Thank you Chair for giving me the floor.

Excellences,

Distinguished Delegates,

Angola, Cabo Verde and Ethiopia deliver this statement on behalf of the Africa Regional Group

The Africa Regional Group congratulates the Council and the Secretariat for the inclusion of this important Item on Bioeconomy in the Agenda.

The United Nations Food Systems Summit and the Stocktaking Moment held in July in Rome continue to catalyze advancements so that initiatives like the one presented can contribute to the holistic vision of the impact that the pandemic and crisis bring to food systems.

We consider it important for the Region to continue collective action to accelerate the results of national dialogues, so that system transformation services can address the cross-cutting issues we still face.

Cross-cutting bio-economic policies, which provide food and nutritional sovereignty, especially at the local level, can promote and improve productivity and the solution of a plurality of agricultural, fishing, and livestock production systems, with bio-economic benefits.

Bioeconomy as a tool for local dialogue and participation is an approach that reaffirms sustainability and represents a vision that strengthens the production chain, food and nutritional security, generates jobs, and incorporates sustainability dimensions.

The results in the African Region still pose a challenge that will shape the resilience of the systems and their transformation.

The Africa Regional Group believes that the approach is relevant and could be included in the priority agenda, provided it aims at the resilience of food systems for cooperation and collaboration for development. This should enable the region to ensure productive growth, interconnection of renewable biological sources, biodiversity protection, application of biotechnologies, and value chain efficiency in a sustainable manner.

The recently adopted post-Malabo declaration and the reassessment of the Agenda 2063 portfolio combine innovation and rural policies, focusing on the resilience of systems and may form the basis of this vision.

We find the multidisciplinary future perspective useful as it may positively impact local development. However, in the regional context, we emphasize the priorities of combating poverty, inclusivity, and building a society that contributes to progressive evolution, using practical actions that strengthen the production of a sustainable bioeconomy.

The Africa Regional Group considers bioeconomy important as long as national dialogues envision the development of practices from the initiative, and actions that enable the progressive implementation of this model.

We believe that education and training with new practices, innovation, and biotechnologies can have beneficial results, especially in the progressive change of attitudes and new approaches in family farming and the acceleration of rural family levels.

We also consider that community education and training can have positive results in water and soil management and in addressing visible risks that reduce productivity.

The Africa Regional Group would like to emphasize that climate change and emission reduction programs can play an important role in empowering and educating local communities and sectoral linkages.

We recommend the development of a bio-economy strategy for better technical complementarity and access to the various components of the bio-economy, focusing on comparative actions of already adopted processes that strengthen inter-regional cooperation and collaboration.

Finally, the African Group proposes the organization of a conference on bioeconomy and food system resilience to develop new academic approaches and strengthen actions leading to the assessment and direction of this new paradigm of sustainability, resilience and food system transformation.

Thank you.