By Evans Dakwa
Seoul, South Korea- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has rallied his African counterparts to leverage on the technological advancements of South Korea and build food sufficiency and adequate shocks in the face of climate change which is threatening Africa’s food bank.
He was speaking at the ongoing Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul which is running under the theme, “Strengthening Food and Mineral Security in Africa, where branded the subsisting scenario where Africa is a net importer of food unacceptable.
“The current situation where Africa imports over USD 80 billion worth of food, is not sustainable. In today’s interconnected world, Africa needs collaboration and synergies to address global challenges such as climate change. The partnership between Africa and Korea present a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge, expertise, and technology in the field of agriculture,” he said.
South Korea is acclaimed for its technological advancement and His Excellency believes Africa can establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the Asian tech giant.
“Korea’s advancements in agricultural innovation can complement Africa’s rich agricultural heritage, leading to mutual benefits s for both regions. Let us, therefore, scale up partnerships, such as that provided by this Summit towards building resilient food systems, promoting inclusive growth and ensuring a prosperous future for all our people.”
In his address to the Summit, the President took time to appraise the congregating leaders of Zimbabwe’s push to build resilience of the agricultural systems and mitigate the impact of climate change.
“Enhancing agriculture productivity requires the prioritisation of building resilient agriculture and food systems that can withstand climate change and natural disasters.In this regard, dam construction, water harvesting, and irrigation development are key aspects to Zimbabwe climate proofing strategies. This has seen us building new dams in all ten of our country’s provinces. Around each dam are aspects that include irrigation development, power generation, fisheries and conveyancing for household water and sanitation.”
With a huge chunk Zimbabwe’s population domiciled in rural areas, President Mnangagwa reiterated the importance of agriculture to the industrialisation and development of rural settlements.
“A thriving agricultural sector and agricultural development stimulates rural industrialization which in turn leads to rural development. The accelerated development of our rural communities is envisaged to ultimately facilitate the speedily realization of a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society, in line with our national Vision 2030.”
The first ever Korea Africa Summit brings held in the Asian nation seeks to elevate the existing cooperation between Africa and South Korea to a higher level with the former seeking to leverage the latter’s technological clout to improve its own agricultural and industrial output.