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The Road to Reduce Poverty and Undernourishment in Africa: How Investment in Research and Agriculture Can Help

With Financing for Development a hot topic, there are clear signs that investing in agriculture is the right thing to do. Globally, 842 million people are estimated to be undernourished. By 2012 alone, the number of hungry people in Africa grew to 239 million. The goal to reduce poverty and undernourishment by half is unachievable for the year 2015, and will require serious focus within Africa. Agriculture plays a critical role in African livelihoods, and the competitiveness of this industry affects the income earnings of the African population. My friend Richard Mkandawire co-authored an article which speaks to Africa’s challenges in attaining MDG1 by 2015 and will be published by the University of Capetown in a couple of months. Richard believes that “accelerated growth in African agriculture, which contributes more than any other sector to rising incomes in rural areas where most people live and work, is essential to achieve Millennium Development Goal 1”.

Read my take on this topic in the full article, which was featured on the Huffington Post.

Robynne Anderson

Robynne has extensive experience in the agriculture and food sector, working throughout the value chain – from basic inputs to farmers in the field to the grocery store shelf. She works internationally in the sector, including speaking at the United Nations on agriculture and food issues, and representing the International Agri-Food Network at the UN.Throughout her career she has worked with farm organisations like the Prairie Oat Growers Association, the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi and the Himalayan Farmers Association, as well as global groups, to further the voice of agriculture in the food debate. She has also worked with Fortune 500 companies growing worldwide businesses to assist them with issues management and strategy decisions.

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