Agric Output From Africa Can Hit $1tn, Says Adesina

Akinwunmi Adesina, the African Development Bank (AfDB) President, has predicted that with the removal of barriers to agricultural development aided by new investments, the continent’s agricultural output could increase from $280 billion per year to $1 trillion by 2030.

Adesina, in a statement to herald the Dakar II summit scheduled to hold today at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center in Diamniadio, Senegal’s capital city Dakar, said this is the time to invest in Africa’s future, pointing out that the continent has more than 60% of the world’s remaining arable land, and millions of Africans are productive in the agriculture sector.

He stressed that the continent is home to a third of the world’s 850 million people living with hunger, assuring that the Dakar II Summit will mobilise political commitment, development partner and private sector investment, establish much-needed policies and strategically drive actions to deliver at scale.

“This landmark event will be a turning point towards food sovereignty and resilience for the entire continent. The International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and several bilateral partners are among international supporters of the summit,” he added.

He stated that the summit is at the heart of the Bank Group’s Feed Africa Strategy, one of the institution’s High 5 priority areas to support African countries to significantly increase agricultural growth, adding that the summit is a follow-up to the 2015 inaugural edition, during which the Feed Africa Strategy for Agricultural Transformation (2016-2025) in Africa, was proposed.