ASARECA Ministers’ Chair, Hon. Mithika Vows to Kick-start Construction of ASARECA Building  

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT

Dr. Enock Warinda (R) shows Hon. Mithika Linturi around the site for the planned ASARECA Headquarters’ building in Entebbe on April 4, 2024

ENTEBBE, UGANDA: “I will mobilise my colleagues, the Agriculture Ministers to ensure that ASARECA gets a befitting home.” These were the words of Hon. Mithika Linturi, the Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Agriculture and Livestock, the Republic of Kenya during his visit to ASARECA Headquarters in Uganda.

Speaking during a tour of the site for ASARECA Headquarters Building in the Airport town of Entebbe, Linturi, who is also the Chairman ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers said ASARECA is such an invaluable institution to the Governments that it needs to be fully facilitated to fulfil its mandate.

Unparalled potential

“ASARECA’s potential in supporting Governments to increase productivity in the agricultural sector, enhance the resilience of food systems, boost access to agricultural technologies, and improve intra and inter-national trade and market access is undoubtable if given necessary resources,” Hon. Mithika said. “We must all come together to Provide the Secretariat adequate financing to realise its mandate”.

The Minister was accompanied to the site by his Technical Advisor, Dr. Denis Onkundi; ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Enock Warinda; the First Counsellor, Kenya High Commission in Uganda, Richard Mutwola; the Commercial Attaché, Kenya High Commission in Uganda, Ms Doris Komen; Dr. Wellington Mulinge of the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO); and ASARECA Secretariat staff.

Member States must stand together

Hon. Mithika also called for complementary leveraging of Member States’ resources to attain food self-sufficiency in Eastern and Central Africa. “No country alone can achieve food self-sufficiency. We need to build synergies among Member States to support each other to achieve food self-sufficiency. This is where ASARECA comes in to create critical linkages within Agricultural value chains in the region,” he noted. “That is why the States must contribute money to build a home for the Associations’ Headquarters.

Briefing the Minister, the Executive Director, Dr. Enock Warinda said ASARECA is best placed to support Member States in implementing the Food Security Delivery Compacts. He noted that Governments stand to gain most if ASARECA comes on board to manage the reporting and identification of technologies for sharing across borders in the sub-region.

About the Dakar food compacts

The Dakar Food Delivery Compacts are documents prepared and owned by African countries, which show the vision, challenges, and opportunities in agricultural productivity, infrastructure, processing and value addition, markets and financing meant to accelerate the implementation of the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program. To ensure accountability to deliver results, the research and development systems, national food, and agricultural systems will be structured around the development of “Food and Agriculture Delivery Compacts”.

Resource mobilisation strategy

Speaking during the event, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Director General, Dr. Eliud Kireger, informed the Minister that ASARECA (incorporating the Member States and the Secretariat) requires USD 1.6 billion to fully implement prioritized regional mega programmes. He presented to the Minister the ASARECA Board of Directors Resource Mobilisation Strategy developed in conjunction with the Secretariat to support the Ministers in mobilizing the much required funding. The Strategy focuses on pooling finances from Member Governments, courting willing Development Partners, and engaging with the Private Sector.