Achievements on food security is way to go

Rwanda should be proud to have a leader that is steering an audit on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The audit will be discussed at the United Nations (UN) headquarters this month and Rwanda will be showcasing her achievements in the areas of gender equality and empowerment of women and improvement in child maternal health. However, some of the MDGs like the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015 have been written off, with UN member states saying achieving this by the set target year is not possible. According to the UN, globally, the number of hungry people is rising every year. Figures indicated that by 2009, over 1.02 billion people, worldwide, went without food on a daily basis. The UN recently said that progress was uneven across regions with the poverty rate in the East African Region staying above 50 percent. However a new report released by Action Aid early this week indicates that Rwanda has made substantive achievements on food security. According to the report agriculture in Rwanda has improved mainly due to the increased investment in the sector, which rose by 30 percent between 2007 and 2009. The progress was made possible by a government policy which supports small-scale farmers with crucial tools and seeds, while expanding irrigation and supporting environmentally sustainable production methods to tackle the endemic problems of soil erosion. However, for the country to stay the course, more investments will be necessary to consolidate these gains. Stakeholders have to look at other prospects like legislation that encourages and supports agriculture. Ends

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Achievements on food security is way to go