AGRA pledges $550mln fund for food security in Africa

Addis Ababa, September 13, 2022 (FBC) – The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) has announced a catalytic fund of $550 million for the next five years to boost efforts to improve food security on the continent that continues to struggle to feed itself.

Under the new policy, AGRA targets 28 million farmers in 15 countries to boost agricultural productivity and incomes.

The focus in the next five years, from 2023 to 2027, will be on improving seed systems, government engagement, agricultural supply chains and mitigating climate change.

“Hard-won gains are now under threat from external shocks, particularly the impact of climate change. The multi-season droughts in East Africa and extreme weather events like cyclones in Southern Africa have already changed everything,” said AGRA chairman and the former FDRE prime minister, Haile-Mariam Desalegn.

Haile-Mariam added, “Covid-19 put supply chains under intolerable pressure. The commodity price crisis, exacerbated by the Russia Ukraine crisis, is undermining food security and agriculture everywhere”.

“We want farmers to be able to gain and retain the access to the right seed, at the right price and at the right time,” he said.

The challenge facing most African countries is how to raise productivity and reduce food imports, as per the East African.