Agriculture will produce future African millionaires, billionaires, says Adesina

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has called on African leaders to make agriculture a really cool choice for young people so that the future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will come initially from agriculture.
 
Akinwumi Adesina
 President, African Development Bank 
Adesina made this observation at the just-concluded G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy, stressing that it is essential for African leaders to create greater economic opportunities for young people to stay home and live a meaningful life instead of migrating to European countries.

He said, “The future of Africa’s youth does not lie in migration to Europe; it should not be at the bottom of the Mediterranean; it lies in a prosperous Africa. We must create greater economic opportunities for our youth right at home in Africa. That’s why AfDB has launched the Jobs for Youth in Africa initiative, with the goal of creating 25 million jobs within 10 years, with a focus on agriculture and ICT.

“We must turn rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity. This requires new agricultural innovations and transforming agriculture into a sector for creating wealth. We must make agriculture a really cool choice for young people. The future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will come initially from agriculture,” he added.

According to the AfDB Chief, the new spring in the bank’s step for Africa’s development comes from its high five priorities — Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. He stated that these high five would help to achieve 90 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals for Africa and 90 percent of Agenda 2063.

“Africa needs innovation. This is crucial for access to energy, because 645 million Africans do not have access to electricity. Africa cannot develop in the dark; Africa needs an energy revolution,” he said.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric forum to encourage greater technology use by women

Image
Organizers of a one-day agricultural forum for women in Benin, the Edo State capital, have said the event will focus on increasing the awareness of available agricultural and outreach technologies for women in agriculture. The forum which will be anchored by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE) with funding from UK Aid, is collaborating with Markets II, funded by USAID and Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND and the Edo State Cooperative Farmers’ Agency is being held for womenas part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Mr. Fidelis Ekom, MADE’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, in a statement at the weekend said the forum also seeks to facilitate mindset change for women in the adoption of modern technologies and to facilitate engagement between women in agriculture and relevant value chain actors. Ekom said the forum will bring together women farmers in aquaculture, cassava, palm oil, poultry, hon
Read more

7 FEPSAN members to produce 1m tonnes under Presidential Fertiliser Initiative

Image
Seven active blending companies within the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have been revived and are among the 1st of five batches that would produce 1 million tonnes of fertiliser under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Thomas Etuh, President of FEPSAN has said. Etuh who disclosed this while speaking on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative noted that most of the plants owned by FEPSAN members are being revived after being dormant for over a decade. He expressed the hope that more plants would join the initiative before the end of April “Some of the blending plants which have already been supplied with raw materials including phosphate from Morocco and are blending include Fertiliser and Chemicals Ltd, Kaduna, producing 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertilizer Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, supplying 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos. “Others blending plants ha
Read more

Over 100 exhibitors from 18 countries register for agrofood Nigeria 2017

Image
Fairtrade, the German trade fair specialist organisation, has said more than 100 exhibitors from 18 countries have confirmed their participation at the agrofood Nigeria, making it a record participation. The event which will take place from 28 to 30 March 2017 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos has attracted exhibitors from Austria, Benin, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. agrofood Nigeria consists of the following exhibition topics: Agriculture, Process & Packaging, Food Ingredients, Food & Drinks and Foodservice Equipment. “For the third year, the French agrofood association adepta leads a delegation of French companies to agrofood Nigeria”, said Aude Roelly, Area Sales Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, adepta. “From farm to fork, companies specialized into equipment and know-how for agriculture, livestock, food processing and packaging offer their
Read more