Acting director for Africa of the International Monetary Fund, Benedicte Vibe Christensen, on Friday appealed to the African countries to increase their agricultural output to counter the skyrocketing food prices.
"We think that agriculture has been neglected in many countries and this should be reversed," Christensen said at the Fund's regional outlook presentation in Pretoria.
Christensen said that the African nations could cease to be food importers if they pay enough attention to the continent's neglected agricultural sector. The IMF director added that both the governments as well as donors have failed to pay enough attention to improve the continent's neglected agricultural sector.
"If you look at 20 years of development, it hasn't really taken hold," Christensen said. Improving the agriculture sector "requires investors, it requires policies," she added.
Christensen also recommended a range of actions such as policy changes and additional assistance to encourage farming, including fertilizer subsidies, rural infrastructure and liberalized lending and warned that direct price regulations and export controls would have "unintended negative consequences".
Though the current food crisis is an international problem, it has hit Africa the worst, as most of the countries in the poorest continent are food import importers. The continent has already seen many protests and even riots against the rising prices.
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