From Tanzania Daily News. Story by Henry Lyimo.
African leaders, business people and development partners pledged more than $30 billion US in investments to increase production, income and employment for small scale farmers and local African agricultural businesses over the next 10 years.
The collective pledges at the African Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, are believed to represent the largest package of financial commitment to the agricultural sector in Africa to date.
The commitments were made Sept. 5 to Sept. 9 at the Sixth African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which attracted more than 1,500 people from 40 countries to broker new agricultural initiatives.
The historic investments represent just the first wave of support for the new “Seize the Moment” campaign backed by the African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the African Development Bank, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), companies and donor countries.
While agriculture in Africa has seen significant progress in the last 10 years, the campaign is a frank acknowledgement that much more is needed for African countries to achieve inclusive economic development.
The campaign is a decisive push for the political, policy and financial commitments essential to transform Africa’s agricultural sector.
The goal: A new era of business opportunities for the 70 percent of the African population that depend on farming for food and income, yet too often face poverty and poor nutrition.
Joined by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened the AGRA 2016 by laying out a bold vision of how agricultural transformation should play out in Kenya and across Africa.
Kenyatta said his government will invest $200 million US so that at least 150,000 young farmers and young agricultural entrepreneurs can gain access to markets, finance and insurance.
He called on his fellow leaders across Africa to step up and invest aggressively.
Read more at Tanzania Daily News.
