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Water key to eradicating hunger and poverty
A three-day pan-African ministerial Conference pledged to promote water development throughout the continent to fully exploit Africa's agricultural and hydroenergy potential.In a final Declaration, the Conference, on Water for Energy and Agriculture in Africa: the Challenges of Climate Change, noted that water is a key resource to economic and social development as well as to hunger and poverty eradication in Africa, and that food and energy security are prerequisites for the development of Africa's human capital.
1. "Much has changed since 2004. The world today is in a crisis. The severe financial and economic crisis was preceded by a food crisis that disrupted the international agricultural economy and highlighted the fragility of world food security. It also showed us that reviving agricultural production in poor countries is the only viable and lasting solution to the fight against hunger. We must therefore invest more in agriculture."
2. "Agriculture accounts for 17 percent of Africa 's GDP , 57 percent of its employment and 11 percent of its exports. Its population, which th on inhabitants, of whom 53 percent are under the age of 20, will reach 2 billion in 2050. Agriculture and related industries are essential to economic growth in Africa , and to a reduction in poverty and food insecurity."
3. "In 2003-2005, 24 percent of Africa 's population, or 218 million people, still suffered from chronic undernutrition. In 2007, the food crisis added a further 24 million people to the number suffering from chronic hunger in sub-Saharan Africa . In addition, today 70 percent of its poor people live in rural areas."
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Granda
Reference:
9204
