Private agribusiness companies support G8 $3bn Africa investment plan
The summit of the cash-strapped group of eight nations, which are battling euro zone crisis and poli…The summit of the cash-strapped group of eight nations, which are battling euro zone crisis and political problems on the domestic front, have turned to private players seeking a public-private partnership in the effort to fight hunger.
The companies will partner with small African businesses, advocacy groups, banks, governments along with the G8 nations to help 50 million Africans come out of poverty level and to transform the continent into a major food exporter over the next ten years.
The initiative would benefit mainly six African countries - Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Speaking at the G8 symposium 'Beyond L'Aquila: Advancing Food Security at the G8 Summit', President Obama said that history teaches us that one of the most effective ways to pull people and entire nations out of poverty is to invest in their agriculture.
"And as we've seen from Latin America to Africa to Asia, a growing middle class also means growing markets, including more customers for American exports that support American jobs," Obama added.
The Obama administration wants the G8 to take new steps to boost food production by building on its 2009 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, which sought to garner $20bn over the next three years to invest in agricultural sector in poor countries, which in turn can stabilize global food prices.
Syngenta's $500m, Monsanto 's $50m; World Cocoa Foundation's $4m; DuPont's $3m are among the investments announced by the private sector players to boost African agri-sector.
Syngenta chief executive officer Mike Mack said that Africa has become one of their strategic growth regions and their aspiration is to contribute to the transformation of African agriculture.
"We will deploy our leading portfolio as part of a system-wide approach linking people, land and technology, with the aim of increasing productivity sustainably and thereby reducing poverty," Mack added.