By Respondent Reporter
Tanzania is setting new benchmarks in food
self-sufficiency across Africa, raising hope that the fight against hunger and
malnutrition on the continent is achievable.
President
Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania said her country had reached 128 percent food
security and is now exporting surplus to neighbouring countries.
She was
speaking on Thursday 31 October during a high-level session at the World Food
Prize Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue in Iowa, moderated by the president
of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina. The session,
entitled “Bold Measures to Feed Africa,” also featured the President of Sierra Leone,
Julius Maada Bio.
President
Suluhu Hassan told a packed auditorium, that after achieving food sufficiency, “we
are now working on quality, accessibility and affordability, and how to
minimize post-harvest loses.”
Adesina
praised President Suluhu Hassan’s leadership and strong political will for Tanzania’s
success. He said the growing commitment of other African nations, underscores the
continent’s readiness for large-scale investment in agriculture and food
production.
He
recalled how the African Development Bank’s 2023 Dakar 2 Food Summit ignited
commitment across Africa for country-specific food and agriculture compacts. The
summit, co-hosted by the government of Senegal and the African Union, was attended
by 34 African Heads of State and Government. It has mobilized more than $72
billion to date.
President
Suluhu Hassan said Tanzania left Dakar 2 summit with a signed compact and
determination to implement increasing productivity as well as the political
will to create institutions and support structures for its farmers.
“We
realized that not investing in agriculture is much more costly than investing
in the sector,” she said.
Tanzania
has broken another record by becoming a processor and net exporter of cashew
nuts, which for nearly all African countries, are processed in Asia. The
country has also succeeded in rural electrification with nearly 100 percent of
its 12,300 villages with electricity, President Suluhu Hassan said.
Backed by investment from the
African Development Bank, Tanzania’s Creating jobs for Youth and Women programme
is targeting the country’s 65% youth population with training in farming,
agriculture, livestock and crop farming.
The Tanzanian leader said each youth is given 10 acres of land and is supported by training, already 11,000 have benefitted and this year’s harvest has begun. “We thank the African Development Bank for supporting that program,” she said.
Joining Adesina on stage, President
Bio of Sierra Leone shared his country’s success with the Feed Salone program,
which has cut rice imports by 20 million tons and spurred agricultural
productivity.
Until then the nation had not paid
enough attention to food security and Bio said he had focused on education
during his first term. “Agriculture is the basis of development,” President Bio
stated.
The Feed Salone programme has
helped boost agricultural productivity to feed the nation and to enable them
export. “Already we have reduced rice imports by 20 million tons,” he said.
“We are here to share the Sierra
Leone story and invite investors. We are an ambitious nation and want to
succeed to attract investors,” President Bio said.
Adesina highlighted the African
Development Bank’s efforts to reshape global perceptions of Africa and drive
investment in critical sectors like agriculture.
He said the event and the Africa Dialogue,
also hosted by the African Development Bank in Iowa, was intended to break stereotypes
and showcase Africa’s potential, a continent that is home to 65% of the world’s
remaining arable land and has the technology to turn Africa into a global food
basket.
“This is why we bring African
leaders here so you can hear from them directly,” Adesina said.
The 2024 Norman E. Borlaug Dialogue
gathers experts worldwide to inspire innovative solutions to global hunger.
This year’s theme, “Seeds of Opportunity, Bridging Generations and Cultivating
Diplomacy,” champions collaboration, legacy, and hope in the fight for food
security.
Adesina recalled the words of
Norman E. Borlaug to him shortly before his death in 2009 at 95 years old.
“He told me keep on scoring goals
for Africa,” Adesina said. “If you are not investing in Africa, what are you
doing?”