Africa-Press – Guinee Bissau. The sub-regional office in West Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) invites the States of the zone to “release the necessary funds » to eradicate hunger.
‘’Avec 47.960 milliards de francs CFA, soit 80 milliards de dollars US, nous pouvons éradiquer la faim dans le monde’’, a assuré Mehdi Drissi, un fonctionnaire dudit bureau de la FAO basé dans la capitale sénégalaise.
With the amount he is advancing, it is possible « to ensure that 860 million people no longer suffer from hunger » in the world, Mr. Drissi said in an interview with APS on the sidelines of the opening of two agricultural fairs in Diamniadio, near Dakar.
Even if it seems staggering, this amount is « nothing compared to the crazy sums that are spent on the armament » of certain countries not being immune to hunger, he underlined .
‘’La faim n’intéresse pas [beaucoup de] monde à cause d’autres intérêts’’, a dit Mehdi Drissi, affirmant qu’‘’il faut absolument développer la mécanisation et les nouvelles technologies agricoles’’ pour transformer l’agriculture africaine et nourrir l’Afrique.
He argues that “people are sometimes mistaken in thinking that the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (two specialized agencies of the United Nations) have the funds” to fight hunger.
« We are specialized agencies and programs, responsible for bringing all our technical knowledge to the development of agriculture and the fight against hunger in the world, » Mr. Drisssi explained.
« Funds must come from countries’ budgets and [funding] that governments obtain from international financial institutions, » he insisted.
The agri-food industry, especially that of developed countries, « does not sufficiently take into account the realities » of Africa and « acute competition with local production and family farming », pointed out the official of the FAO.
This United Nations agency participates in the implementation of « big projects, everywhere in the country », Senegal, « especially around the Great Green Wall, always in a spirit of development », he said. he says.
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