China cited as example in promotion of food security

DAKAR - The 2013 report of the International Research Institute for Food Policies, IFPRI, that was released on Monday in Dakar, praised China for having managed to halve the prevalence of under-nutrition since 1990.

"Since 1990, China has managed to reduce by half the number of under-nutrition that moved from 23 percent to 11 percent," the study launched in the presence of Senegal's Agriculture Minister Papa Abdoulaye Seck indicated.

The report further said that China and Vietnam were on the path to eradicating hunger by 2025 while Brazil and Thailand had already achieved this goal.

"Other developing countries should learn from these experiences to achieve food and nutritional security. Elimination of hunger requires a combination of strategies centered on agriculture, nutrition and social protection," the study recommended.

IFPRI report noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture will play a key role in contributing to poverty reduction.

The document equally urged concerned governments to adopt economic policies that favor food and nutritional security. It particularly called for elimination of hunger by the year 2025.