President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigerian born Akinwunmi Adesina has unveiled plans by the bank to invest $24 billion in agriculture over the next 10 years in a bid to unlock its potential and assure food security in the continent.
Adesina, who spoke on the sideline of the ongoing Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, USA on Wednesday, said AfDB would provide support to strengthen African agricultural research and development systems to play significant roles in the transformation processes.
He expressed the need for supportive public policies and significant investments in infrastructure, especially for roads, irrigation, storage, warehousing and agro-processing.
Adesina, a former Agriculture Minister in Nigeria, said the support was to ensure that valuable research no longer simply gathered dust on the shelves of academia.
He said AfDB’s Feed Africa strategy had launched the Transformation of the African Savannah Initiatives (TASI) to help unlock the potential of the Savannas of Africa.
He said that the initiative would start by bringing approximately two million hectares of savannah in eight African countries – Ghana, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique.
According to him, the countries come under the cultivation of maize, soybean and livestock production in optimum conditions.
“Success in this endeavour requires that we wake up the savannas of Africa. When we do so, African agriculture will indeed rise up from its slumber," Adesina noted.
“Let’s wake up Africa’s savannas and turn them into the new wealth zones of Africa and unleash Africa as a global powerhouse in food. Together let arise and feed Africa.
“Valuable research must meet the needs of farmers and agri-businesses in ways that exponentially increase productivity and improve the quality of lives of our rural poor.
He said Africa must learn from the experiences that have worked elsewhere while tailoring the interventions to the specific realities of the continent.
“We must ensure that small, medium scale and large-scale commercial farmers co-exist in a way that allows opportunities for all. ” Partnerships in research and development will be crucial,” Adesina said.
He said AfDB’s Feed Africa strategy had launched the Transformation of the African Savannah Initiatives (TASI) to help unlock the potential of the Savannas of Africa.
He said that the initiative would start by bringing approximately two million hectares of savannah in eight African countries – Ghana, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique.
According to him, the countries come under the cultivation of maize, soybean and livestock production in optimum conditions.
“Success in this endeavour requires that we wake up the savannas of Africa. When we do so, African agriculture will indeed rise up from its slumber," Adesina noted.
“Let’s wake up Africa’s savannas and turn them into the new wealth zones of Africa and unleash Africa as a global powerhouse in food. Together let arise and feed Africa.
“Valuable research must meet the needs of farmers and agri-businesses in ways that exponentially increase productivity and improve the quality of lives of our rural poor.
He said Africa must learn from the experiences that have worked elsewhere while tailoring the interventions to the specific realities of the continent.
“We must ensure that small, medium scale and large-scale commercial farmers co-exist in a way that allows opportunities for all. ” Partnerships in research and development will be crucial,” Adesina said.
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