Bujumbura, May 28, 2011_The Ministers from the member states of the East African Community (EAC) representing have called for the region to increase budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector and establish structures to implement agreed policies to boost food security and respond to climate change.

A statement from the EAC Secretariat received on Saturday said the ministerial session of the multi-sectoral meeting on food security and climate change ended on Friday night with an agreement to "urge partner states to establish appropriate coordination structures for implementation of the Food Security Action Plan and Climate Change Policy", and other key recommendations.

The ministers also called upon partner states to "demonstrate serious commitment and implement the Maputo Declaration by allocating at least 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture by 2015."

The May 25-27 meeting was held to enable all the relevant sectors as directed by the 22nd meeting of the EAC council of ministers to agree on the implementation of the EAC Food Security Action Plan (2011-2015), the EAC climate change policy and the Summit declaration on food security and climate change.

The EAC heads of state at their 9th Extraordinary Summit Meeting in April this year adopted both the Food Security Action Plan as well as the EAC Climate Change Policy.

The documents proposed regional interventions to address the two key issues of food insecurity and climate change which the EAC has resolved to tackle jointly.

Opening the Ministerial Session, Burundi's Minister for Agricultural and Development Odette Kayitesi pointed out that food security and climate change are clearly inter-linked and that the region needs to fast track the finalization of the climate change master plan and strategy, key instruments that will guide the implementation of the Food Security Action Plan and Climate Change Policy.

She reiterated the vital importance of agriculture and food security in building communities and enhancing their capacity to tackle issues affecting vulnerable groups.

She also noted that it is important for the region "to reaffirm our priorities to implement climate change programs and projects for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals".

EAC Deputy Secretary General Dr. Julius Rotich decried the region's susceptibility to severe food shortage, famine and hunger despite its potential and capacity to produce enough food to meet local demand as well as producing surplus for export to the world market.

He said good planning and allocation of adequate resources are necessary to address this challenge.

The ministers attending the session also directed the EAC Secretariat to build human resource capacities to address these challenges and to actively engage in agriculture, food security, environment and climate change policy processes at regional and international levels.