The World Bank has pledged US$1billion to support the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The amount, according to the World Bank Director for the Africa Region External Communication (AFREC), Haleh Bridi, represents an increase from US$700 million since 2006.
A dispatch from the World Bank quoted Bridi as announcing the pledge at the celebration of this year’s “End Poverty Day” held Monday during which the world’s largest financial institution renewed its commitment to increase support to the region’s agriculture sector.
Bridi identified the lack of effective policy to govern the continent’s agriculture sector as the weaker point, rather than the acquisition of land, finance, machines and capacity, as argued by some participants in Monday’s event. She noted that policy on agriculture plays a critical role in helping the sector as there are needs for resilient centers to upgrade agriculture.
This year’s “End Poverty Day” was celebrated under the global theme: “Food and jobs: fighting poverty through sustainable agriculture.” Participating Anglophone countries included Angola, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, and Malawi. Others were Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Read the full story here.