Changing diets in Africa mean more meat and dairy required
28/11/2016
IFAD published the report, entitled ‘The Rural Development Report 2016: Fostering Inclusive Rural Transformation’, at an event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in late November. It said at the time of the launch that change is required “to meet rising demand and shifting diets”.
One of the most important changes, IFAD went on to say, is that middle-class urban consumers are moving away from eating mostly grains to eat more dairy, fish, meat and vegetables. It pointed out that there is “rapid growth” of food imports in West and Central Africa and said this shows that there is space for local farmers to grow their businesses if they can produce competitively.
The organisation’s regional director, Ides de Willebois, commented: “Rural transformation is a powerful way to overcome poverty. We need to develop rural areas in Africa where people are willing to invest, which then will enable them to produce more, to attain a marketable surplus that can be sold at a profit and provide them with the resources to improve their livelihoods and reinvest.”
He said this requires improvements in infrastructure, including banking and IT infrastructure, to make the rural areas more easily accessible. “Rural transformation will provide hope and opportunity to rural youth, young women and men to build their future lives,” Mr de Willebois concluded. “We have no other choice.”
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