AfDP president, Adesina bemoans high level poverty
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has listed inclusive growth, increased education and enhanced productivity in agriculture as panacea for the debilitating poverty level in the continent.
He bemoaned the high level of poverty and unemployment in the region and called on African governments to implement robust policies towards the industrialization of the agriculture sector in order to enhance revenue from exports.
Dr. Adesina, who made the assertion at a forum in Accra, Ghana, advised African governments to focus on agroindustrialisation that would add value to their exports and transform their economies from exporters of primary products to processed goods.
For instance, he said though Africa produced about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, its ratio in chocolate production was three percent.
He declared that agriculture was a very viable sector saying it pays and “nobody drinks oil. Nobody drinks gas but everybody eats food.”
The former Nigerian minister of agriculture also shared his success story, explaining how food production was given a boost in the country under his watch as minister. The Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has donated some relief materials to the Gwoza and Bama Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Durumi I Abuja.
Making the presentation, Director, Internal Conflict Prevention and Resolution of the institute, Peter Okpara said the grand objective of the visit was for peace-building.
He said that the IDPs have suffered a lot of displacement and trauma and history has showed that most people who go through such harrowing experience if not properly handled and rehabilitated eventually turn the gun against society out of annoyance.
“What we are doing is to go to different IDPs camp to talk to them and also let them realize that the nation is with them in their distress and also show them that what is happening to them can happen to anybody in the society,” he said.
The National Coordinator of Develop and Safe the Nigerian Child Initiative, Gift Orairo whose NGO partner with IPCR in support of the IPDs said they share in the pain of the IDPs.