The Group of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) says African countries need intensive agriculture to bridge yield gaps, tackle hunger and attain food sufficiency.

CGIAR is a global partnership among 15 international agricultural research centres that engage in research on food security with a focus on reducing rural poverty and improving human health and nutrition.

The CGIAR executive managing director, Ismahene Elouafi, spoke on Tuesday during her visit to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan.

According to Ms Elouafi, the solution to food insufficiency in most African countries is adequate investment in the agricultural sector.

She said available data showed that African countries were not producing enough of what was needed in agriculture.

“We need to produce intensive agriculture in Africa to bridge the yielding gap, be it in animal, fisheries, crops, among others,” Ms Elouafi explained. “Data shows that most African countries that are into the farming system are producing 10 per cent of their potential, and the remaining 90 per cent of the yield gaps need to be fed up.”

Ms Elouafi said there was a need to adopt technology and innovation and embrace irrigation and mechanisation to produce food massively and reduce food importation in Africa.

She said most African countries imported most of their agricultural needs, which was one reason there was a high cost of food commodities in African countries.

Ms Elouafi added, “We really need to develop our agricultural business and I am amazed with what I am seeing in IITA with agribusiness innovations. We need more of it and continue to invest in research and development and ensure it gets to smallholder farmers.

“CGIAR’s new strategy is not only on science. We do research for development and delivery, work with private sectors, and use a national system to get technology to smallholder farmers in order to increase their agricultural yields.”

IITA director-general Simeon Ehul said there was a need for continuous funding in the agricultural sector in Africa to tackle the problems of food security and malnutrition.

Mr Ehul, also the CGIAR regional director of Continental Africa, said the population growth of African countries continued to increase significantly, with almost 300 million people facing hunger due to insufficient agricultural production.

He appealed to African countries’ leaders to continue to do their best to tackle food insecurity and hunger in their respective countries.

(NAN)