By Bakary Touray Jr
The Gambia’s Minister of Agriculture, Madam Amie Fabureh, has stressed the importance of renewable energy, saying it’s essential to the improvement of agricultural production.
The head of Agric Ministry was presiding over the official opening of the 5th Malabo Montpellier Forum, under the theme “Energized policy innovations to power the transformation of Africa of Africa’s agriculture and food system”
Fabureh said the forum is of great significance in the policy directions and guidance enshrined in the AU Agenda 2063, Sustainable Development goals and the Malabo Declaration for the achievement of food and nutrition security across the African continent.
She told the forum: “We must endeavor to fulfill our commitments to these noble ideals and move the agricultural development agenda to the level it deserves, so as to make it an engine of economic growth, improved livelihoods and a source of jobs for our teeming youth population.”
Pointing to the Malabo Declaration of committing 10% of national budgets to agriculture, the Gambian Minister noted that the Biennial report has so far indicated that a good number of their countries are lagging behind.
“We must make sincere efforts to change this trend,” she challenged.
She continued: “Under the auspices of the AU NEPAD, we have been working on the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), through our various regional economic communities, that has culminated in the mobilization of resources in the Regional and National Agricultural Investment Plans.
Madam Fabureh believed the theme is quite appropriate at the time, in their drive to achieve food security and meaningful agricultural development that would help in changing the lives of the farming folks and boost economic growth.
She maintained: “The energy requirements necessary to boost agricultural development cannot be underestimated. Yet, we must be mindful of the negative impact of climate change due to our utilization of fossil fuel products in energy generation and distribution”.
Minister Fabureh also stressed the need for the member States to come up with renewable energy innovative solutions and climate smart approaches to forge ahead.
Given the level of expertise that is available with respect to the Malabo Montpellier Panel, she is hopeful that the participants would produce quality report relating to the theme of the Banjul edition of the Forum.
She also implored on the participants to put all hands on deck in adopting and implementing the policy measures proposed there.
