The African Development Bank and Food and Agricultural Organisation are set to raise $100m for agriculture in a bid to end hunger and malnutrition and create wealth in Nigeria and other African countries.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the AfDB said both organisations would work together in strategic alliance to raise funds to promote food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development.
The FAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads global efforts to defeat hunger. The collaborative programme would be created through an initial financial contribution of up to $15m by the two institutions.
The statement said the AfDB and the FAO agreed to boost joint efforts aimed at catalysing agriculture sector investments in Africa to end hunger and malnutrition and increase prosperity throughout the continent.
In terms of the agreement, the AfDB and the FAO remained committed to raise up to $100m over five years to support joint activities, the statement said.
Specifically, the new strategic alliance seeks to enhance the quality and impact of investment in food security, nutrition, social protection, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina and FAO Director-General José da Silva signed the agreement, which builds on a longstanding collaboration between their organisations, at the UN agency’s Rome headquarters.
Da Silva was quoted to have said. “The FAO and the African Development Bank are deepening and broadening our partnership to assist African countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Leveraging investments in agriculture, including from the private sector, is key to lifting millions of people from hunger and poverty in Africa and to ensuring that enough food is produced and that enough rural jobs are created for the continent’s growing population.”
On the other hand, Adesina said, “The signing of this supplementary agreement is a milestone moment in the relationship between the AfDB and the FAO.
“It signals our joint commitment to accelerate the delivery of high quality programmes and increased investment for public-private partnerships in Africa’s agriculture sector. This will help us achieve the vision of making agriculture a business as enshrined in the bank’s Feed Africa strategy.”
The bank’s Feed Africa strategy inaugurated in 2015 targets investment of $24bn in African agriculture over a 10-year period.
The aim is that of improving agricultural policies, markets, infrastructure and institutions to ensure that agricultural value chains are well developed and that improved technologies are made available to reach several million farmers.