Established in July 2003, the programme, an initiative of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), is the highest policy level framework for the development of agriculture in Africa. The purpose of the CAADP roundtable, to be hosted by the Zambian government and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is to reach consensus among key stakeholders on Zambia's agricultural development agenda, forge the necessary partnerships to implement it and secure commitments and resources from partners to make the necessary investments. According to a statement from the Comesa secretariat in Zambia, Zambian stakeholders under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives and the Agricultural Consultative Forum met on March 27, 2008 to agree on priority programmes "that will bring the required higher growth in the agriculture sector." Further, outgoing Comesa secretary-general, Erastus Mwencha, on April 3, met Zambian Agriculture minister Sarah Sayifwanda and discussed the agreement, which will be signed by the African Union, the Zambian Ministers for Agriculture and Finance, co-operating partners, Comesa and the private sector under the Zambia National Farmers Union and Agri-business Forum.