During an international panel organized by Africa Agri Forum on February 23 on the theme “Africa in search of its food sovereignty”, the Benin Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries called on the actors of the financial system whom he invited to correct their vision of the agricultural sector financing.
The agricultural sector financing in Africa is not yet what should be. This is a situation the Benin Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui is really concerned about. Thus, “Banks must stop being fearful towards agriculture”. Alongside his Gabonese counterpart Biendi Maganga Moussavou and executives from Bayer, OCP, the African Union and many others, Minister Gaston Dossouhoui covered during this high-level panel, issues related to food security in African countries. On the occasion, he shared the experiences of Benin in the agricultural revolution started a few years ago. During his address, the MAEP did not refrain from making recommendations on the dissemination of technologies resulting from agricultural research. For the Minister, ”we cannot develop African agriculture without scientific research”, the other challenge to be taken up by the financial sector. Thus, “If we remain African, we must put something in the kitty to go far. The technologies exist, and the banks that are present in Africa must invest in the dissemination of these technologies so that they reach the farmers. The banks must stop being cautious and considering agriculture as a high-risk sector”. Also, Agricultural Research Centers must develop internal cooperation with governments and the private sector, because it is important that scientific research be placed at the heart of agricultural development in Africa. This is immediately a crucial exhortation in a context where the efforts of the State, via the partnerships of financial institutions and banks, to finance agriculture through the FNDA need to be reinforced.
Translated from French into English by:
Albéric Djomaki,
CEO at LMS (www.lmsgroupafrica.com)
American Translators Association (ATA) Associate Member
