Share & more
New farming techniques are needed to counter the impact of HIV/AIDS on food production in Africa, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday.
Annan urged the international community to help Africa stage an agricultural revolution to drag the continent out of poverty.
"The target of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty ... will require us to work toward a green revolution in Africa's agricultural sector, so that Africa may move toward the self-sufficiency that we have seen achieved elsewhere," Annan said.
Some 15 million people across southern Africa already face food shortages due to drought, failed government policy and HIV/AIDS.
A "green revolution" using innovative farm technologies boosted food supplies in Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, reducing poverty levels.
"Because of HIV/AIDS, farming skills are being lost, agricultural development efforts are declining, rural livelihoods are disintegrating. We must combine food assistance and new approaches to farming with treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS," Anan said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions