The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme Helen Clark has called for more investment in agriculture in African countries if the continent is to meet the Millennium Development Goals including slashing poverty, reducing illiteracy and boosting maternal and child health, all by 2015
Soeaking on her visit to Ghana, she said in addition to investment in agriculture, African countries need to invest more in basic social services and job creation, according to a news release from the UN.
Miss Clark, who met with Ghanaian officials, including President John Evans Atta Mills, and several Government ministers, praised the country’s advances towards the MDGs.
More investment in agriculture needed
“Ghana has a great story to tell about how investing in agriculture drove down poverty, and there are many blessings to share,” she stated, pointing to a successful democratic transition, the establishment of solid institutions and legal reforms, among other things.
By 2006, Ghana became the first African country to have almost halved the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, UNDP noted in a news release.
The country has implemented several flagship programmes that helped to accelerate the country’s MDG achievement, including a school feeding programme that covers over half a million pupils and a national youth employment programme employing an average of 100,000 youths annually.
Ghana also improved the delivery of public services, such as the police and the health care system, and it has increased the number of women in decision-making positions.
As part her visit, Miss Clark also attend UNDP’s annual meeting with the UN Resident Coordinators in Africa, examining Africa’s recent economic and development progress.
She noted at the meeting that Africa’s economic prospects are encouraging, citing a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting that sub-Saharan Africa will be the second-fastest growing region in the world this year and next with double digit growth rates.
At the same time, she warned that while robust growth is required to meet the MDGs, growth must serve to create jobs and make investments that can benefit long-term human development.