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Work will back African Union goal of helping 25 million farmers become food-secure and more resilient by 2025
NEW YORK, June 25, 2014 – The African Union today announced that Concern Worldwide is one of a handful international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) joining a landmark alliance of 10 diverse global partners whose goal is to reach six million farm families with new Climate-Smart Agriculture approaches over the next seven years.
The announcement was made by the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) at the 23rd African Union Summit on Agriculture and Food Security, taking place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Known as the Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance, the group will contribute to the African Union’s goal of helping 25 million farmers become more resilient and achieve food and nutrition security by 2025. It will do so by aligning international NGO and research activities around existing agricultural investment plans, increasing coherence and coordination for greater impact.
Concern joins partners including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), World Vision, CARE, and the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in the new alliance.
Concern Worldwide CEO Dominic MacSorley attended the launch and said: “This is a hugely exciting initiative and we are delighted that Concern has been invited to bring its expertise and knowledge to what is a unique global partnership. Every day, our teams on the ground not only see first-hand the impact of climate change but are assisting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people deal with the often catastrophic consequences.
“It is vital that the international community faces climate change with pioneering approaches like this that aim to quickly scale up on-farm assistance and link to technological advances. This new alliance is designed to achieve transformational impact; for women and men, for communities, and on agricultural systems, as they face floods, drought and other climate-related threats to their lives and livelihoods.”
About Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide U.S. (www.concernusa.org) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to reducing extreme poverty, with nearly 3,000 personnel working in 25 of the world’s poorest countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Concern Worldwide targets the root causes of extreme poverty through programs in health, education, livelihoods and microfinance, HIV and AIDS, and emergency response, directly reaching more 6.5 million people.
