Lucas Barasa

3 September 2010

Nairobi — Participants from seven countries meet in Nairobi on Monday and Tuesday to find ways of addressing food security in the region.

Other participants will be drawn from the East African Community (EAC) secretariat, IGAD, research institutions, academia, government ministries, parastatals and agricultural committees of parliaments.

The private sector; farmer's unions and civil society; trade unions and political parties, consumer unions, and international non-governmental organizations will also provide representatives.

According to Ms Maria Okong'o, the Project Manager at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Nairobi Office, the participants will be drawn from Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The conference's theme would be "Regional Dialogue on the Politics of Food Security in Eastern Africa"

Ms Okong'o said the conference will be officially opened by Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgey.

The two-day conference is being organized by The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Kenya Office, in partnership with the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Committee on Agriculture, Ms Okong'o said.

The overall objective of the Conference is to create a regional forum for Eastern Africans to engage in critical dialogue and analysis over the ramifications of poor governance in the region on food security.

The issues, Ms Okong'o said, include failure to shield policy decision making and implementation from political interference and corruption networks, conflicting strategies; duplication by state institutions, and failure to mainstream food policies into national and sectoral plans.

Also to be discussed will be the effect on food security of existing land tenure systems and lease/sale of agricultural land to foreign investors

"It is hoped that the conference will lead to more informed discussions on food security concerns among important stakeholders, including national and regional parliaments, so that sustainable agricultural development is placed at the centre of investment decision making," she said.

She added that there should also be clear linkages between national and regional strategies such as the common food security one launched earlier this year by the EAC.

Also expected to address the conference are East Africa Legislative Assembly MP Safina Kwekwe who chair's Committee on Agriculture, Dr Peter Oesterdiekhoff, Resident Representative (FES Kenya), Abdirahin Haithar Abdi (Speaker, EALA) and Mr Odenda Lumumba of Kenya'Others are Mr Fred Jonyo from the Department of Political Science, University of Nairobi, Mr Ronald Ojwang' (NEPAD Kenya) and Mr Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, (Deputy Secretary General, Productive & Social Sectors, EAC).There would also be presentations by Dr Samuel Zziwa, (IGAD Secretariat), Ms Janet Ngombalu (Eastern African Grain Council), Dr Joy M. Kiiru (University of Nairobi) and Ms Anja Dargatz (Resident Representative, FES Sudan).