The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, has expressed his optimism about Africa’s potential to feed a projected population of 9 billion people by 2050.
He says this is “not a foregone conclusion” but rather a “call to action” which requires proactive measures, innovation, and dedicated research to ensure food security not only in Africa but worldwide.
During his keynote speech at the 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW8) in Durban, Dr. Adesina stressed the need for collaborative action among stakeholders in the agribusiness and science sectors.
“As the stewards of Africa’s agribusiness and science sectors, we bear a huge responsibility—to transform this continent into a food-secure, economically prosperous, sustainable, and resilient beacon for the world”, he said.
He also highlighted the AfDB’s initiatives including the “Agricultural Risk Insurance initiative, the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi), which has provided $55 million to pay for sovereign risk insurance for countries and smallholder farmers through the Africa Risk Capacity”.
The 2013 recipient of the FARA Leadership Award initiative assured stakeholders that the “African Development Bank is mobilizing $25 billion for our African Adaptation Acceleration Program, jointly with the Global Center on Adaptation, to support countries.”
In 2022, the AfDB exceeded its climate finance commitment by allocating 45% of its financing to climate-related projects, surpassing the pledged 40%.
“We pledged to commit 40% of our total finance to climate finance; we have exceeded that as we devoted 45% of our financing for climate last year. Similarly, the Bank devoted 67% of its total climate finance to climate adaptation, far exceeding the 50:50 parity between climate adaptation and mitigation called for by the UN Secretary-General,” he added.
