A maize plantation in Kenya. [Photo/hapakenya.com]
The African Development Bank has set aside 240 billion shillings towards agriculture transformation in Africa as stipulated in the Malabo Declaration of 2014.
However, countries will only access the funds once they update their National Agriculture Investment Plans on transforming the agriculture sector in their respective countries.
Agriculture has this year received a beating following poor rains compounded by the fall army worm infestation that began in West Africa, through to Southern Africa and now in East Africa.
However, the African Union Commission is optimistic that the sector will recover once countries begin to address the gaps through use of empirical data from both their respective Ministries of Agriculture and the National Bureau of Statistics.
Member states were asked to leverage on the youth to boost productivity through innovation as well as tackle poverty and unemployment.
Countries have also been urged to develop seed policies that address availability and accessibility of high yielding seed varieties to farmers.
The Malabo Declaration impresses upon member states to commit to spend 10 percent of their national budgets on the agriculture subsector.