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Africans must be self-sufficient in agriculture, says envoy

Africans must be self-sufficient in agriculture, says envoy
By Mwila Chansa
Wednesday May 28, 2008 [04:00]

SADC and African governments in general must begin to sensitise their citizens on the need to be self-sufficient in agriculture amidst souring global food prices, Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia Salomon Witbooi has advised. In an interview, High Commissioner Witbooi said self-reliance was crucial for the region and the continent to minimise the effects of the souring food prices.

“People should be encouraged to start small backyard gardens where they can grow vegetables as opposed to buying everything from supermarkets,” High Commissioner Witbooi said.

He said African states could minimise the impact of the food prices by producing their own food because exporters from outside the continent determined the price of commodities which African states had no control over.

“For example, Zambia is a big producer of maize and the other season you even had a surplus that you exported to some neighbouring countries and if all countries in the region could do that, the impact of the rising food prices could be minimised,” said High Commissioner Witbooi.

The continued increase in global oil prices is expected to push food prices further up.

Labels: AGRICULTURE, SADC, SELFSUFFICIENCY

posted by MrK @ 3:53 AM