Experts warn of food insecurity in East Africa

Youth need to participate in agriculture lest East Africa faces food insecurity in the future, participants at the International Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Development in the region have warned.The event, which kicked off in Kampala, Uganda yesterday is being jointly organised by the East African Community Secretariat, Kilimo Trust, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the Ugandan government.Kilimo Trust is a Regional Agricultural Development organisationJesca Eriyo, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social sectors said that there is evidence of an ageing farmer population in the region which must be addressed to facilitate predictability and sustainability of the agricultural sub-sector in future. “The average age of farmers in the region is about 60 years. This implies that low degree of youth participation in agriculture is a critical threat to food security in the near future,” she said in a speech read by Moses Marwa, the EAC Principal Agricultural Economist. About 80 per cent of the population in East Africa live in the rural areas and are engaged in agriculture as the main source of livelihoods, the experts said Innocent Namuhoranye, an agriculturalist based in Kigali said that the youth should be sensitised to understand that modern agriculture is more profitable than even the office jobs they rush for after finishing school.Patrick Nakabale, a Ugandan Youth Member of Parliament said there is still need for youth to change their mindset on agriculture and not look at it in a traditional way, but as a sector that can uplift their livelihoods. “Our young people still look at agriculture as a punishment. We need to quickly address challenges like high costs of production in terms of mechanised farming,” he said.In the EAC alone, the agricultural sector contributes about 42 per cent of Burundi’s GDP, 28 per cent in Tanzania, 25 per cent in Uganda, 28 per cent in Kenya and 32 per cent in Rwanda.

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Experts warn of food insecurity in East Africa