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FAO: Mechanization creates way for Africa sustainable development
30.08.2019 16:32 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
As of this week, an international conference TICAD 7 continues ( this year Aug 28 30) within Yokohama (Japan), FAO reports.
It is to be admitted, TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) is an international conference led by the Japanese government and co-sponsored by the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Bank.
As to the report, the conference participants have told that the agriculture is crucial to Africa development but needs grown mechanization to boost economic productivity, reduce harvest and post-harvest losses and meet growing demand for foods.
It is to be admitted, Sub-Saharan Africa has the world highest area of uncultivated arable land but productivity lags far behind other developing regions. Yields are only around half of the international average, far below the growth levels needed to keep pace with food demand driven by population growth. Mechanization can dramatically improve the yield gap.
in meanwhile, at a TICAD7 side-event hosted by the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), a framework for African sustainable agricultural mechanization was presented by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
«Through appropriate mechanization, small scale farming can be transformed into a more market-oriented business, improving labour productivity and helping enable farmers to lift themselves out of poverty. To achieve this, we need to enhance access to mechanization services,» FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said within his speech at the event.
«We need to relieve farmers of hard manual labour, particularly women, who have the double burden of working in the fields as well as caring for their households,» FAO Director-General added.
It is to be admitted, the framework for African sustainable agricultural mechanization, which was launched last year and is gaining traction within Africa, aims to help countries replace antiquated tools with modern mechanization methods to achieve food security, agricultural development and overall economic growth.
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