Bold measures needed to tame rising food prices – PM Ngirente

Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has said that Africa need to take bold measures to address the soaring food prices that he says are making it difficult for families and communities to meet their own food needs. He was speaking at the opening of the 12th annual summit of the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) that started Tuesday September 6 in Kigali. The AGRF is Africa’s premier forum aimed at driving the food and agriculture agenda on the continent. The one-week summit has drawn over 2,600 participants including stakeholders in the agriculture take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. Ngirente said that the agriculture value chain, just like other sectors was disturbed by Covid-19 pandemic and according to him, “while most countries are recovering from this global shock, our ability to get together more than ever is key in advancing food systems to ensure food security for our people.” He added that, “The current high food prices we are experiencing nowadays, makes it difficult for families and communities to meet their own food needs. This calls for bold measures to improve our capabilities for sustainable food production and supply to markets. What we do now impacts tomorrow’s results.” Among the measures he suggested include increasing investment in strategic areas of agricultural value chain such as reduction of post-harvest losses, which are estimated between 30% and 40% of total production in developing countries, use of fertilisers and improved seeds, adoption of smart agriculture as well as de-risking the sector will build resilient and sustainable food security. On the national level, Ngirente said that as Africa works to achieve sustainable food systems, Rwanda continues to invest in several initiatives. “These include establishing post-harvest handling facilities to limit food losses and waste. We are also promoting use of smart farming techniques, such as increasing irrigation coverage to mitigate the negative effects of climate change as well as the use of agriculture ICT systems. The chairperson of AGRF Partners Group, Hailemariam Desalegn also insisted that Africa needs bold actions to stop hunger. “Food systems transformation is related to agriculture health, nutrition, education, trade, and industrialization, he said. Unless food systems are transformed, Africa might be the only hungry continent by 2030,” said Desalegn, who is also the former prime minister of Ethiopia. Meanwhile, on the margins of the summit, the 2022 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR22) was launched and called on governments to lead and coordinate domestic and external efforts to urgently and holistically tackle food insecurity in the continent. According to the report, estimates of Africa’s investment needs to trigger and sustain agro-food transformation range from US$40 billion and US$77 billion every year from the public sector, and up to US$180 billion in private sector funding. According to Desalegn “We are in a time when we need urgent action because every minute we don't take action, at least an adult, two children and two women fall below the poverty line due to hunger and malnutrition.” Under the theme Grow. Nourish. Reward – Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems, the Summit is seeking to find catalytic solutions to grow the coordinated and large-scale action by stakeholders across multiple sectors, nourish innovations and cultivate country solutions that will translate the commitments made into actionable strategies and progress on the ground, and reward and recognize champions and celebrate country pathways.

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Bold measures needed to tame rising food prices – PM Ngirente