African leaders urged to invest more into agriculture
A new report issued by Oxfam, an international charity organization, on Thursday showed that although many countries pledged to increase their funding to 10 percent of their national budgets, many were backtracking.
Some, according to African Union (AU) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Josefa Sacko, argue that the percentage should be brought down because their economies are not big.
More than 10 years since the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) was launched, hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty have persisted. The Oxfam report, dubbed "Broken Promise! Financing African Small Holder Agriculture" blames that on low investment in the sector.
Agnes Kalibata, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), argued that there is evidence that countries which have adopted and implemented the CAADP have registered over 6 percent growth, citing Ethiopia.
"The first adopters have been some of the fastest developing countries on this continent," she told reporters. "It is not about minerals but investing in agriculture."
Read more at news.xinhuanet.com
