THE OSLO CONFERENCE 2006

A Call to Action: On August 31, 2006, concerned corporations and organizations from the private and public sectors meet in Oslo, Norway to catalyze action aimed at supporting an African Green Revolution.

The Oslo Conference was a response to the call for action made by then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The UN, as well as the African Union, puts agricultural productivity at the forefront of the struggle to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty – in accordance with the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The Conference was co-hosted by two Norwegian public development institutions, Norad and Norfund, and two private sector participants, Yara International and Rabobank. The four partners were joined by multinational companies, government officials, donor and investment agencies and NGOs.

Key speakers included Director of the UN Millennium Project, Jeffrey D. Sachs and World Bank Executive Director, Paulo Gomes.

Public-Private Partnerships

The Oslo Conference aimed to establish an informal, action-oriented, Public-Private Partnership for an African Green Revolution (PPP-AGR). The partnership will place particular emphasis on attracting committed participation in Africa’s agricultural development from the global private sector.

The PPP-AGR aims to rally expertise and capital for one of the most daunting development tasks today: to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty in Africa. In the longer term it aims to become a powerful force for sustainable growth in Africa by promoting agricultural productivity, and empowering farmers. Public-private partnership is becoming a well-established approach to development, not least in Africa.

Key Issues

The Oslo Conference aimed to support Africa’s development by promoting agricultural productivity and food security. To do this, the Conference focused on creating awareness of, and catalyzing action to support, key strategies and interventions for breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger in Africa.

Four pillars are commonly considered as essential in this work: Scaling up proven grassroots and micro projects; promoting the move from subsistence farming to small-hold entrepreneurship; combating soil mining and deforestation, and their environmental implications; and making markets work for the poor. All these issues were covered during the Oslo Conference.

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