Africa explores appropriate financing for agricultural transformation

It has become imperative for Africa to develop appropriate financing tools for the development of agriculture on the continent, says Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Agency.
 

To further push the agriculture-led industrialization agenda, a high-level agricultural conference holding in Accra, Ghana, is focused on financing for transformation.

Thematic areas include, funding the African agricultural investment; agricultural finance landscape and policy environment; inclusive access to finance to empower women and youth; innovative delivery of financial services; value chain finance; and agriculture and food insecurity risk management.

“Africa can only make it happen if we collectively innovate and collectively agree to account for the resources injected and results and impact that ensue,” said Dr. Mayaki.

He was addressing the 12^th Comprehensive Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) Partnership Platform meeting on the theme: “Innovative Financing and Renewed Partnership to Accelerate Implementation of CAADP”.

The first ten years of the CAADP have served for a real life test of the abilities to create and maintain partnership around Africa’s priority number one – agriculture and food security.

The key challenge is how to implement public sector policies that attract private sector investments for inclusive growth and impact.

According to Dr. Mayaki, renewing partnership around CAADP will imply that “we apply our mind collectively to figure out whether the existing platforms can effectively be used to increase private sector dialogue; and hence investments.”

He added that “bold and innovative partnerships with farmers are needed because they are a critical component of the transformation agenda”.

Kenyan farmers’ representative, Philip Kiriro, says the ‘business as usual’ model will not be beneficial to agricultural development.

He believes cooperatives are ideal models for farmers to be formally organised as a business class in order to attract business financing.

Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the AU Commission, Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, is confident the goal of ending hunger by 2025 is attainable by making agriculture attractive to the youth, who are more empowered through application of technology in farming.

“Leapfrogging from where we are at the moment will require an increased and bold focus on key reforms in economic policies and in institutional capabilities at the country level,” stated Dr. Mayaki.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh