By Francis H. Murray
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has told President Julius Maada Bio that the bank is set to invest the sum of US$14 million in the country’s agriculture sector by June this year.
He made this disclosure to the President and his delegation on the margins of the just concluded African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
‘‘Malnutrition accounts for at least 11% of Africa's Gross Domestic Product. We have 65 % of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land. We have an abundance of freshwater and about 300 days of sunshine a year. There’s no reason for anyone to go hungry,” Adesina told President Bio, according to a press statement issued by the President’s office.
The AfDB President alluded to the Brazilian model of reducing malnutrition, which he said had a zero hunger programme that prioritized high level of hygiene, high quality of food and feeding in schools and made sure that most of what was supplied and served were produced by local farmers.
The engagement in Addis Ababa centered on the possible ways the Bank could work with Sierra Leone to improve farming, scale up nutrition and defeat stunted growth among children.
Adesina also expressed an interest to visit Sierra Leone in mid-March this year to specifically target innovation in agriculture, tackle corruption in fertilizer, seeds acquisition and distributions to farmers in the country prior to the finalization of the arrangement for the investment.
Adesina, who was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2015, is widely known to have reduced the risk of corruption in the fertilizer industry by putting the private sector in charge of delivery.
He therefore urged the government of Sierra Leone to adopt that model by having a direct stake in the feeding of their children in schools, which would increase enrolment, retention and the overall achievement of reducing hunger and meeting the nutrition target of the country.
Sierra Leone already has a feeding program in primary schools as part of the government’s Free Quality Education policy.
In his remarks, President Bio said: “We have placed food security at the center of our Human Capital Development priorities. We believe that food security and nutrition are inextricably connected to the total development of the human being in achieving their full potential.”
The 33rd AU summit, which opened on Sunday February 9 in Addis Ababa, was held under the theme "Silencing the Guns: Creating conducive conditions for Africa's development". It ended on Monday February 10. It was attended by more than 35 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of regional and international organizations.
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