| Japan has Promised to Help Africa Double its Rice Production by 2030 |
| The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised that Japan will help Africa double its Rice production by 2013. Mr. Abe made this known during a symposium hosted yesterday by the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) at the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) at Yokohama City, Japan. The SAA according to the Japanese Prime Minister will work with the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), to help African countries double their rice production to 50 million tonnes by 2030. The Prime Minister maintains that “Japanese technology can play a key role in innovation which is key to agriculture” .
The Symposium which focused on Africa’s youth bulge, unemployment rates, agricultural innovations and technologies, solutions and job creation opportunities in the agricultural sector had many African political leaders and institutions in attendance. Speaking, the Chairman of Nippon Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa said that his team always believed in the agriculture potential of Africa, and that they are paying more attention to income-generating activities than before. To this end, he is of the view that Nippon Foundation will help shift the mindset of small-holder farmers from producing-to-eat to producing-to-sell. “We are hopeful that Africa’s youth can take agriculture to a new era, and that they can see a career path in agriculture,” he added. The need to end global hunger was top priority at the event and this was reiterated by the President of African Development Bank Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina who called for urgent and concerted efforts to “end hunger”. Dr Adesina noted that in spite of all the gains made in agriculture, the world is yet not winning the global war against hunger. “We must all arise collectively and end global hunger. To do that, we must end hunger in Africa. Hunger diminishes our humanity,” Adesina urged. It could be recalled that the United Nation’s Fodd and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in its 2019 State of Food and Security warned that the number of hungry people globally stands at a disconcerting 821 million. Africa alone accounts for 31% of the global number of hungry people – 251 million people. Dr. Adesina commended the late founder of the Sasakawa Association, Ryochi Sasakawa, for his tireless efforts in tackling hunger, noting that it is passion, dedication and commitment to the development of agriculture and the pursuit of food security in our world has been the hallmark of Sasakawa’s work. Since coming to Africa, the Sasakawa Association had between 1986 and 2003 operated in a total of 15 countries including – Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique. |
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.