Assist farmers by addressing issues affecting their practice, Kofi and Melinda Gates urge

Kofi Annan, chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Wednesday urged both the governments and the global community to begin looking at food in totality.

Speaking after visiting rural cassava farmers and a commercial village dedicated to cassava processing in Tanzania, the two said agriculture affects and is affected by climate change, economics and culture. “The three components must be put in perspective while addressing food security issues,” they said while addressing a press briefing ahead of the three-day African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Arusha, Tanzania.

To learn more about the positive impact that higheryields and increased market opportunitiesbring to farm families, Mr. Annan and Ms. Gates toured a commercial village that is part of the Cassava Village Processing Programme (CVPP), an initiative thatis supported by AGRA and implemented by Farm Concern International (FCI) in Eastern Africa. 

AGRF brings together hundreds of stakeholders to recognize and celebrate the progress that has been delivered thanks to African leadership to date, and the continuing investments in agriculture needed to build self-sufficient and more prosperous societies for the long term.  The overall focus of the forum is dedicated to improving the life of the farmer so that she can become more self-sufficient and empowered to reduce hunger and poverty in her community.