The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned yesterday that despite notable recent economic progress, Africa remains the world’s most food insecure continent and calls on all African agriculture ministers to focus their investments and support efforts on smallholder farmers, including youth and women.
With an average annual GDP increase of 4.8 percent between 2000 and 2010 – up from 2.1 percent in the previous decade – Africa has seven out of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world.
The agricultural sector, in particular, has progressed considerably, with the intensification of staple food production, improved varieties of banana in eastern and central Africa, high-yielding varieties of maize in east and southern Africa and increased productivity in cotton production in Burkina Faso and Mali, and in tea and floriculture in east Africa. On average, agricultural production has increased slightly less than 1 percent per year, compared with about 2 percent in developing countries.
Despite all the progress, levels of hunger and undernourishment remain worrying in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa, FAO warns, estimating that of the 388 million who live in extreme poverty in the continent, approximately 239 million are chronically undernourished.
FAO insists that there are significant opportunities for accelerating smallholder-driven agriculture and agribusiness in Africa as the basis for transforming and commercializing the sector. READ MORE
Source: UN News Centre #IFAMAFRICA
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