Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, urges African nations to prioritize agricultural investments to combat hunger and insecurity.
Obi shared his insights while participating as a panelist at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024, an international conference on food security held in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday.
In a post on his X handle, the former governor of Anambra State highlighted that the ongoing hunger crisis in Africa could be effectively mitigated by focusing on agricultural development.
He stressed that reducing dependence on food imports would help stabilize African economies, ease pressure on local currencies, and curb inflation driven by high food prices.
“At the session, I reiterated my long-held position that food insecurity in Africa is intrinsically linked to human insecurity,” Obi wrote.
Using Nigeria as an example, he noted that addressing food insecurity would also tackle broader security challenges in the country.
Obi emphasized that by investing in agriculture, Nigeria and other African nations would not only address hunger but also create significant employment opportunities, especially for the youth.
“Investing in food-related productivity will not only solve the hunger crisis but will also create huge job opportunities for the teeming unemployed population,” he added.
He further urged African countries to tap into the untapped potential of their agricultural sectors, highlighting that such investments would lead to poverty reduction and job creation while strengthening food security.
Obi’s remarks come at a time when many African nations are grappling with rising food prices, inflation, and insecurity, underlining the urgent need for sustainable agricultural practices and increased local production.