Media Advisory LAUNCH OF THE AFRICA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE Africa’s Strategic Approach for Food Security & Nutrition in the Face of Climate Change What: The first Africa Climate Smart-Agriculture Alliance Forum will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Africa CSA Alliance Forum will convene to foster harmonisation across various programmes being undertaken by African countries in climate change and agriculture. Date: May 13-15, 2015 Who: The Africa Climate-Smart Alliance Forum will be the attended by:  H.E Ato Sileshi Getahun - Ethiopian State Minister for Agriculture  H.E Rhoda PeaceTumusiime – African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture  H.E Yasmine Foaud – Assistant Minister for Sustainable Development and External Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Arab Republic of Egypt  H.E Andreas Gaarder - Norwegian Ambassador to Ethiopia Also in attendance will be representatives and participants from Governments, Regional Economic Communities, Farmers’ Organisations, Private Sector, Civil Society, specialised agencies and development partners. Focus: The launch of the Africa CSA Alliance Forum is a critical milestone in facilitating the sharing and learning on the various Climate-Smart Agriculture initiatives. The Africa CSA Alliance Forum will specifically: a) Agree on the general Africa-specific guiding principles and standards in domesticating the CSA definition into local/country and farming systems specific circumstances; b) Validate the Africa CSA Vision 25x25 toolbox, an important tool for continental benchmarking and measuring CSA adoption for the“25 million targeted farming households by 2025”; c) Facilitate sharing across the various CSA initiatives at various levels; d) Contribute to fostering alignment in regional efforts in supporting and contributing to delivering on the “Africa CSA Vision 25x25” (based on ecosystems potential and related political economy issues). Venue: Capital Hotel and Spa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Press conference: Wednesday, 13 May, 1:00PM For more information and requests for interviews contact: NEPAD Agency Ms Mwanja Ng'anjo Phone: +27 11 256 3600 E-mail: [email protected]