ARTICLE 56
The Community Agricultural Policy

1. The goal of the Community Agricultural Policy shall be:

(a) the fundamental transformation of the agricultural sector towards market-oriented, internationally competitive and environmentally sound production of agricultural products;

(b) improved income and employment opportunities, food and nutrition security, and poverty alleviation in the Community;

(c) the efficient cultivation and production of traditional and non-traditional primary agricultural products;

(d) increased production and diversification of processed agricultural products;

(e) an enlarged share of world markets for primary and processed agricultural products; and

(f) the efficient management and sustainable exploitation of the Region’s natural resources, including its forests and the living resources of the exclusive economic zone,

bearing in mind the differences in resource endowment and economic development of the Member States.

ARTICLE 57
Implementation of the Community Agricultural Policy

1. For the achievement of the goal set out in Article 56, the Community shall, through competent Community Organs and Bodies, promote and support:

(a) the production, diversification, processing and marketing of agricultural products;

(b) the establishment of effective agricultural financing systems, including insurance, bearing in mind the special needs of artisanal fishers, small farmers, foresters and agro-processors;

(c) the establishment of linkages among the Member States with complementary natural resources, industries, agricultural skills and technical abilities;

(d) the development of human resources and delivery systems responsive to the requirements of the agricultural sector;

(e) the development of appropriate policies for the use of land and marine space with a view to increased agricultural production;

(f) appropriate land tenure systems to provide the farmer with security of tenure;

(g) the establishment of effective information and market intelligence services;

(h) research and development with a view to the adaptation, dissemination and application of appropriate technologies at all levels of the sector and all stages of production;

(i) the adoption of effective measures for rural enterprise development;

(j) public education to enhance the economic and social profiles of agriculture, particularly among the youth;

(k) the establishment of an effective regime of sanitary and phytosanitary measures;

(l) the establishment of a policy environment designed to attract investment to the agricultural sector; and

(m) technical co-operation and the dissemination of knowledge in agriculture.

2. For the purpose of assisting the Member States to implement the agricultural policy set out in paragraph 1, COTED shall establish effective support measures including:

(a) strengthening the relevant administrative and institutional framework to modernise and enhance the competitiveness of agriculture by:

(i) improving the capability of the Member States to undertake policy analysis, formulation, planning, execution and resource mobilisation for the development of the sector;

(ii) investigating and analysing developments in the agri-food sector; and

(iii) improvement of the collection, analysis and dissemination of empirical data and other relevant information;

(b) upgrading of national and regional capabilities in the areas of sustainable natural resources management;

(c) enhancement of the capabilities of the Member States in the areas of agricultural trade analysis and negotiations; and

(d) promotion of a mechanism for the collaboration of farmers, fishers, foresters and the social partners in agricultural development.

3. The Community shall:

(a) promote collaboration among the Member States and competent regional organisations in the areas of policy formulation and implementation of regional agricultural policies; and

(b) establish an effective regime to protect regional agricultural production from dumping, subsidisation and other unfair trading practices.

4. The Community shall, as a matter of priority, and in collaboration with national, regional and international agencies and organisations, promote and adopt measures relating, inter alia, to:

(a) the provision of appropriate inputs; and

(b) the development of infrastructure, such as port facilities, drainage, irrigation, access roads, post-harvest handling and marketing facilities.

ARTICLE 58
Natural Resource Management

1. The Community shall adopt effective measures to assist the Member States in the management of their natural resources in support of the transformation and sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

2. Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 1 and to obligations of Member States under existing international agreements, the Community shall adopt measures for:

(a) the effective management of the soil, air and all water resources, the exclusive economic zone and all other maritime areas under the national jurisdiction of the Member States; and

(b) the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources of the Member States, especially those of important medicinal and traditional value.

ARTICLE 59
Marketing of Agricultural Products

1. The Community shall, in collaboration with competent national, regional and international organisations, promote the development of effective agricultural marketing systems in order to respond to, influence and generate market demand for agricultural products of the Member States.

