Aid for Africa — Will it reach farmers, will it power development?
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Monday, 4 July 2008, 2 - 5.30 pm
In the run up to the G8 summit, and as part of the Make Poverty History campaign, ITDGPractical Action held a conference in Edinburgh to explore how aid and development funding can be used more effectively to rapidly reduce poverty in Africa, covering two topics, agriculture and energy.
Two papers were produced ahead of the conference, addressing the effectiveness of EC aid to Africa:
EC aid: failing Africa's poor?With increased aid funding following the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, there could be a possibility of making poverty history in Africa and of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, but only if the aid resources are used more effectively than is currently the case. More ...
Using the examples of Kenya and Zambia, this paper shows that the substantial EC aid programme and influence is only marginally impacting upon African smallholder farmers, whose households constitute the majority of the poor in the continent. It is intended that this paper will stimulate awareness and debate in the neglected area of EC aid effectiveness in Africa.
This report outlines the how African populations are chronically underserved in terms of energy and how this contributes to the poverty crisis facing the continent. It looks at two recent proposals for African development, and considers the current and potential role of the EC. |
Programme
| 1.30 | Registration and coffee |
| 2.00 |
Welcome from the chair – Alex Kirby, freelance journalist and former environment editor for BBCi |
| 2.05 | Rebecca Musyoka, Kenya Small Scale Farmers' Forum |
| 2.20 | Abeeku Brew Hammond, Co-ordinator, Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) |
| 2.35 | Peter Davies, Senior Energy Adviser, Water, Energy & Minerals Team, DFID Policy Division |
| 2.50 | Questions |
| 3.00 | Break for tea and coffee |
| 3.30 | Mubanga Kasakula, Chair, Zambia Small Farmers Forum |
| 3.45 | Cowan Coventry, Chief Executive ITDGPractical Action |
| 4.00 | Questions and debate |
| 5.00 | Close |
African Voices in Europe
This conference is part of a joint Practical Action/PELUM awareness-raising project funded by the EC, African Voices in Europe .
Grassroots organisations and farmers' movements are active in local advocacy, but rarely gain the opportunities to access European and international policy debate or the opportunity to influence policy makers in Europe. The project aims to bring voices and views from African farmers to the European Union, allowing them to be heard by policy makers and the wider public. Six policy briefings will be produced by the project about the impact of European energy and agriculture policy and practice on Africa and in particular issues arising in the context of Europe/Africa development cooperation.
Other events
Global Warming 8 – GW8 5 July 2005, Edinburgh
As the G8 meet in Scotland, the Working Group on Climate Change and Development held the GW8 on July 5th in Edinburgh. Eight speakers from poor countries described the impacts of climate change on the lives of people in their country. They described barriers to further progress and opportunities for tackling climate change and reducing its impact on poor people.
