Read at :

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/revamp-african-ag-policy-to-address-hunger-and-poverty-experts/

Revamp African ag policy to address hunger and poverty – experts

Source: alertnet // Katie Murray

By Katie Murray

LONDON (AlertNet) – New approaches to agricultural productivity could help alleviate widespread poverty, malnutrition and hunger in many African countries, international development and agriculture experts said at a conference this week in Ethiopia focused on boosting agricultural output in Africa.

In 2003, African heads of state agreed to allocate 10 percent of their national budget to agriculture and rural development policy within five years.  That target was not reached, but as a whole African countries have since managed to double their spending on agricultural and rural policy from an average of 3 percent to 6 percent of national spending, said Shenggen Fan, the director of the International Food Policy Research Institute, an organization that works to find sustainable solutions to ending poverty and hunger.

The problem is…