The Senegalese head of state and rotating chair of the African Union (AU), Macky Sall, yesterday described the global food crisis affecting Africa as something "of the utmost urgency" and called for an end to the continent's food dependency.

"It is clear that this priority has become a matter of the utmost urgency as our countries are experiencing the full force of climate change, the covid-19 pandemic and a major war (Russia-Ukraine)," said Sall in his opening speech at the Dakar 2 African Food Summit, which is being held in Diamniadio, a city under construction some 36 kilometers from the Senegalese capital.

"If we add the shortage of fertilizers and rising prices (...), this unprecedented crisis challenges us on the urgency of our continent ending its food dependence on the outside world," he added.

During his speech, Sall stressed that "Africa must learn to feed itself and contribute to feeding the world".

In this regard, he recalled the agricultural potential of the African continent, with more than 65% of the world's untapped arable land.

"It's the paradox of a continent that continues to import most of its food products," he warned.

Sall recalled the "voluntary commitment" required following the agreement of African heads of state and government in the Maputo Declaration of July 2003, to devote at least 10% of the national budget to the agricultural sector.

"Faced with an unprecedented crisis, we find ourselves at a crossroads. There is the path of the 'Africa of problems', which keeps us in the 'status quo' of an agriculture that will continue to expose us to food insecurity that is highly dependent on climate risks," said Sall.

"But on the other hand, there is the path of 'Africa of solutions' which puts us in the perspective of modern agriculture and takes us beyond resilience towards food sobriety," he added, noting that he hopes this high-level summit will join the dynamic of "Africa of solutions".

For his part, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, yesterday stressed the need to focus on transforming the food system on the African continent.

"The transformation of the food system is fundamental to alleviating poverty, promoting food security, fostering sustainable development and creating productive jobs, especially for women and young people," Guterres said through a statement read by a UN spokesperson, as he was unable to be present.

Quoted by Lusa, Guterres called for the "full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with its enormous potential to increase agricultural productivity, create agricultural value chains and expand trade, including intra-African trade".

He also stressed the need to work to "urgently" resolve the crisis in the global fertilizer market.

"The global fertilizer shortage will quickly turn into a global food shortage this year," Guterres warned.

Under the theme "Feeding Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience", this forum runs until Friday and will bring together more than 20 heads of state and government, as well as the private sector, UN agencies and NGOs at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (CICAD) in Diamniadio.

This high-level summit was organized by Senegal and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to seek solutions to Africa's food security challenge and to strengthen resilience to future crises.

This is the second edition of the summit, following the one held in Dakar in 2015, which adopted the AfDB's strategy "Feed Africa: Strategy for the Transformation of Agriculture in Africa (2016-2025)".

The African continent has 65% of the world's most arable land and abundant water resources, with the potential to feed 9 billion people worldwide by 2050, according to the AfDB.

Its vast savannah areas alone are estimated at 400 million hectares, of which only 10% are cultivated.

However, with 249 million people, it represents a third of the world's current hungry population.

According to the AfDB, with the removal of obstacles to agricultural development and the help of new investments, African agricultural production could increase from 280 billion dollars a year to 1 trillion dollars by 2030.