AfDB, FAO raise R1.4bn for African farming

THE AFRICAN Development Bank (AfDB) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) have agreed to join forces to end hunger in Africa, by raising up to R1.4 billion over five years for the agriculture sector.

The agreement was signed by bank president Akinwumi Adesina, and FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva at the UN agency’s Rome headquarters yesterday.

The new strategic alliance seeks to enhance the quality and impact of investment in food security, nutrition, social protection, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development.

Adesina said: “The signing of this supplementary agreement is a milestone moment in the relationship between the AfDB and FAO.

‘‘It signals our joint commitment to accelerate the delivery of high-quality programmes and increased investment for public-private-partnerships in Africa’s agriculture sector.

“This will help us achieve the vision of making agriculture a business, as enshrined in the Bank’s Feed Africa strategy.”

The Bank’s Feed Africa strategy, launched in 2015, targets to invest more than R340 trillion into African agriculture over a 10-year period.

Its aim is to improve agricultural policies, markets, infrastructure and institutions.

“Leveraging investments in agriculture, including from the private sector, is key to lifting millions of people from hunger and poverty in Africa and to ensuring that enough food is produced and that enough rural jobs are created for the continent’s growing population,” Graziano da Silva said.

FAO’s technical assistance would cover areas such as sustainable agricultural intensification and diversification, scaling up value chain innovations, youth in agriculture and agribusiness, agricultural statistics, climate smart agriculture, blue growth/blue economy, food security and nutrition, agri-food system, food safety and standards, women’s economic empowerment, promotion of responsible private investments, resilience and risk management and capacity building for transition states.

The collaborative programme would be created through an initial financial contribution of up to R221 million by the two institutions.

Joint advocacy and policy advice activities will include the promotion of the voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests and the principles for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems, both endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security.

Collaboration between the bank and the FAO include project formulation support in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea; technical assistance for the development of Blue economy programmes in Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Cape Verde; feasibility studies for agricultural transformation centres in Zambia, Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire; and participation in the African Leaders for Nutrition initiative.