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. . . tasks African nations on agric revolution
Mar 10, 2010, 15:43
| | The Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has said African countries can surmount the challenges of the global economic recession by exploiting the rich potentials of their agricultural sectors.
He stated this on Wednesday March 10 at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the High Level Conference on Development of Agro-businesses and industries in Africa, which held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Jonathan said, “A robust Agribusiness and Agro-industry holds the key to economic transformation and sustainable development in Africa. Our resources are primarily ours for survival, and we must utilize them efficiently and effectively for the present and the future.”
The Acting President noted that the crash in prices of Africa’s major export commodities including crude oil, gold and cocoa, as well as the slump in earnings and profits of companies are visible effects of the recession, which he said can be countered through economic diversification to accommodate more robust agricultural programmes and initiatives.
He emphasised the Nigerian Government’s commitment to food security and employment generation through various medium-term (2010-2013) development funding plans, which include the N242bn set aside by the Federal Government to boost Nigeria’s agriculture value-chain.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to socio-economic transformation so as to place our country among the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020,” Jonathan stated, adding that a special focus on agriculture is required to fast-track this aspiration.
President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Koroma, called for a regional approach to tackling common agricultural challenges, in addition to committed country efforts aimed at poverty reduction and employment generation especially for women and youths.
Tanzanian Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, who represented President Kikwete, also called for periodic reappraisals of respective country efforts on implementation of resolutions reached at the conference.
The Summit produced and adopted the Abuja Declaration on development of Agribusiness and agro-industries in Africa, which endorsed the African Agribusiness and Agro-Industries Development Initiative (3ADI) urging African nations to - establish the requisite legal, regulatory and institutional framework to support agribusiness and agro-industry development; take measures to foster improved financing of agriculture value-chain by banks and donor agencies, among other resolutions.
Keynote speakers at the conference include the Chairman of the African Union Commission, the President of the African Development Bank (ADB), the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Director General, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development (UNIDO) and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). They were unanimous in advocating an agriculture revolution in Africa and increased capitalization of Agro-businesses in the continent.
The summit was well attended by representatives from about 40 African countries.
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