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Friday, September 16, 2016

NEPAD says support for under-5 children, mothers dynamics to achieving 2025 zero hunger

The Senior Advisor on Programme Development to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Mr. Martin Bwalya, has said that support for under-5 children and mothers as one of the dynamics of achieving zero hunger on the continent by 2025, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Bwalya said this at the formal launch of the Zero Hunger Report 2025 by NEPAD in conjunction with Pardee Center for International Futures in Pretoria, South Africa, outlining some conditions that must be met in order for Africa to realise this goal.

As said by him, the demand side on agriculture produce is increasing access, including incomes, consumer subsidies, prices, school feeding programmes, support to under-5 children and mothers, as well as pregnant women.

This, he said will not happen without the supply side which is productivity and production by way of expansion of cropland, yield increase, livestock heads and reduction of post-harvest losses.

Bwalya pointed out that overall, the food availability needs to be increased by 437 million metric tonnes by 2025 or 47 per cent of current demand.

“To do this requires cropland to increase by 1.5 per cent; crop yields need to increase by 3.2 per cent, and livestock head size needs to increase by 5.8 per cent year,” he said.

Insisting that in order for Africa to attain its goal by 2025, a wide range of actions by different actors to bring about the necessary substantial change in the dynamics of demand and supply is requisite, just as any efforts to eliminate hunger will have to factor in robust risk assessments, including climate change.

Corroborating Bwalya, the Regional Director for World Food Programme in Johannesburg, Chris Nikoi, emphasized that “If we continue on the current trajectory, we will not be able to achieve the Malabo Declaration target of ending hunger by 2025 and eliminating child stunting. Conditions for success include political will, as well as addressing the challenges of the impact of climate change and weather shocks.”


Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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Pix: Senior Advisor on Programme Development to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Mr. Martin Bwalya

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