Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha Reiterates the need to end hunger in Africa by 2025, during a meeting with the President of Instituto Brasil- África

The African Union is committed to its aspirations to ending hunger in Africa by 2025 and is keen to explore various avenues to achieve this. H.E Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, made the reassurance during a meeting on 4th March 2016 with the President of Instituto Brasil- África Prof. Joao Bosco Monte, at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

With the new push for national school feeding programmes and the launch of the first edition of the Africa Day of School Feeding on 1 March 2016, the Deputy Chairperson said adoption of the school feeding was not only a strategy to enhance children's performance in schools, but also to boost income generation and entrepreneurship in communities. He pointed out that the Home Grown School Feeding multi-sectoral approach was aimed at making Africa self- reliant to avoid reliance on donor- feeding programs and relief food.

With lessons to learn from Brazil where the government has implemented a robust school meals programme to ensure children stay in school, Mr. Mwencha said the AU Commission would deliberate and make considerations on the invitation to participate in the 4th Brazil- Africa Forum scheduled for November in Brazil, where it would seek to draw lessons on agriculture production and technology transfer in an effort to eradicate poverty and famine in the continent.

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The Deputy Chairperson underscored the need to promote Agenda 2063 whose Aspiration 1, focuses on inclusive growth and sustainable development. He noted that special focus should be placed on agricultural production, transfer of technology and finding solutions to the challenges of value addition and the post-harvest wastage that has hampered the growth of the agriculture sector in Africa despite its immense resources and unexploited potential. He said that in so doing, the aspirations of zero hunger in Africa by 2025 would be achievable and realistic.

Prof. Joao Bosco Monte said the 4th Brazil Africa Forum would offer an opportunity for participants from government representatives, the private sector, business leaders, potential investors and the academia to promote the dialogue between Africa and Brazil on among others, the agriculture sector. The platform also seeks to foster an exchange of experiences, information and ideas to find good business opportunities of the agricultural sector in Brazil and Africa.