Adesina seeks American support to boost agriculture in Africa

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has made a strong case for increased American and global investments to help unlock Africa’s agriculture potential.

He made the case as the Distinguished Guest Speaker at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 94th Agriculture Outlook Forum in Virginia.

Speaking on the theme: The Roots of Prosperity, Adesina noted that for too long, agriculture has been associated with what he called the three Ps – pain, penury, and poverty. He appealed to the US private sector to fundamentally change the way it views African agriculture.

“The fact though is that agriculture is a huge wealth-creating sector that is primed to unleash new economic opportunities that will lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Think about it, the size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will rise to $1tr by 2030. This is the time for US agri-businesses to invest in Africa.

“And for good reason: Think of a continent where McKinsey projects household consumption is expected to reach nearly $2.1tr and business-to-business expenditure will reach $3.5tr by 2025. Think of a continent brimming with 840 million youth, the youngest population in the world, by 2050,” he added.

Adesina told more than 2,000 delegates that thee AfDB is spearheading a number of transformative business and agriculture initiatives.