Invest in agriculture to curb hunger, insecurity – Peter Obi to African countries

The Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has tasked African countries on investment in agriculture, saying it is a sure way of tackling hunger and insecurity in Africa.

Obi gave this advice while speaking as a panelist at an international conference on food security in Kigali, the Rwandan capital on Friday.

Writing on his X handle, the former Anambra State governor said that the prevailing hunger crisis in Africa could only be tackled effectively by giving adequate attention to agriculture.

According to him, reducing reliance on food imports would help ease the strain on the currency, steady exchange rates, and rein in inflationary pressures driven by high food costs.

“Today, I was one of the panellists at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

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“At the session, I reiterated my long-held position that food insecurity in Africa is intrinsically linked to human insecurity.

“Using Nigeria as an example, I emphasized that solving food insecurity is a major path to general security in the country.

“By investing in agriculture and food-related productivity, Nigeria will not only be addressing the hunger crisis but will also create huge job opportunities for the teeming unemployed population, especially the youths in their productive age,” he said.

He emphasised the need to further explore the untapped potential in food production in Nigeria and other African countries.

He noted that with significant investments in agriculture and food systems, the countries could create jobs, reduce poverty, and tackle hunger simultaneously.