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Roundup: African leaders renew pledge to catalyze green revolution

Xinhua, September 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Heads of state and government from several African countries on Wednesday renewed political commitment to hasten green revolution in the continent.

The leaders who spoke at the sixth Africa Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi agreed that political action, financing, policy reforms and technology adoption were key to revolutionize food production in Africa.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in his opening remarks said that a vibrant agriculture sector is key to socio-economic renewal across the African continent.

"Agriculture provides an avenue for decent jobs and incomes for key demographics like women and youth. The sector is eleven times more effective in reducing poverty," Kenyatta said.

Thousands of delegates from government, industry, academia and civil society are attending the sixth African green revolution forum that runs from Sept. 5 to 9.

The high-level forum will discuss and adopt sweeping declarations to advance food security agenda in Africa.

Kenyatta said that robust partnerships were an imperative to strengthen the capacity of African countries to implement continental instruments on advancing agricultural transformation.

He singled out speedy implementation of Malabo Declaration endorsed by African leaders in 2014 to revolutionize farming in order to boost food security and rural incomes.

"We pledged in Malabo to double agricultural productivity levels by 2025 and make it a multi-billion dollar industry. Therefore, we must integrate continental vision of agricultural transformation into domestic policies," said Kenyatta

He disclosed the Kenyan government will invest 200 million U.S. dollars over the next five years to ensure young farmers have access to finance, inputs and markets.

"The new financing will also support value addition and agro-processing," Kenyatta told delegates

Transformation of the agriculture sector in Africa is directly linked to economic growth, shared prosperity and peaceful co-existence.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said private sector investments, adoption of improved crop varieties and streamlined value chains will boost productivity of the agriculture sector in Africa.

"A transformed agriculture sector will be the bedrock of Africa's future prosperity," Kagame remarked, adding that supportive policies alongside investments in energy and transport infrastructure will enhance productivity of agriculture sector in Africa. Endit