Sanginga, IITA Director General |
The Director General of the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga,
has urged world leaders not to relent their efforts towards the fight against
food insecurity in Africa.
Sanginga expressed the
institution’s gratitude over the improvements recorded in agricultural
productivity in the past affirming that there are still more to be done as
regards food security in the continent.
He noted that efforts should be
doubled due to the spiraling growth rate of the continent’s population and the
degrading soil which does not work towards improving agricultural productivity.
IITA revealed to NaijaAgroNet that the Sub-Saharan
Africa’s population growth rate is 2.4 per cent, a rate which is high compared
to 1.3 per cent of non-African countries.
“Clearly there is much work to be
done in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Dr. Sanginga emphasised that food security
attainment is huge with increasing challenge and increase in total production
which is at the expense of natural resource base.
According to the IITA boss, there
is the need to adopt sustainable intensification of agricultural production
practices to conserve and recycle soil nutrient which will in turn reduce the
need to clear new land for agricultural use.
Approaches to concentrate on
towards addressing the issue of food insecurity, Dr. Sanginga said should
include increase in agricultural productivity, food availability and its
safety.
He stressed that the agriculture
sector’s overall performance must all be increased against the growing urban
population, uncertain effects of climate change, increased in demand for energy
as well as disease pandemics.
He also commended the renewed
attention to agriculture by leaders in the continent which is producing
positive results, and urged for more commitment of resources to the sector, and
that IITA is always ready to partner with any organisation towards improving
lives of Africans.
IITA, one of the world’s leading
research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty
has several awards for using research for development (R4D) in addressing the
developmental needs of tropical countries, and had since inception worked with
partners to improve crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer
risks, and generate wealth from agriculture.
Yinka Awosanya
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