H.E. Josefa Sacko

H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, an Angola national, was elected as the new commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission. Mrs. Sacko was previously the special adviser to the Minister of agriculture, assigned with the responsibility of advising on issues related to international cooperation, Climate Change, food Security, Eradication of Hunger, and Poverty Reduction.

She was also the former Secretary General of the Inter African Coffee Organization (IACO) for 13 years in Cote D’Ivoire where she oversaw the coffee economy of 25 African Coffee producing countries. During her tenure, she successfully advocated for the empowerment of small scale coffee farmers across the continent by setting up Regional Centres of Excellence for Capacity Building of Member States, on Genetic Material Conservation, Coffee Quality Improvement and Cup Tasting Liquor in Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Cameroon and Zambia.

Madam Sacko has built up her international profile and reputation by either consulting or working with several Regional, and Global Institutional on Agriculture including the World Trade Organization (WTO), African Union (AU), International Coffee Organization (ICO), African Development Bank (AfDB), African Export Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK), (FAO), UNECA, NEPAD etc.

As a strong advocate of gender empowerment and strengthening the role of small farmers in Africa, she has over the years worked with Regional Economic Communities (RECS), such as SADC, COMESA, ECOWAS and EAC, to address the challenges encountered by small scale farmers in Africa, and ensuring that they remain a central focus in regional and national policy making.