The New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has warned of food shortage on the continent,
saying Africa is the most prone to food insecurity.
NEPAD revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement that Africa needs energy security in order to
get out of poverty and achieve food security.
Speaking at a workshop on
linking bioenergy and food security in Africa recently, the chief executive
officer, NEPAD, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki said transformation in energy generation and
services is necessary to achieve food security in Africa.
Also, experts at the
workshop agreed that African countries have to progressively move away from the
use of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewable energy sources in their
total energy mix.
Other energy highlighted by
the experts include solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal; that bioenergy
would play a major role in the coming decades on the continent.
Prof. Emile Van Zyl of the
University of Stellenbosch said Africa has the potential to be a major player
alongside Brazil in the biofuels trade if it applies modern technology as
Africa produces 606 million litres of biofuels equivalent of 2 per cent of the
global trade with South Africa alone accounting for more than half of the total
output.
NaijaAgroNet further gathered that the
technical arm of the African Union (AU) Commission, the NEPAD Planning and
Coordinating Agency has a vision to give 35 per cent of African population
access to energy in the next 20 years.
Yinka Awosanya/LS
... Linking agrobiz, people & technology