The European Commission launched on Wednesday 24 April a public consultation on the agri-food and rural programme for the new ‘Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and Investment', a programme unveiled in March 2019 by Task Force Rural Africa (see EUROPE 12209/7).
The consultation aims to gather feedback from relevant individuals and organisations and focuses on the recommendations proposed by this group of independent African and European experts to strengthen the Africa-Europe partnership in the areas of food and agriculture.
The consultation is open until 31 May and its results will be taken into account at the third African Union-EU Agricultural Ministerial Conference, to be held in Rome on 21 June 2019. This will be the first political opportunity for the EU and the AU to jointly discuss the recommendations of Task Force Rural Africa and agree on the next steps for the agri-food and rural sector within the Africa-Europe alliance.
At the Agriculture Council on 15 April, EU ministers broadly supported the conclusions of Task Force Rural Africa’s report, some emphasising the role of family farming, education and training, others the positive impact that the proposed actions will have on migration. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)