2. In effecting the promotion referred to in paragraph 1, the Community shall pay particular attention to:

(a) market information, intelligence and planning;

(b) improved post-harvest technology;

(c) risk insurance; and

(d) efficient distribution services.

3. In order to accomplish the objectives referred to in paragraph 1, the Community shall adopt measures to promote:

(a) the establishment of a regional market information system;

(b) the improvement of production and market information systems of the Member States in order to facilitate, inter alia, the efficient co-ordination of marketing strategies and systems;

(c) institutional arrangements including producer associations and joint venture marketing enterprises in order to respond to existing and changing market conditions;

(d) niche marketing;

(e) linkages between agriculture and other sectors in particular, the tourism sector;

(f) the identification and utilisation of sources of low cost alternative inputs;

(g) the establishment and adoption of regional standards and specifications compatible with international standards for products being traded;

(h) enhanced productivity and food quality;

(i) insurance coverage for primary agricultural products; and

(j) the development of efficient distribution services to facilitate intra-regional and extra-regional marketing.

4. In pursuance of the need to generate market demand for agricultural products of the Member States and to promote the agricultural development of the Less Developed Countries, the Member States shall agree to the arrangements for marketing oils and fats set out in Schedule III.

ARTICLE 60
Fisheries Management and Development

1. The Community, in collaboration with competent national, regional and international agencies and organisations, shall promote the development, management and conservation of the fisheries resources in and among the Member States on a sustainable basis.

2. The Community shall effect the promotion and facilitation referred to in paragraph 1 by:

(a) enhancing the institutional capabilities of the Member States in areas such as policy formulation, registration and management systems, resource monitoring and assessment, and harvesting and post-harvesting technologies;

(b) establishing mechanisms to provide assistance in:

(i) the development, management and conservation of the fisheries resources;

(ii) the discharge of obligations relating to fisheries resources arising under Articles 62, 63 and 64 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982).

(c) effective regional representation at international fora;

(d) establishing development programmes for aquaculture;

(e) encouraging the establishment of protected aquatic habitats and associated terrestrial areas and fish populations for the sustainable development of fisheries resources of the Member States; and

(f) establishing, facilitating and strengthening research and human resource development at the professional, technical and vocational levels.

3. The Community shall collaborate with the Member States in:

(a) the management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks;

(b) ongoing surveillance of their exclusive economic zones;

(c) the delimitation of maritime boundaries; and

(d) safeguarding their marine environment from pollutants and hazardous wastes.

4. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 56, COFCOR shall promote the establishment of a regime for the effective management, conservation and utilisation of the living resources of the exclusive economic zones of the Member States.

5. For the purpose of this Article, “fisheries resources” includes all the fishable resources, natural and cultured, in the inland and internal waters, territorial seas and the exclusive economic zones of the Member States.

ARTICLE 61
Forest Management and Development

1. The Community shall, in collaboration with competent national, regional and international agencies and organisations, promote the development, management and conservation of the forest resources in the Member States on a sustainable basis.

2. The Community shall effect the promotion and facilitation referred to in paragraph 1 by formulating policies and programmes for:

(a) the management of its forest resources;

(b) the integration of forest development in rural communities;

(c) enhancing the institutional capabilities of the Member States to design and implement forest management systems;

(d) establishing, facilitating and strengthening programmes for research and for human resource development at the professional, technical and vocational levels;

(e) encouraging public and private sector participation in the development and application of technology;

(f) providing incentives for forestry development to stimulate domestic, regional and foreign investment in the forestry sub-sector;

(g) harmonising standards for quality assurance, compatible with international specifications;

(h) promoting commercialisation of natural forest products in a sustainable manner; and

(i) undertaking national forest inventories.

3. For the purposes of this Article, “forest resources” are those natural assets of forest lands, including timber and other forest products, biological diversity, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, wilderness, flora and fauna, air, water and soil.