African countries have the opportunity to tap into Japan’s knowledge of smart technologies and agricultural machinery and marketing, as well as from the East Asian nation’s high food safety and nutrition standards, and culture of healthy foods and diets, to end hunger and improve nutrition, said Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
In a statement on Tuesday, Dongyu expressed appreciation for the fruitful FAO-Japan collaboration in Africa, which has led to the development of efficient and inclusive rice value chains, a better measurement of food loss and waste among food industries, and the strengthening of small and medium enterprises.
During a New Partnership for Africa’s Development and Japan International Cooperation Agency (NEPAD-JICA) event focused on improving nutrition across Africa through the Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa (IFNA) Dongyu said: “We continue to count on Japan’s generosity in scaling up its support to the improvement of nutrition in Africa.” He made a strong case for the need to step up hunger-fighting actions in Africa.
“Fighting hunger and all forms of malnutrition is, and will continue to be, FAO’s main priority in Africa,” said Qu, highlighting the need to address the various aspects of nutrition, which can lead to substantive socio-economic improvements, and for innovative approaches and new ideas with a focus on pro-poor and result-oriented actions.
