President William Ruto Speaking during the Dakar 2 Summit.
President William Ruto has
challenged African leaders to take the discourse on agriculture beyond
production to value addition and manufacturing.
He said Africa has the
potential to produce surplus food and process for export.
The Head of State noted that this will generate more
income and create jobs, especially for the youth.
Speaking during the Dakar 2
Summit – Feed Africa in Senegal on Wednesday, President Ruto said these are the
initiatives that will transform Africa.
“We should not be discussing about food shortage 60
years after independence.”
In a panel discussion of Heads of State and Governments,
President Ruto said the upscaling of agriculture in the continent would require
the right input, technology, enhanced irrigation and mechanisation.
“Young people are also critical in the revival of
our agriculture. Crucially, the greater the infusion of technology, the better
the returns.” He warned against dependence on rain-fed agriculture saying
many countries in Africa experience hunger due to this.
Irrigation, the President explained, will assure Africa
of enough food for consumption and export. “There is no magic to enhanced
agricultural production; more fertiliser use translates to more production.”
Senegal President said Macky Sall, the co-convener of
the summit, said it was regrettable that Africa had become dependent on food
imports despite its great agricultural potential. He called on African
Governments and development partners to work together to reverse the trend.
“African should learn to feed itself and contribute to
feeding the rest of the world,” he said. “We need to allocate at least 10
per cent of our budget to agriculture.”
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina called on African leaders to utilise aridable
land to feed the continent and end the existing dependence on food imports.
“What
Africa does with agriculture today will determine the future of food security
in the world,” he added. He said AfDB will invest the 10 billion USD in
the next five years to support food production in Africa.
