About FANRPAN
Origin and Mandate
Created in response to a call by African Ministers of Agriculture, and mandated to work across the whole continent since 2010.
- ministerial call
- 1994
- network formed
- 1997
- continental mandate
- 2010
Origin and mandate
Background
Who we are
The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is an all-inclusive, multi-stakeholder pan-African network that provides independent evidence to inform and influence policy processes at national and regional levels.
FANRPAN is a multi-tiered network made up of a Regional Secretariat and national policy nodes. Its membership includes food, agriculture and natural resources related government departments, parliamentarians, research and farmer organisations, the private sector, civil society organisations and the media.
Our story
From a ministerial call to a continental network
Declaration 10.3 on Regional Cooperation
The Ministers of Agriculture for Eastern and Southern Africa met in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 14 and 15 April 1994 to develop a strategy and plan of action for promoting agriculture in the region.
They declared “that a Regional Agricultural Policy Analysis and Research Network be created in order to reduce dependence on foreign experts as ESA countries develop comprehensive agricultural policies and food security strategies.”
Published in the COMESA Gazette
The then Secretary-General of COMESA, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, released the declaration in the Official COMESA Gazette (Volume 1, Number 1, clause 23), published by order of the COMESA Council.
The network is formed
An inaugural stakeholders meeting in Harare brought together the deans of agriculture from Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. FANRPAN was established with an initial focus on the southern and eastern regions of Africa.
Formal registration
FANRPAN was registered in Zimbabwe on 18 March 2003.
Diplomatic status
The Government of the Republic of South Africa accredited the FANRPAN Regional Secretariat with diplomatic status.
A continental mandate
After expressions of interest from countries outside southern and eastern Africa, the Annual General Meeting in Namibia expanded the network’s mandate to cover the whole of Africa.
Fourth-generation strategy
FANRPAN adopted its 2025 to 2035 Strategic Plan, aligned with the Kampala CAADP Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026 to 2035.
A Regional Agricultural Policy Analysis and Research Network be created in order to reduce dependence on foreign experts.
Ministers of Agriculture, Eastern and Southern Africa, Harare, 1994
Strategic journey
Four generations of strategy
Each strategic cycle has widened FANRPAN’s scope, influence and institutional capacity.
Our mandate
What FANRPAN was established to do
FANRPAN was established to coordinate policy research and dialogue, and to recommend strategies for promoting the food, agriculture and natural resources sectors in Africa, by:
Carrying out mutually agreed collaborative research activities.
Publishing and disseminating research results.
Providing technical support to national and regional programmes.
Providing opportunities for training and professional development.
Organising workshops, scientific conferences and seminars.
Providing government with access to databases of information on policy making, advocacy and dialogue.
Facilitating linkages and partnerships among institutions with related policy research and professional development activities.
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