Need for greater investment in agriculture

There is a need for greater investment in agriculture in african countries and the sector must be placed at the center of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized. In agriculture-based countries home to 417 million rural people, 170 million of whom live on less than $1 a day-the agricultural sector is essential to overall growth, poverty reduction, and food security. Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the sector employs 65 percent of the labor force and generates 32 percent of GDP growth.

In the future, agriculture will continue to play a central role in tackling the problem of food insecurity. It can maintain and increase global food production, ensuring food availability. It can be the primary means to generate income for the poor, securing their access to food. And through new and improved crop varieties, it can improve diet quality and diversity and foster the link between food security and nutrition security.