Ambassador calls for agriculture investment

Accra, Sept. 23, GNA - The Nigerien Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Hassane Ali Toure on Friday appealed to African leaders to draw lessons from the devastating effects of the recent drought in Niger and adopt pragmatic measures to invest more in the agricultural sector.

He said investing and modernising agriculture to make it an all year round activity through irrigation would prevent similar occurrences.

"What happened to Niger should be a lesson to all African heads so as to make the sector a priority," Mr Toure said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

He expressed the hope that the international community would be challenged to assist Sub-Saharan countries to develop their agricultural sector.

On the drought crisis of Niger, he expressed the hope that the statistics of the Department of Agriculture and Meteorology of Niger were favourable for good harvest this year and, therefore, the food situation would be ameliorated in the coming years.

"The President of Niger, Mr Mamadou Tandja has also initiated a Kandadji Dam Project that would be constructed on the Niger River for irrigation purposes", he said.

He also emphasised that the initiative was calling for investment in the sector, in order not to depend on the rain as the main source of watering crops.

Niger, a Sub-Saharan country has this year, faced food crisis due to poor harvest as a result of drought.