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Chongwe (Zambia), Jan. 24 (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled Tuesday from a small farm on a rural red dirt road to a ramen factory in Zambia’s bustling capital, Lusaka, to show how Africa can help solve world problems Potential for food shortages.
Midway through her 10-day trip to Africa, Yellen devoted her day to highlighting the potential for agricultural investment in Africa’s underdeveloped countries, especially as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbates global hunger and food costs.
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“As we address immediate needs now, we must also look ahead and scale up investments in long-term food system resilience. Africa is a perfect example of these dual challenges,” Yellen said in Chongwe, a village an hour from Lusaka. She stands on her signature podium, surrounded by lush cornfields and grazing chickens nearby.
The continent’s potential is evident in one statistic: Africa holds 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land.
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“We want to push for Africa to participate more fully in the future of global food and fertilizer markets and supply chains,” Yellen said, as farmers, mostly women in brightly colored waxed cloth dresses, stood and listened.
They told Yellen the story of how they maintained the community—by sharing goat matings to build a sustainable livestock supply, and by developing collective savings groups and granaries.
“It was a challenge. It was a big challenge for us, but we succeeded,” said Chongwe farmer Echinah Mfula, who is part of Twalumbu Savings Group, which helps its members pool funds to buy livestock and food.
In Zambia, approximately 2 million people face severe food insecurity, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line and nearly half of the population unable to meet minimum caloric intake requirements.
“This is a continent facing serious food needs,” Yellen said. “But it has the potential not only to feed itself, but to help feed the world — if the right steps are taken.”
Addressing the country’s well-documented debt crisis is more important than ever if new agricultural projects are to be financed.
Zambia failed to make a $42.5 million bond payment in November 2020, becoming the first African sovereign to default amid the coronavirus pandemic. Negotiations on how to deal with the debt burden have been ongoing.
Experts say a prolonged debt crisis could permanently hamper recovery in countries like Zambia, driving the entire country deeper into poverty and unemployment.
Global food insecurity is rising due to COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising food costs, according to a report released Tuesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other United Nations agencies.
Nearly 500 million people will be undernourished in 2021, and more than 1 billion people will face moderate to severe food insecurity, the report said.
On top of that, the cost of fertilizers and natural gas has ballooned, with global prices for foodstuffs like grain and vegetable oil hitting record highs in 2022.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February exacerbated the food insecurity crisis as the two countries are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other products, especially to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia already struggling with hunger nation.
In the United States, the Treasury Department issued exceptions to thousands of sanctions imposed on Russia, allowing agricultural deals and trade related to humanitarian aid and communications channels. The hope is to prevent some of war’s most devastating effects on the vulnerable.
But in Zambia, Yellen said she sees solutions in local companies such as Java Foods Limited, a woman-owned company that produces low-cost, nutritionally fortified instant noodles. It targets low-income urban consumers and sources 100% of its wheat from Zambian farmers.
Monica Musonda, founder of Java Foods, told Yellen at a roundtable on Tuesday that making ends meet was difficult because her company was one of the only food manufacturers in Lusaka. “But we’re trying to make an impact in our community – you can see what we women can do.”
Java has worked for USAID’s Future of Food Initiative and the US Partnership for Food Solutions, a nonprofit founded by General Mills.
Yellen started her Africa tour in Senegal and headed to South Africa after Zambia. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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