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China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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African countries should prioritize irrigation by building the necessary infrastructure and moving to mechanization to enhance agricultural productivity, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Sacko Josefa Leonel Correa said.
The commissioner told ENA that “Africa should move from just producing crops and add value. What we are encouraging African farmers to do is to link production to the market.”
Correa said Africa needs to promote irrigation since agriculture is rain fed and no one can depend on it due to the climate change.
“That is why we need to help farmers by introducing irrigation infrastructure as well as mechanization. These are the things we need to support the farmers and agriculture in Africa,” she stressed.
Linking production to the market is, on the other hand, the only value through the value chain that agriculture can be profitable to farmers, according to Correa.
Furthermore, “we have to industrialize, add value to products and concentrate on domestic markets.”
She pointed out that Africa has strong domestic and regional market. “We cannot, therefore, be very much depending on the two international markets, London and New York markets.”
