16 LIlOSINESS .
Small scale farmers l<ey to hunger reduction, says Annan From CoITrnsOlayfnka, Abuja
REEN revolution will make meaningful contribution to the reduction of hunger in Africa and the rest of the world when small farmers lead such initiative, former United Nations (UN) secretary-General, Mr. Kof1 Annan, has said .
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Annan, who is also the Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), spoke yesterday, in London, at the Royal African Society's inaugural lecture. He called for a uniquely African,genuinely smallholder-Ied green revolution that harnesses Africa's
"untapped" agricultural potential and help the world meet the coming spike in demand for food. He further argued that by supporting African farmers, the world will be taking the most pragmatic step towards bamshing hunger from the continent and helping meet
future food needs across the world- with global demand for food set to grow by 50 per cent in the next two decades. Annan declared that the wider benefits an agricultural revolution will bring to the continent include helping to mitigate the impacts of c1imate change, taclde poverty,
stimulate business growth and as the primary producers of Africa's food, improve women's position in society. To achieve the revolution, Annan stated. that African governments and ~ ..i.flternational donors must show more commitments to promoting a 'breadbasket' strategy, increasing the volume of intra-regional trade, encouraging financial institutions to support agricultural enterprises, and directing development aSSistance
towards
improved agricultural technologies and know-how, giving particular attention to W 0 men . He added: ''The planet's population is forecast to grow
from seven to nine billion in ti,e next 40 years. We are likely to see global demand for food grow by 50 per cent over the next two decades. Without a green revolution in Africa, without harnessing the massive agricultural potential within the continent, it is far from clear where and how this demand will be met. There is untapped potential within Africa for agricultural growth. The continent is blessed with abundant land and natural resources. In comparison
with India, it has u times as much land but less than twothirds of India's population. Africa has some 60per cent of the world's uncultivated arable land."
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Survey bemoans unemployment in oil-rich region CONnNUED FROM PAGE 15 the citizenry in spite of the huge statutory revenue allocations to them. He said that with the figures released by BGL Financial Monitor, it could be established that oil was a detriment He said a robust action was required now to urgentiy address the many factors and this could be achieved by strengthening the capabilities of the rural people to take advantage of mechanised farming. Ijewere said since there was global emphasis on agriculture, the affected states should focus attention on it, stressing that development assistance in the sector represented the avenue through which lives and welfare of a large proportion of citizerv; could be touched, most qUickly and massively. He noted that in doing this, agriculture had to become less-risky for the smallholder farmer and had to be more sustai nable and more productive. According to him, urban agriculture had been found to provide employment; increased incomes and con-
tributed to food and social security, but in spite of its important role and the potential, it still faced various difficulties. Ijewere pointed out that education and skills acquisition were also important
because they would empower rural youths and adults to access good employment