Presidents and top officials from African Union countries at the weekend formally ended a two-day summit in Libya, reportedly agreeing to work together to tackle the crucial issues of water and agriculture, also dismissing Libyan leader Moumar Gadaffi idea of creating a single African army, a newspaper reported.

The only concrete decision taken during the talks was to set up an African Water Facility, a financial institution geared to addressing the continent's dire water problems.

This project was contained in a document called the Sirte Declaration on the challenges of sustainable development of agriculture and water resources in Africa, which the heads of state also adopted.

It is said that only about half the continent's 800-million inhabitants have easy access to safe drinking water, and agriculture, which is the livelihood of the vast majority of Africans, is overly dependent on unreliable rainfall, as opposed to irrigation.

The Panafrican News Agency adds that in the declaration, the leaders urged the development of animal production by improving natural pastures and distributing veterinary products as well as genetic resources to promote food security.

The document also pleaded for the development of fishery resources and techniques as well as the improvement of preservation, storage, distribution and processing systems.

The statement urged the strengthening of early warning systems at regional and continental levels to ward off negative impacts of drought, desertification, floods, natural disasters and parasites.

It called for the setting up of an information network in farming production, food security and trade of basic products between markets and countries.

The declaration also called for the encouragement of bilateral accords on common water resources and the instruction of regional economic communities to conclude adequate regional agreements on how to implement integrated management of water.