AfDP president, Adesina bemoans high level poverty

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has listed inclusive growth, increased education and enhanced productivity in agriculture as panacea for the debilitating poverty level in the continent.
He bemoaned the high level of poverty and unemployment in the region and called on African governments to implement robust policies towards the industrialization of the agriculture sector in order to enhance revenue from exports.
Dr. Adesina, who made the assertion at a forum in Accra, Ghana, advised African governments to focus on agro-industrialisation that would add value to their exports and transform their economies from exporters of primary products to processed goods.
For instance, he said though Africa produced about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, its ratio in chocolate production was three percent.
He declared that agriculture was a very viable sector saying it pays and “nobody drinks oil. Nobody drinks gas but everybody eats food.”
The former Nigerian minister of agriculture also shared his success story, explaining how food production was given a boost in the country under his watch as minister.