associated 10-year Strategy and Action Plan. The Declaration is set for implementation from 2026 to 2035 and aims to build resilient and sustainable agricultural systems across the continent. Furthermore, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement whose implementation is on course provides opportunities to invest in quality agrifood systems.
With the need for quality investment in agrifood systems, and increasing vulnerabilities to climate change, the two organizations aim to update their collaborative framework to address these evolving challenges more effectively.
Mr Pedro said that with agri-ecological zones that were once food baskets becoming more arid due to climate change, the collaboration with FAO will play an important role in coming up with the kind of foresight analysis on the interface between climate and food security that can help countries cope.
“We must seize the opportunity to build resilient and sustainable agricultural systems and tackle the impact of climate change on food systems. We can strengthen resource-driven industrialisation and diversification and achieve net zero goals,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel, FAO Assistant Director-General for Africa, emphasized the importance of the MoU, stating, “This MoU comes at a historic juncture where the socio-economic landscape is changing dramatically. It gives us the opportunity to rethink how we can best support member states by optimally utilizing our assets, collaborating efficiently, and ensuring agri-food system transformation and sustainable development.” He also noted that FAO and ECA have numerous opportunities to work together toward the shared goal of improving food security and agroeconomic development.
The MoU also outlines cooperation in developing strategies for data, statistics, technology and innovation; regional integration, economic diversification and sustainable industrialization; just energy transition and access to clean energy to enhance food security; and climate change, biodiversity, and water resources management. The MoU commits both organizations to joint initiatives addressing these priority areas.
Note to Editors:
The renewed MoU outlines several priority areas for collaboration, each aimed at driving Africa’s sustainable development.
In the area of sustainable agriculture and food security, the focus will be on strengthening agro-industrial policies, improving land governance, and promoting innovative financing for agricultural investments. These efforts will prioritize the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Post-Malabo, and seek to enhance employment opportunities for women and youth in agribusiness and value chains.
On data, statistics, and innovation, FAO and ECA will support Africa’s Global Strategy for Statistical Development, which includes strengthening the capacity of national and regional statistical agencies. This will enable better monitoring of the agricultural sector and progress on CAADP and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
Regional integration and economic diversification will be key focal points. The partnership will conduct an in-depth analysis of agrifood value chains within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework to identify opportunities and challenges, ensuring informed decision-making for sustainable growth. A key objective will be the harmonization of standards for intra-Africa trade in agricultural goods and services, as well as providing technical support for food commodity exchange platforms to strengthen regional value chains.
The collaboration will also work to expand access to clean energy within agrifood systems, supporting initiatives such as FAO’s Bioenergy Week and clean cooking dialogues. The FAO Energy-Smart Agrifood Systems Programme will play a significant role in these efforts to enhance clean energy and food security.
In addressing climate change, biodiversity, and water resource management, the partnership will promote the blue economy through sustainable fisheries and marine resource management, enhance access to climate finance by supporting policy frameworks that attract investment, and strengthen value chain-based climate resilience by integrating climate-smart agricultural practices across regional supply chains. It will also focus on improving early warning systems, transboundary water resource management, and integrating biodiversity considerations into national and regional agricultural policies.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org