The president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has emphasised the importance of agriculture and food security to the growth and development of Africa.

Speaking at a high level conference on agricultural transformation themed ‘Feeding Africa,’ Adesina said nothing is more important than food, noting that while Africa had risen on the back of new discoveries of oil and gas fields, in reality, no one eats oil or gas.

He stated, “People eat food. Access to food in quantity and quality is a fundamental human right. Just few weeks ago at the United Nations General Assembly, the world took a bold decision to approve the Sustainable Development Goals. In my meeting with the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, he told me: ‘The SDGs must succeed in Africa. If they do not succeed there, they cannot be said to have succeeded’.

“Africa is clearly the continent on the rise. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa. Real income has risen by 30 per cent in the last 10 years. Foreign Direct Investment has risen to $64 billion, while remittances have reached $56 billion, exceeding total official development assistance.”

Credit: Leadership