Africa’s Quest for Food Self-Sufficiency Requires Servant Leader

Addis Ababa: African leaders underscored that the continent's agricultural sector requires dedicated leadership in order to achieve self-sufficiency in food. Ethiopia hosted a high-level event today on Food Self-Reliance in Africa, titled "Africa Can Be Food Self-Reliant: Climate-Smart Solutions and Collective Action for Food System Transformation," on the sideline of the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union's Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The event held at the recently inaugurated Adwa Victory Memorial highlighted the need for self-sufficiency. During the forum, Ethiopian President Sahle-work Zewde emphasized that 90 percent of Africa's agriculture relies on rainfall and highlighted the adverse effects of climate change on the continent's agricultural practices. She also identified limited access to finance and other challenges as significant obstacles to ensuring food security. President Sahle-work, citing Ethiopia's leadership role in Pan Africanism, highlighted the country's practi cal efforts towards achieving food self-sufficiency in recent years. She emphasized the importance of modernizing agriculture to ensure food sovereignty and integrating the Green Legacy Initiative into the food system to address climate change. She also urged other countries to learn from Ethiopia's success and work diligently to ensure food security. Africans can ensure their food sovereignty if they unite and should learn from Adwa's victory, the president indicated. Prime Minister Success Masra of the Transitional Government of Chad on his part emphasized that Africa's independence would remain incomplete unless the continent grows its own food. He expressed concern over the billions of dollars invested in food imports despite the continent's immense potential. Prime Minister Masra mentioned about the efforts being made in Chad to address the challenges of the sector stressing the need to shift focus towards increasing agricultural production and building a sustainable system that is independent of ra infall. He indicated the importance of developing agricultural value chain to transform agriculture from a manifestation of poverty to a source of wealth. Uganda's Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze, on his part underscored the country's commitment to ensuring food security by prioritizing support for smallholder farmers. He emphasized comprehensive support for farmers with small to large holdings as a crucial step towards achieving food self-sufficiency. Helena Simido, Deputy Director General of the World Food and Agriculture Organization, acknowledged Africa's progress towards self-sufficiency in food and emphasized the importance of strengthening these efforts. She highlighted the need for adequate financial support and capacity building for farmers, along with ambitious planning and implementation, to achieve the national goal of self-sufficiency in a short period. The CEO of the Commercial and Development Bank, Admasu Tadesse on his part emphasized the need for financial institutions, includi ng his own, to recognize the viability of the agricultural sector and allocate sufficient funds. He said that such support is crucial for Africa to achieve both self-sufficiency and surplus production for export. Dr. Namukolo Covic, East and Southern Africa Director of the International Agricultural Research Advisory Group, stressed the importance of research in modernizing African agriculture. Ibrahim Sheikh Diong, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, emphasized the need for Africa to build a climate-proof system. He highlighted the significance of green development, technology transfer, and focusing on farmers to achieve this goal. Minister of Agriculture Dr. Girma Amente expressed satisfaction with the successful forum, which focused on Africa's potential for food self-sufficiency. He said Ethiopia has shared its experience in wheat cultivation, the Green Legacy Initiative, the Bounty of Basket program, and fruits and vegetables, emphasizing the importance of sharing knowledge and experie nces among African nations. Source: Ethiopian News Agency