Econet’s Masiyiwa to address G8 leaders
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By Staff Reporter 18/05/2012 21:12:00
EXILED Zimbabwean businessman, ECONET Wireless founder and chairman Strive
Masiyiwa will on Saturday address leaders of the world’s eight largest
economies on food security in Africa.
The G8 summit, being held at Camp David – the US presidential retreat in
Maryland – started on Friday with global food security expected to take
centre stage.
President Barack Obama is hosting the gathering with the leaders of Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom expected to
attend.
In a statement ahead of the summit, Masiyiwa, who is the acting chairman of
the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said: “AGRA welcomes
the continued leadership of President Barack Obama and the G8 members in the
search for solutions to food security in Africa.
“The approach being put forward by the G8 is modelled on some of AGRA’s
on-going work on behalf of Africa’s smallholder farmers.”
Masiyiwa called for increased support for small-holder farmers to help end
hunger on the African continent.
“We are pleased there is now a common consensus on what needs to be done,
what smallholder farmers need: supportive policies, better seeds, access to
finance and soil inputs, skills development and extension services, national
research systems, open markets and infrastructure,” he said.
“But we must now redouble our efforts. At (the last summit in Italy) the G8
members stepped up. Now we are asking them to scale up, speed up, and invest
up. This is ultimately an opportunity to build the next growth engine of the
global economy.
“Millions of African smallholder farmers are poised to become an integral
part of that economy, as both producers and consumers.
“AGRA supports an approach that is coordinated globally, but is African-led
and focused on smallholder farmers. This approach must be equitable,
transparent, accountable, and environmentally sustainable to the
satisfaction of all stakeholders.”
In October last year, the South Africa-based telecoms entrepreneur donated
US$1 million to support AGRA’s “breadbasket countries” programme in Ghana,
Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
“We are delighted to support this project because we believe that AGRA’s
approach – focusing on a critical mass of investments in high-potential
breadbasket areas while employing an integrated approach across the
agricultural value-chain – is a potential game-changer,” Masiyiwa said then.
“As a member of AGRA’s Board, I am delighted to make this contribution on
behalf of my company because I know that our resources will be put to great
use. Our contribution will help catalyze a change process at the grass-roots
level, helping thousands of smallholder farmers across Africa.”