Remarks	  made	  by	  H.E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	   to	   Japan	   and	   Dean	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   (ADC)	  International	   Symposium	   for	   the	   Promotion	   of	   Science,	   Technology	   and	  Innovation	  Cooperation	  between	  Africa	  and	  Japan	  July	  13,	  2016:	  	  	  Honorable	  participants	  Excellencies	  Ladies	  and	  Gentlemen	  	  Ensuring	   food	   security	  is	   one	   of	   the	   top	   priorities	   and	   a	   cornerstone	   for	   an	  inclusive	   sustainable	   economic	   growth	   and	   poverty	   eradication	   in	   our	   continent.	  
The	   objective	   of	   this	   Agenda	   is:	   the	   growing	   population	   of	   Africa	   must	   have	  sufficient	  quantity	  of	  acceptable	  quality	  of	  food	  at	  an	  affordable	  price	  at	  any	  time	  and	   place.	   	  To	   achieve	   this	   objective,	   according	   to	   the	  New	   Partnership	   for	  Africa's	   Development	  (NEPAD),	   which	   is	   an	  economic	   development	  program	   of	  the	  African	  Union,	  the	  continent	  needs	  to	  produce	  food	  in	  the	  next	  30	  years	  equal	  to	  what	  it	  has	  produced	  in	  the	  last	  3000	  years.	  This	  is	  indeed	  a	  daunting	  demand	  and	  challenge	  for	  the	  African	  countries	  and	  their	  development	  partners.	  This	  is	  one	  of	  the	  main	  reasons	  why	  Africa	  and	  Japan	  have	  to	  work	  together	  in	  Science,	  Technology	  and	  Innovation	  Cooperation	  in	  the	  TICAD	  process.	  	  	  Subsistence	   based	   agricultural	   economy,	   which	   is	   currently	   the	   reality	   in	   the	  continent,	   must	   rapidly	   give	   way	   to	   various	   means	   of	   expanded	   farming	   areas	  which	  are	  compatible	  with	  the	  different	  agro-­‐ecological	  conditions	  of	  the	  various	  climatic	   zones	   of	   our	   continent.	   These	   can	   be	   achieved	   only	   through	   effective	  activities	  of	  community	  centered	  national	  self-­‐efforts	  and	  active	  participation	  of	  development	  partners.	  	  Improved	  rangeland	  management	  system	  and	  infrastructure	  must	  be	  rolled	  out	  on	   the	   ground	   to	   offset	   and	   improve	   the	   traditional	   pastoral	   system	   of	   the	  continent.	  	  Special	   attention	   must	   be	   given	   to	   increase	   food/cash	   crop,	   vegetables,	   fruits,	  bee,	  chicken,	  livestock	  and	  dairy	  products.	  	  Industrial	   and	   artisanal	   fisheries	   must	   continue	   to	  improve	   their	   input	   to	   the	  national	   food	   security	   program.	   The	   fisheries	   sector	   offers	   great	   prospects	   and	  opportunities	   for	   meeting	   the	   food	   security	   objectives	   and	   earning	   of	   foreign	  exchange	  for	  many	  of	  our	  countries.	  	  Major	   development	   campaigns	   are	   needed	   on	   the	   protection	   of	   forestry	   and	  wildlife.	   Irrigation	   improvements,	  modernization	   of	   farming	  techniques	   and	  related	   measures	   need	   to	   be	   undertaken	   both	   at	   local,	   national	   and	   regional	  level.	  	  	  African	  countries	  need	  to	  enhance	  water	  security.	  The	  construction	  of	  reservoirs,	  small	   dams,	   water	   catchments,	   improvement	   of	   irrigation	   systems	   must	   be	  intensified.	   Farmers	   and	   livestock	   who	   depend	   solely	   on	   the	   seasonal	   rains	  for	  their	  livelihood	  will	  greatly	  benefit	  from	  such	  efforts.	  	  1	  African	  countries	  have	  special	  needs	  regarding	  adaptation	  to	  climate	  change.	  The	  overriding	  need	  for	  developed	  country	  like	  Japan	  who	  are	  parties	  to	  the	  United	  Nations	   Framework	   Convention	   on	   Climate	   Change,	   and	   other	   co-­‐organizers	   of	  the	   TICAD	   process,	   is	   to	   take	   full	   account	   of	   these	   circumstances	   in	   order	   to	  facilitate	   the	   transfer	   of	   needed	   technology	   and	   resources.	   	  Immediate	   effective	  steps	   to	   support	   the	   implementation	   of	   our	  National	   Climate	   Adaptation	  Plan,	  through	   the	   available	   means	   or	   conduit	   of	   cooperation,	   must	   be	  undertaken.	  	  As	   we	   all	   know,	   present	   day	   science	   and	   medicine	   have	   made	   tremendous	  progress	  and	  accomplishments	  in	  protecting	  humanity	  from	  threats	  of	  continued	  epidemics	   caused	   by	   the	   migration	   of	   unknown	   virus,	   bacteria,	   fungi	   and	  protozoan	   microorganisms	   to	   human	   beings	   from	   wild	   plants	   and	   animals	   and	  their	   habitats.	   The	   need	   to	   monitor	   the	   tropical	   forests	   of	   Africa	   closely	   from	  known	   and	   unknown	   kind	   of	   health	   threats,	   which	   are	   security	   threats	   to	  mankind,	   is	   important.	  	   Mutual	   tie-­‐ups	   of	   research	   cooperation	   between	   our	  higher	  studies	  institutions	  are	  imperative	  on	  this.	  	  	  Hence,	  with	  these	  few	  comments,	  let	  me	  applaud	  and	  express	  strong	  support	  and	  solidarity,	   on	   behalf	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   and	   myself	   to	   all	   the	  distinguished	   scientists	   and	   organizers	   of	   today’s	  International	   Symposium	   for	  the	   Promotion	   of	   Science	   and	   Technology	   Cooperation	   between	   Africa	   and	  Japan.	  	  	  I	   am	   confident	   that	   this	   important	   event	   and	   deliberations	   by	   some	   of	   the	   best	  minds	   of	   Japan	   will	  help	   to	   make	   our	   African	   countries	   one	   of	   the	   many	  economic,	   social,	   scientific,	   technological	   and	   cultural	   destinations	   of	   Japan.	  
Japan	  has	  many	  success	  stories	  of	  cooperation	  in	  the	  Asian	  continent.	  It	  is	  time	  to	  repeat	  these	  success	  stories	  in	  our	  counties	  in	  Africa.	  	  	  The	  expectation	  is,	  TICAD	  VI	  which	  is	  going	  to	  be	  held	  in	  Nairobi	  Kenya	  -­‐	  for	  the	  first	   time	   in	   Africa	   -­‐	   is	   going	   to	   be	   an	   opening	   towards	   this	   paradigm	   shift.	   Africa	  must	  not	  export	  gold	  to	  import	  food.	  	  Thank	  you,	  	  	   	  	  	  2