Dr Akinwumi Adesina, African Development Bank President, says Africa’s food and agribusiness will be worth an estimated US$1 trillion by 2030.
He told participants at the World Food Prize Foundation’s Norman E. Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa that several world leaders are actively bolstering food production and food security in Africa.
The annual event in America’s agricultural heartland revolved around this year’s theme of “harnessing change,” with delegates and panelists exploring innovative ideas to shore up innovation, adaptation, and diversification, and mechanisms for improving resilience, recovery from shocks, and sustainable systems to feed the world.
This includes coming together for a landmark global Feed Africa summit in Dakar (the Dakar 2 Summit) last January.
He said the continent, which was home to 65 percent of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land, ironically imports most of its food.
He said African leaders were intent on ensuring that their countries were self-sufficient in food and become food exporters.
“There is a realisation that by 2050, the global population will reach nine billion, creating a pressing need for Africa to increase agricultural productivity to meet rising demands for food,” he added.
Madam Zewde acknowledged that this groundbreaking achievement was helped by the AfDB’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative.
TAAT has distributed more than 100,000 tons of certified seeds of heat-tolerant wheat varieties, increasing Ethiopia’s wheat production by 1.6 million metric tons in 2023.
Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria further underlining the high level of African participation at the Borlaug Dialogue, said leadership was essential to feed Africa and develop the continent.
“A nation falls or rises dependent on the quality of its leadership,” he emphasised.
The African Development Bank has already committed US$853 million to public-sector initiated SAPZs and successfully mobilised Xnancing of $661 million alongside its co- Xnancing partners.
Collectively, the partners are investing more than $1.5 billion to establish 25 agro-industrial zones and supporting ecosystems in 13 countries.
This year’s Borlaug laureate is Heidi Kuhn, recognised for her farmer-focused development model and work that revitalises farmlands, food security, livelihoods, and resilience in conflicted affected regions around the world.
Source: GNA
