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UN agency calls for investment in rural Africa to curb migration

Xinhua, July 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Monday called on African and EU governments to invest more in Africa's rural areas to stem the flow of economic migrants.

President of IFAD, Kanayo F. Nwanze, said: "People are leaving the rural areas of Africa because they can't find jobs or feed their families, and the ripple effects are felt here in Europe."

He called for investment in rural areas in Africa to help African countries improve their agricultural production.

"The irony is that Africa spends 35 billion U.S. dollars a year on food imports. It is time to stop creating jobs in other countries and redirect that investment to their own agricultural transformation," Nwanze said in a statement received in Nairobi as African and European agricultural ministers are set to meet in The Netherlands later on Monday.

The three-day meeting is expected to focus on how to deepen cooperation between Africa and Europe to invest in food and nutrition security.

Nwanze will speak at the opening of the African Union-European Union Conference of Ministers of Agriculture.

Africa contains half of the world's uncultivated land suitable for growing food crops and only five percent of it is irrigated, according to IFAD.

"This could turn farming into a sustainable and profitable business and lift millions of rural Africans out of poverty. This would make migration a choice rather than a necessity," Nwanze said. Endit