Rome - Rwandan President Paul Kagame called on Friday for governments to redouble their political will and determination to collectively deliver on their commitments to halve world hunger by 2015.
“With prosperity all around us and significant advances in technology and modern science, we cannot accept the numbers dying in the world for hunger,” Kagame said at a conference in Rome on the eve of World Food Day.
“It begs the question, what is the missing link? We know hunger kills and deprives people of their dignity, so why are we not doing more to combat it?” Kagame said at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) meeting.
Kagame said there had been “misguided presumptions” that the private sector would take responsibility for tackling the problem of the world's starving.
He called for governments to focus on food security but warned officials not to bypass small farmers “who must be involved in finding solutions.”
Small farmers and their families represent some 2,5 billion people, more than one-third of the global population.
Kagame has invested heavily in his agricultural infrastructure.
Rwanda has received $50 million from a multi-donor fund administered by the World Bank to boost agriculture sectors in Africa. - Sapa-AFP