The Group President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has declared there exist some technologies capable of assisting Africa to feed itself, reports ITREALMS.
“I know that technologies exist that we can use to feed Africa. I know the platform is there, and to do it at scale. I know the support is there for Africa to do this," he asserted.
Adesina also said that the time for the continent to optimize its vast agriculture potential using innovation and green financing to produce enough food is here.
Adesina cited many AfDB initiatives to drive food sovereignty. These include the Technology for African Agricultural Transformation initiative, which has enabled Ethiopia to become self-sufficient in wheat production with plans to export to Kenya and Djibouti in 2023.
The bank has also rolled out a $1.5 billion emergency food production facility to help boost production in response to recent food and energy price hikes arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is also supporting countries to develop agro-industrial processing zones and value chains.
“I do not believe that Africa should go anywhere with cap in hand begging for food. Africa should produce food to feed itself and the world - we must have zero hunger,” he said.
This is coming as African agriculture ministers attending the United Nations climate summit in Egypt reiterated a commitment to work with development partners to unlock the continent’s agriculture potential.
ITREALMS also gathered that there was a strong consensus that Africa can feed itself if supported with green financing and climate-smart technology to boost agriculture productivity.
The event hosted by AfDB allowed countries to explore ways to bolster agricultural resilience through adaptation and mitigation. Participating ministers shared success stories and challenges from their respective policies in agriculture.
Remmy Nweke/DoP
No comments:
Post a Comment