African Union

The African Union (AU), which was established in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), aims to encourage economic development and political stability through increased cooperation among its member states.  The department of rural economy and agriculture (DREA) was established with the objectives of promoting agricultural and rural development to ensure food security for Africans and achieve sustainable development and improved livelihoods.  The Division of Agricultural Food Security helped implement the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which has a separate entry in this directory.  The AU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) at RUFORUM's Biennial in Maputo, Mozambique in July 2014.