Africa needs to embrace economic
diversification as well as focus on agribusiness to lift the continent out of
poverty and put it on the path to prosperity, a senior United Nations official
said today.
"Agriculture is the most important
sector of the African economy and will have to be its driving engine out of
poverty. It accounts for 65 per cent of the continent's employment and 75 per
cent of its domestic trade," the Director-General of the UN Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, said in a news release.
He added that Africa is also urbanizing at a
fast rate, noting that "in order to turn bright prospects into employment
opportunities for its young people, Africa needs to embrace economic
diversification."
Mr. Yumkella's comments came at the Africa
Caucus Meeting in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), which brought together Africa's finance ministers, central bank
governors, and representatives of international development agencies and
financial institutions and where he was a keynote speaker.
The Director-General stressed the need to
boost agricultural productivity to achieve sustainable industrial and
agribusiness development as a means of wealth and job creation.
"The transformation of agricultural raw
materials into industrial products depends increasingly on the capacity of
African entrepreneurs to participate and compete in global, regional and local
value chains.
"Accordingly, African agribusiness value
chains will have to adapt to changing market conditions, continuously improve
efficiency and strive to meet consumer requirements in a competitive global
trade system," said Mr. Yumkella.
He added that Africa needs "new learning
and innovation systems involving regional cooperation, new types of
partnerships between farmers, sellers, investors and researchers, and the right
incentives and public actions that crowd-in rather than crowd-out private
investment."
Investment in transport infrastructure,
access to energy and water, information and communication technologies and
management efficiency were vital for agribusiness to thrive, he noted.
In 2012, in partnership with the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), UNIDO launched the Accelerated Agribusiness and
Agro-industries Development Initiative, or 3ADI, to promote value addition to
agricultural commodities. The initiative is now operational in 12 African
nations.
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