The UN 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.