The savannahs of Africa cover a mind-boggling 600 million hectares, of which 400 million hectares are cultivable, the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has said.

The world’s anti-hunger organizations have an opportunity to prevent widespread destruction of African crops by stopping the spread of an insect, warn three of the most respected thinkers on international agriculture.

However, the international community must act swiftly, in cooperation, and on a large scale to do so. The fall armyworm reportedly has a foothold in 28 nations in Africa, and it feeds on crops that include maize, which more than 200 million Africans depend on for food security.

Calls for land tax for unused agricultural land or underutilized agricultural land

Africa holds the key for feeding the nine billion people that will inhabit this planet by 2050, the President of the African Development Bank and 2017 World Food Prize Laureate, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said during his Norman Borlaug Lecture delivered on World Food Day.

The Laureate also called for land tax for unused agricultural land or underutilized agricultural land to provide incentives for faster commercialization of agriculture and unlocking its potential in Africa.

by Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank

The African rural world is one I know well. I grew out of rural poverty myself and went to a rural school without electricity and lived in a village where we had to walk for kilometres to find water. We had to study after dark with candles or kerosene lanterns. By God’s grace, I made it out of poverty to where I am today. But for tens of millions of those in similar situations, especially in rural Africa, the outcomes are not like mine. For most, the potential has simply been wasted.

Par Akinwumi A. Adesina, Président de la Banque africaine de développement