Browsing: Dakar Declaration

martin.mwita Transforming agriculture Africa

Investing in Agriculture: Transforming Africa’s Food Industry

Investing
  • The continent spends over USD60 billion yearly on food imports that it could generate domestically.
  • African countries have allocated large sums to agriculture, but according to experts, this is insufficient.
  • As a result, countries are experiencing deficits even as governments continue to spend billions of dollars bolstering their military defenses, which fuels conflict, displacement, and hunger.
In a study utilizing satellite data from NASA's Landsat, researchers from the universities of Maryland and Texas in the United States cast doubt on the rapid development of cultivated land in Africa.

It was previously recorded that Africa's agricultural area has expanded by more than a third during thepast two decades (2000-2019), accounting for 52 percent of the global increase, or 102 million hectares.

The continent is said to contain around one-fourth of the world's agricultural land but millions of people continue to face malnutrition as dry and semi-arid regions are devastated by drought.

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Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, speaks at the Dakar summit under the theme "Feed Africa", which is hosted by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission in Dakar, Senegal January 25, 2023. www.theexchange.africa

Development partners commit $30 billion to Africa’s food security

Industry and Trade
  • The second Africa Food Summit held in Dakar has ended with development partners committing US$30 billion to back the continent’s resolve to boost agricultural productivity.
  • The summit was a key moment in Africa’s ability to feed itself and achieve food self-sufficiency and food sovereignty.

The second Africa Food Summit held in Dakar, Senegal has ended with development partners committing US$30 billion to back the continent’s resolve to boost agricultural productivity and become a global breadbasket. The summit was organized by the Senegalese government and the African Development Bank and rallied dozens of dignitaries, including 34 heads of state and government, 70 government ministers, and development partners.

The major theme of the summit ‘Feed Africa: food sovereignty and resilience.’ Which was that African countries need to increase their food production capacity, rather than relying heavily on imports that have left them vulnerable to price spikes and shortages. The continent is facing …