The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has commended the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s efforts toward helping Africa feed itself and the rest of the world.
Blinken, in a statement issued by the AfDB, said this when he visited the Bank’s President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, in Abidjan.
The two met at the headquarters of AfricaRice in Abidjan.
AfricaRice is a pan-African centre of excellence for rice research, development, and capacity building that implements the bank agricultural programmes.
Blinken said: “extraordinary work is being done to get to a place where Africa feeds itself and a place where Africa feeds the world.
“I am convinced that can happen.
“The AfDB is making the necessary investments in sustainable production in a smart, effective way, and its AfricaRice programme is maximising and producing crops that can stand up to climate change.”
The secretary commended president Adesina for his global leadership and the powerful and inspiring impact he was making through the bank’s initiatives.
Blinken reiterated that beyond rice, the Biden administration was convinced of the tremendous potential in also investing in climate-resilient crops that are highly nutritious.
Earlier, President Adesina said this was the first time that a U.S. Secretary of State would visit the AfDB and its work.
“Secretary Blinken’s visit is historic and provides great momentum for our work to feed Africa. I applaud his strong leadership and commitment to food security.
” I look forward to working closely with him and the U.S. government to advance our joint efforts to support Africa to feed itself and help feed the world.
“I commend the work President Joe Biden is doing for global food security, and I am delighted with the partnership we have with the US Government,” he said.
Adesina also thanked Blinken for a new grant of 9.5 million dollars to support the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative.
“The grant, which is a part of the larger U.S. Government ‘Feed the Future’ global hunger initiative, will be used for the second phase of the AfDB’s programme called TAAT II.
” To help African countries increase food production, introduce climate-smart technologies and expand extension services.
“To date, TAAT has deployed climate-resilient agricultural technologies and fertilisers to 13 million farmers in 40 African countries to help boost the continent’s food production and food security.
“The U.S. will work with AfDB to identify opportunities to partner the U.S. State Department’s Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) activities and develop an investment strategy,” he said.
TAAT aims to double the productivity of staple crops, livestock, and fisheries by making proven technologies available to more than 40 million agricultural producers by 2025.
This will further produce an additional 120 million tons of food.
According to AfricaRice Director-General Dr Baboucarr Manneh, AfDB inaugurated the AfricaRice initiative in 2018 to boost rice production.
Manneh said the initiative now has 28 country members across Africa, with some 15 of those expecting to reach rice self-sufficiency shortly.
He said that since 2018, rice yields increased by 25 per cent and livelihoods by more than 31 per cent.
“The US is the second-largest shareholder of all AfDB member countries and the largest contributor in cumulative terms to the African Development Fund, which provides concessional funding to Africa’s poorest countries.”
During the visit, Adesina highlighted the sustainable impact of US investment in bank operations that align with shared priorities in Africa.
He said the Bank and the U.S. Government share a long-standing, results-oriented track record of collaboration on several issues, such as food security, agricultural transformation, and corridors, among others.
The AfDB is contributing to the sustainable economic development and social progress of African countries.
The Bank operates around five strategic priorities: Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
