AFRICA AND BRAZIL ARE SOWING THE SEEDS OF A GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP TO BOOST SUB-SAHARAN AGRICULTURE USING BRAZIL'S OWN FARMING REVOLUTION AS A MODEL.
ENVISIONED AS A BROAD TRANS ATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP SUPPORTED BY THE WORLD BANK AND OTHERS, THE AFRICA-BRAZIL INNOVATION MARKETPLACE AIMS TO SPUR AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA DRAWING ON BRAZIL'S VAST EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE -WHICH, EXPERTS SAY, HAS QUICKLY TURNED THE SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY INTO ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT BREADBASKETS.
HAILED AS A MODEL FOR SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION, THE MARKETPLACE WILL MATCH AFRICAN AND BRAZILIAN RESEARCHERS TO WORK JOINTLY ON PROJECTS TO IMPROVE AFRICA'S AGRICULTURE, INCLUDING REHABILITATION OF PASTURES, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTION OF CLEAN ENERGY, WHERE BRAZIL HAS A PROVEN EDGE.
ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK, PROJECTS ARE CHOSEN FOLLOWING A COMPETITIVE SELECTION OF THE BEST PROPOSALS.
OUT OF 61 PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO THE MARKETPLACE FIRST EDITION,6 PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR FUNDING.
BY ADOPTING A CONTINENT-WIDE RATHER THAN A SINGLE-COUNTRY APPROACH, THE AFRICA-BRAZIL INNOVATION MARKETPLACE IS ALSO BREAKING NEW GROUND IN TERMS OF SOUTH-SOUTH EXCHANGES.AROUND 60 PERCENT OF AFRICAN WORKERS ARE EMPLOYED BY THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, WITH ABOUT THREE-FIFTHS OF AFRICAN FARMERS BEING SUBSISTENCE FARMERS -PROVIDING A SOURCE OF FOOD AND A RELATIVELY SMALL INCOME FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLDS.
ENDS/////////
No comments:
Post a Comment