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Kenya: Kibaki Calls for Action On Food Prices
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The Nation (Nairobi)
19 June 2008
Posted to the web 19 June 2008
Anthony Kariuki
Nairobi
President Kibaki has called for urgent and decisive action to curb the rising food prices.
Speaking at the official opening of the 25th Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Regional Conference for Africa at the United Nations Office Nairobi, he urged the participants to come up with practical recommendations that would help in permanently resolving the food crisis that has affected the well-being of vulnerable members of the society.
"Let me emphasise, however, that for the poor people who are shouldering the heaviest burden of the current high food prices, a solution must be found now. Therefore as you deliberate on these issues, I hope that you are also considering the fact that we need urgent and decisive action that will lead to prompt improvement of the situation."
He emphasised that elaborate measures must be undertaken to reverse the prevailing and unfortunate situation to enable African nations achieve their cherished objectives of food security, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
"Apart from crop production, some of the water basins in Africa have enormous potential for production of high-value freshwater fish.
"At the same time, this continent has access to valuable marine fishery resources. Regrettably, few of these resources are being exploited sufficiently due to lack of adequate investment."
He challenged African countries to fully utilise water resources to attain food security and achieve economic development.
President Kibaki regretted that despite Africa having some of the largest global water basins, the continent persistently failed to effectively harness water resources to unlock the potential of increased production in food stuffs such as rice and sugar.
"While the African continent is considered to be a water deficit region, we have some of the largest water basins which are yet to be fully exploited. For instance, only 4 percent of our annual renewable water resources have been developed for irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply or hydropower use compared to 70-90 percent in the developed countries."
He, at the same time, blamed a hefty food import bill for slowing agricultural growth and attainment of food security in Africa as envisaged by member countries during the 2004 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states Summit in Maputo.
The President noted that climate change had also aggravated the current food crisis in the world due to erratic and extreme weather patterns characterised by irregular seasons, severe droughts, floods and storms.
"Even though the full impact of climate change is still not very clear, the frequency and severity of extreme weather patterns have become serious threats to food and water security, poverty and disease."
He further appealed for increased intra-Africa trade to maximise the potential of the large and untapped market for goods and services in the region that constitutes a population of over one billion people.
"Increasing intra-Africa trade is crucial to facilitating rapid growth of our economies. The establishment of regional trading blocs has played an important role in enhancing trade amongst our countries," said President Kibaki.
FAO Director General, Dr Jacques Diouf, in his address said food insecurity in Africa was a political problem which could be addressed through good governance and goodwill of the political leaders.
He challenged African countries to live up to the Maputo declaration on allocation of 10 per cent of their resources to development of Agriculture and food production.
Dr Diouf called for innovative measures to boost food production in Africa saying growing of drought resistant and early maturing crops need be given priority. He pledged continued technical support on policies the African countries had to overcome food insecurity.
Agriculture minister William Ruto said Kenya, as Chair to the FAO conference for the next two years, will mobilise African ministers for Agriculture to campaign to bring down the tariff and non-tariff "imposed by our big brothers in the developed nations to deny us their markets while they enjoy unfettered access" to Africa.
"We intend to pitch tent at the African Union summit, and at the G8."
Donors and Non Government Organisations have under-invested in Agriculture in Africa in the last 30 years, Mr Ruto said adding that the continent being agro-based economies have to change the tide to feed the population.
"Many African Countries are in agreement that agriculture is the engine of their economic growth but have neither allocated sufficient funds nor developed appropriate well researched policies and programmes to make the sector a vocal point that it really is."
The Executive Director HABITAT Dr Anna Tibaijuka who led in observing a minute of silence remembrance of the two ministers who perished in a plane crash last week said rapid urbanisation was a contributory factor to food insecurity in Africa.
Saying that food rioters and most of the hungry are in urban areas, Dr Tibaijuka asked African countries to check the trend by securing sustainable Agriculture in rural areas.
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The 25th FAO regional conference of Agriculture ministers intends to develop a prescription to a global food crisis that has already sparked off food riots in Nairobi, Dakar, Ndjamena and Cairo.
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