By Isaiah Andanje In Lusaka
Despite the African Union Commission having put in place key recommendations to strengthen food security on the continent, through various stakeholders, the lack of investment has been cited as a stumbling block to the realisation of both the Maputo and Malabo programmes.
Further laxity by the political class to fully invest in agriculture has been a major hindrance in fighting poverty and hunger in Africa. While addressing the Post Malabo technical working groups in Lusaka, Zambia, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner, AUC-DARBE government of Zambia, blamed most African governments for failing to invest in the agricultural sector as well as educate and empower human capital and infrastructure to promote the sector.
She pointed out the predicaments small-scale farmers have been facing, ranging from storage and transportation to markets, leading to their produce perishing and hence escalating the severe food situation in Africa. “Agriculture is a key sector in most of our African countries as a source of income and livelihood, but failure by member states to inject enough funds into promoting its growth and sustainability is what has seen us hold meetings year after year to try to find out what could be the problem. Considering they have their financial budgets for the same, these are some of the issues that have brought us here to not only brainstorm but come up with lasting solutions to have a hunger-free Africa,” she reiterated.
The Commissioner observed that it was absurd for the continent to be grappling with matters of food security when it should be standing on its own two feet. “Look at the United States and even European Union (EU) countries; they have in place gigantic livestock, crop production, and fish farming structures to ensure that there is sufficient food supply chain for its citizens.”
The outgoing boss, who has served for two terms as the African Union commissioner (AUC-DARBE), challenged African member states with a population of over 1.4 billion people in its 55 countries to consider creating new job opportunities for the communities, considering that a huge number of them are unemployed. “It is time we empower the 70 per cent of our population that is based in local areas by upscaling our investments on food security as one way of creating employment for them through the agrifood system right from the production, distribution, and storage, and I hope that this validation workshop consisting of the 13 working groups for the post-Malabo conference that is finalising its work on how best the continent can stand on its own as far as matters of food security are concerned will offer better solutions on the implementation process.
“The challenges are huge, and this sector has never been receiving the necessary attention and support it deserves despite it being a strategic sector in that matter and mainstream in the socioeconomic transformation of the continent’s food basket, and we wish that the sector stands on its own, unlike the earlier recommendations to have it absolved and dissolved with that of the economic affairs.
During the African Union reforms, I fought for this sector to be separate and stand on its own, as I felt it wasn’t fair to merge it, and yet we were on the roadmap to achieve the peak of its development.”
