AFRICA SPENDS $35 BILLION ANNUALLY ON FOOD IMOORTATION says IFAD
Africa spends $35 billion a year on food importation says the President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mr Kanayo Nwanze says This is contained in a statement issued by the IFAD and made available to the press in Abuja. According to the statement Nwanze made the disclosure at the opening of a three-day African Union-European Union Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, tagged: “Investing in a Food Secure Future.’’ The conference, which was hosted the Government of The Netherlands, discussed how to deepen cooperation between Africa and Europe to mutually invest in food and nutrition security. Nwanze said that investing more in Africa’s rural areas will stem the flow of economic migrants and minimize the acts of desperation that makes the continent’s newspaper headlines. “People are leaving the rural areas of Africa because they can’t find jobs or feed their families and the ripple effects are felt here in Europe. “The irony is that Africa spends $