Addis Ababa: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Africa beyond 2025.
FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu was invited to participate in a G7 panel session with agriculture ministers in Syracuse, Italy, on how best to support Africa’s post-Malabo agenda.
Agreed by African heads of state and government at the 2014 African Union Summit in Equatorial Guinea, the Malabo Agenda set out an ambitious list of concrete agricultural goals to be achieved by 2025.
‘In 2023, more than one in five Africans were affected by hunger, amounting to nearly 300 million people,’ said Qu and added that ‘without accelerated action and increased resource mobilization, it is projected that the number of people facing hunger in Africa will rise by an additional 10 million by 2030.’
The continent remains the most food-insecure region in the world, with 58 percent of its population experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity, according to FAO.
‘Success is possible,’
Qu said, ‘but we need to all work together, across the continent and with all partners if we are to achieve the transformation of African agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.’
Looking ahead, FAO remains committed to supporting the post-Malabo process, which highlights the necessity for a comprehensive transformation of the continent’s agrifood systems that effectively, efficiently, and coherently addresses food insecurity, poverty, and the impacts of the climate crisis.
‘I wish to reaffirm FAO’s continued focus and commitment to supporting Africa in achieving the post-Malabo agenda,’ said the Director-General.
After January 2025, FAO’s existing data, tools, and approaches will support the design, implementation, and tracking of the post-Malabo agenda.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency