Regional Agricultural and Food Security Forum

6-9 April. Livingstone, Zambia.  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank Group, supported by the European Union, on 7 April announced a major initiative to boost private sector agriculture output in Southern Africa to help the region meet a growing demand for food, and to support economic growth and job creation.


To launch the initiative, IFC, the World Bank, and the European Union hosted a Regional Agricultural and Food Security Forum from 6-9 April in Livingstone, Zambia, attended by industry leaders, private and public sector partners, financial institutions, farmer organisations, and civil society groups.


Participants discussed ways to help emergent and small-scale farmers more easily access finance, and improve the quantity and quality of their products. The forum was supported by the Netherlands’ Rabobank and the Zambia National Commercial Bank.

Peter Daka, Zambia’s Minister of Agriculture, said, “Broader access to agriculture finance will require both public and private finance to support high impact interventions. Finding a formula for a sustainable partnership between the two will stimulate private sector led agriculture growth in the region.”


Reference: 
08/04/2010 The Financial global news channel