Africa makes great strides in tackling hunger – FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has commended Africa for making great strides in tackling hunger – achieving a 30 per cent drop in the proportion of its people facing hunger from 1990-2015.
The FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, however, said climate change, conflict and social inequality continued to present major challenges in the continent’s quest for a future free from hunger and want.
“Africa’s economic performance remains robust with growth rates above the global average,” Graziano da Silva stated in his address at the opening of the FAO’s Regional Conference for Africa taking place this week in Abidjan.
A statement issued by the FAO and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday said among the participants was the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan.
According to Graziano da Silva; “Vulnerability to climate change is high, post-harvest losses are considerable, natural resources are being depleted, and not everyone is benefiting from the proceeds of the current strong economic growth.
“Access to remunerative income, social protection systems and decent employment opportunities remain narrow for too many rural households,” Graziano da Silva said.
He urged Africa to continue to work together to harness the power of the food and agriculture sector as a catalyst for inclusive growth, poverty reduction and fighting hunger, adding; “in spite of the many hurdles along the way, today I urge you to look at how far we have come in the journey to end hunger in our lifetimes.”
The conference, on the theme: ”Transforming African Agri-food Systems for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity” mirrors the vision of the African Union and its NEPAD Planning and Co-ordinating Agency to realise a renewed vision for Africa’s agriculture sector.
“This conference adds momentum to the push for a fundamental shift in the orientation of Africa’s agricultural and rural development towards transforming the lives of Africans under the 2014 Malabo Declaration and outlined in Agenda 2063,” the Director-General said.
More than 300 people are participating in the event, including 51 African ministers of agriculture and related sectors, as well as technical experts and development specialists, representatives of regional organisations and institutions, members of civil society, and the private sector.
Graziano da Silva highlighted climate change and conflict as two particularly pressing challenges for Africa.
The ongoing El Niño cycle is affecting large parts of the African Continent, especially the southern sub-region as well as parts of East Africa, notably Ethiopia and Tanzania, and has taken a major toll on agriculture, while conflicts in the Central African Republic, Somalia, and South Sudan continued to have serious food insecurity repercussions, he said.
FAO is working in all these hotspots, providing farmers with seeds, tools, and other support vital to maintaining and strengthening their ability to produce food and earn income.
“These crisis vividly remind us of the importance of scaling up resilient interventions targeting vulnerable populations whose livelihoods mainly depend on agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry and other renewable natural resources,” Graziano da Silva said.
He underscored the importance of preventing diseases like Ebola which impacted food security and people’s livelihoods in West Africa.
Delivering on the 2025 Zero Hunger challenge as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require the efforts of an alliance of partners, and “FAO stands ready to support Africa member states in the delivery of the SDGs in firm collaboration with the African Union, other regional institutions and humanitarian and development partners,” Graziano da Silva said.
The FAO, in 2012, helped to pioneer the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund which mobilises funds donated by African countries in support of food security projects in less-well off parts of the continent.
So far $34.5 million have been allocated to 15 programmes and projects in 36 different countries, boosting efforts to eradicate hunger.
He encouraged governments to continue to resource the fund which was working to transform African agriculture and make it an engine for shared growth and prosperity.
Source: GNA