Tsvangirai: examine causes and consequences of food insecurity in Africa

"The AgriBusiness Forum programme," Tsvangirai said, "is premised on the belief that the success of Africa depends on the development and growth of its private sector."

Tsvangirai noted that the main objectives of the forum include attracting new public and private sector investment for Africa's agri-food sector; focusing attention on the importance of regional value chains; and, lastly highlighting both public and private sector driven initiatives. "While as Africans we have traditionally concentrated on engaging in agriculture for domestic sustenance, there has been a huge development in the past few years which has seen many people engage in commercial agriculture," he said.

Tsvangirai called for a thorough examination of both the causes and the consequences of food insecurity in Africa. Asking "why has Africa become poorer and food insecure despite having arguably the best agricultural land, water points and mineral wealth that the world envies?" he used Zimbabwe as example of a prosperous country who is hit by food insecurity due to political meddling. "Zimbabwe used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa (but has now) become a basket case," he said.

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