The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN), an
initiative to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years
through sustained agricultural growth, was yesterday launched in Accra.
Initiated by the G-8 nations, African countries and the
Private sector, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a response
to many African Countries strong commitment to the promotion and protection of
food security and nutrition, articulated in multiple settings since 2003
Nii Amasa Namoale, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture,
on behalf of the Minister, Mr Kwasi Awhoi, launched the project and said the
initiative had been designed to accelerate the implementation of programmes
started by African countries themselves to urgently address the twin problems
of food security and nutrition in Africa.
He said the issue of food security and nutrition involve
many dimensions including food availability, affordability, nutritional quality
and safety, access to and cost of finance to farmers, public expenditure in
agriculture, research and development, and private sector investment in
agriculture.
Nii Namoale said: "The initiative is seen by government
as an opportunity to enhance the focus and level of investment and accelerate
the implementation of Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan".
He said for decades, the G-8 and other developed countries had engaged with African partners to address the challenges and opportunities in Africa for sustainable growth and development.
He said, however, that it had been recognised that
international assistance alone could not fulfill the objectives which were even
more pressing now as Africa’s role was expanding in the global economy.
Nii Namoale said under the initiative, agriculture related
agencies in Ghana needed to marshal efforts and resources in partnership to
accelerate modernisation and achieve sustainable food security outcomes, reduce
poverty and end hunger.
He said engagement of decentralised levels for their roles
and contributions to the growth and development of the agriculture sector and
rural livelihoods was crucial to the success of the programme.
Mr Donald Teitelbaum, outgoing United States Ambassador to
Ghana, said the G-8 and African leaders had been working on the initiative to
ensure comprehensive agriculture development on the African continent.
He said G-8 members were supporting the Global Agriculture
and Food Security Programme with a pledge of $1.2 billion over three years in
existing and new donors for the public and private sector windows.
He said the G-8 and African partners have designed country
cooperation framework in Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania.
Mr Teitelbaum said some multinational and nine private
sector companies in Ghana had signed letters of intent to support Ghana’s
agriculture sector.
He said late President Atta Mills was one of the few African
leaders who were invited to attend a meeting in Camp David concerning the
initiative.
He said late President Mills recognised that heavy
investment in agriculture would go a long way to boost food production and
ensure nutrition for the people.
0 comments:
Post a Comment