AfDB Transforming Africa's Agriculture for Inclusive Growth and Food Security

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allAfrica

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has come with concrete proposals aimed at helping Africa address the key challenges that are hampering its agricultural sector and food security in the continent.

Agriculture is Africa's backbone, and it holds great promise for future growth and job creation. It employs 65-70% of the African workforce and accounts for roughly a third of the continent's GDP. Women make up more than half of Africa's farmers and produce up to 90% of the continent's food. Promoting agricultural production and food security is therefore one of the most effective ways to drive inclusive growth and reduce poverty.

However, the lingering volatility of food prices, which was one of the factors and vulnerabilities that caused the 2011-2012 food crises, has not disappeared in 2013 and is expected to remain in the coming years. In that regard, "the current food insecurity the Sahel is experiencing is much more a reflection of the region's chronic, long-term vulnerability, than the result of a sudden, short-term shock such as a single drought in 2011," said Chiji Ojukwu, AfDB's director in charge of Agriculture and Agro-Industry.

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