The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., addressed the third plenary session of the 18th Commonwealth Speakers’ and Presiding Officers’ Conference (CSCOP) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. His address was titled ‘Addressing Challenges of Food Security in Africa by Promoting Investment in Agriculture.’ He lamented that Africa bears the heaviest burden of global food insecurity and noted that parliaments on the continent could address some of the issues causing the food crisis.

According to Speaker Abbas, some of the factors causing the food crisis in Africa are armed conflicts, climate change, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising population, subsistence farming and crude agricultural practices, a lack of access to credit, poor infrastructure, and a lack of investment in agribusiness, among others. He also pointed out that extreme weather conditions occasioned by climate change and global warming pose severe threats to agricultural production and increase food insecurity within the continent.

Speaker Abbas further noted that poor infrastructure within the continent ensures that farmers are unable to preserve produce, transform it or move their produce to urban centers for better pricing. He also mentioned that a lack of investment in agribusiness is a result of several factors including poor infrastructure, ill-conceived policies, a lack of access to land, and the high cost of doing business.

The Speaker pointed out that the legislature is critical to tackling food insecurity in Africa through its three core functions: lawmaking, oversight and representation. He called for increased investment in agriculture and agribusiness as well as improved infrastructure to address food insecurity on the continent.