Developing countries urged to build own food systems

The Country Director of The Hunger Project (THP), a non-gov­ernmental organisation (NGO), Mr Samuel Afrane has urged developing countries to build their own food systems in order to feed their populations.

That, he explained was the only way they could achieve national food sover­eignty which could translate into greater food security globally.

Mr Afrane made the call on Thursday in Accra when he launched a new mission and vision of the organisation to facilitate individual and collective action aimed at transforming the systems of inequity that created hunger and caused it to persist.

He indicated that the new path THP was charting would create an opportunity for the organisation to evolve new strat­egies, programs and thought leadership ideas towards achieving its objectives in collaboration with communities, partners and their investors.

The Hunger Project global which was established in 1977 had made significant progress in areas such as material and child mortality; public health and nutri­tion and officially registered in Ghana as an international NGO in 1996.

But these successes, the Country Director explained was seriously being hampered by climate change, conflicts and global inequality coupled with the recent COVID-19 outbreak which had exacerbated the situation resulting in a rise in undernourishment with almost 828 million people suffering from hunger globally.

Mr Afrane said these emerging new developments called for the adopting of new strategies to protect the gains made in order to up scaling it to higher level.

The changing climate, he explained was threatening the usual ways of doing agri­culture, thus reducing the ability to feed increasing population in tropical Africa.

Mr Abraham Dwuma Odoom, an Agri-business consultant in a speech read on his behalf commended the organisation for partnering government adopt measures to ensure food suffi­ciency and urged them to adopt new technologies and also design and create interventions to attract the youth into agriculture.

The Australian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Berenice Owen-Jones, said the ef­forts of the group would not only elimi­nate hunger but also empower positively the lives of communities they operate.

 BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU