At UN, Sierra Leone calls for investment in agriculture to combat food crisis

A “massive investment in agriculture” is needed across Africa if the continent is to respond to the global food crisis sparked by soaring prices of basic crops, Sierra Leone’s President told the General Assembly’s high-level segment today.

In an address to the third day of the annual debate, Ernest Bai Koroma said that the resources of many African countries were so drained by programmes to deal with the impact of the food crisis that the stability of those nations were now at risk.

“It is vital that Africa increases food productivity and achieves food self-sufficiency,” he said, adding that the continent must become less dependent on donor hand-outs. “African farmers need to adopt higher-yielding land practices, with increased use of improved seeds, fertilizers and irrigation.”

Calling for a major increase in agricultural investment, Mr. Koroma backed the work of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which is chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and aims to help small-scale farmers boost their productivity and incomes.

“Sierra Leone, like many other countries in Africa, is suitably positioned to benefit from such investment because of its vast arable land, abundant water resources and the fact that over 70 per cent of its population is engaged in farming or farming-related activities.”

But Mr. Koroma stressed that it was also essential for affluent nations to end their agricultural subsidies and trade barriers, which he said were impoverishing African farmers.

Also addressing the General Assembly, President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi of Comoros said the twin food and energy crises, which affect developing countries more severely than others, demanded a new surge of international solidarity.

“The better endowed nations should pay more attention to the fate of certain parts of the world, and more particularly the developing countries, where violence, hunger, disease, all sorts of injustices, conflicts and their consequences constitute their daily lot,” he said.

For his part, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea called for a concerted effort to help Africa overcome poverty, hunger and other ills based on strengthening the continent’s socio-economic fabric.

“A good part of Africa’s fertile lands are still uncultivated but its productivity index is the lowest in the world because of the exodus from the countryside and the lack of incentives for farmers due to the high cost of input and the comparative prices in the international market,” he said, citing the high agricultural subsidies in rich countries.

He attacked excessive trade liberalization policies favoured by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) for exacerbating the soaring food price crisis for allowing highly subsidized food products to invade African markets and finish off the agriculture of our countries.”