The World without Hunger Conference held from November 5 to 7, 2024 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa brought together leaders and experts from various sectors to address the pressing issue of global hunger. Co-hosted by UNIDO, the Government of Ethiopia and the AU, in collaboration with FAO, the meeting sought to deliberate on approaches towards addressing hunger that affects about 8.2 billion people globally today and could rise to 10 billion by 2050.
An important issue discussed at the conference was the necessity to increase international collaboration and investment in the field of agriculture. In the last session, President Taye Atskeselassie voiced the major possibilities bottomed on which most effort could be made towards taking zero hunger commitment.
He said that, the contingencies were mobilization, and engagement of society, and most importantly, strong resource. He highlighted the importance of the leaders to bring major transformative change on the results of discussions held during the conference. "The only way out is for several different parties relevant in making money and other resource investments to get together work towards the elimination of hunger through presentation and emulation of what others are doing and a clear determination of areas of need for investment," he said.
President Taye thanked the participants for their commitment exhibited throughout the conference stating it was importance in Search of Ending Hunger in the World. He went further to explain the difficulties that are seen as being in the process of realizing zero hunger and the coming of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The President also highlighted that sustainable agriculture; agro-industrialization and management of climate related risks are also part of solutions to the problem of hunger. He supported for lending for agricultural producers, especially for smallholders and development of community institutions, enhancement for infrastructure including transport as well as communication to transform agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
There was also discussion of Ethiopia's support for the Green Legacy Initiative, aimed at bringing the forest cover to 26 %: there is also an emphasis on the reforestation work, especially the work done through agroforestry. Integrated agro-industrial parks are necessary and underway while the country is trying to boost food security through deploying drought-resistant crops like wheat and sorghum. "I beseech all nations to decisively, place zero hunger at the top of their national development frameworks as enshrined in the vision of SDGs," he said.
The conference recalled that the fight against hunger requires joint actions of people across the world. With the new administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) in Ethiopia, the country's experiences in agriculture innovation and climate change are important lessons for other nations. Perhaps the most obvious example is the Green Legacy Initiative that called for planting 40 billion seedlings to vie with the issues of climate change that are a threat to agriculture in the area.
Moreover, in a speech delivered during the conference, Prime Minister Abiy highlighted that the Green Legacy Initiative laid a much firmer footing towards sustainable agriculture addressing issues of deforestation, ecosystem regeneration, and improved soil health enabling coverage's all linked to the original research. He pointed to the specifics of how Transforming Food Systems needs to go through agro-industrialization by improving the inputs, energy, and processing technology.
Besides environmental conservation, Ethiopia has also taken its wheat production to export level, where it used to be a consumption level only. Some of the success made in attaining food security was acknowledged and applauded during the conference.
During his speech, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio applauded Ethiopia for achieving the production of wheat during the event, calling it as light at the end of the tunnel for the African nation.
He pointed out that the Ethiopian experience of the success is most compelling evidence of what can be achieved through consistent applications of appropriate technologies, robust institutions and suitable polices required for attaining food security.
'That definitely is something we have seen being implemented in Ethiopia, and as such, the work that has been done underscores what can be done if there is sound planning, coupled with visionary planning, and strong political will' President Julius Maada Bio said. 'For Africa the real opportunity is to unlock potentially the largest arable land in the world combined with growing population complemented by a commitment such that every individual in Africa should be able to make his/her next meal including seeing to it that no child goes to bed a hungry.'
Speaking at the event opening, UNIDO Director-General Gerd Müller pointed out that hunger should be made a priority of the global political agenda, especially in Africa. He pointed out; Africa has 60% of the world's arable land with six of the worlds' fastest developing economies. Müller noted that Africa is capable of generating renewable energy, and about the possibility of the country going from an importer of food to an exporter like Ethiopia.
On his part, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson, African Union Commission has acknowledged the above statement, more so given the fact that Africa, endowed with so many natural resources is still struggling to fight hunger to a standstill. Data obtained from FAO show that more than 280 million Africans are suffering from Hunger and 850 million people in the continent cannot even afford a nutritious diet.
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The President and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Samaila Zubairu reaffirmed the need for investment, import substitution and backing of farmers and investors in the agricultural sector. On the side, Ethiopia's Industry Minister Melaku Alebel presented his country's success stories in agricultural growth and value addition. He said that programs such as the "Made in Ethiopia" investment has drawn investors and enhanced food security. Such intricate issues as climate change and scarcity of resources did not stop Ethiopia from revolutionizing processed foods, honey and coffee with successful case of public private partnership and set an example for all struggling against hunger.
During the conference, it was revealed that an additional annual investment of 50 billion dollars is necessary over the next decade totaling 500 billion dollars to eliminate global hunger.
This conference marks a significant step forward in the collective effort to address one of humanity's most critical challenges, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and innovation in the fight against hunger.
BY EYUEL KIFLU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2024
