The IMF's Africa chief said Friday the shock of rocketing food prices should focus attention on improving farming on the world's poorest continent. There is no reason for Africa to be a food importer, but governments and donors have neglected the continent's agriculture sector, said Benedicte Vibe Christensen, acting director for Africa of the International Monetary Fund. She recommended a broad-based approach. In addition to steps to help farmers boost production, rural infrastructure needs improvement, and banks and lenders need to extend more services outside the cities, she told reporters. Christensen was in South Africa to present the IMF's regional economic outlook. It predicts growth at about 6.5 percent this year, mostly fueled by oil exporting countries like Nigeria and Angola. “There's no need for Africa to be a food importer,” Christensen said. She called for better policies and assistance, such as fertilizer subsidies, to boost farming output. But she also said a broad approach was needed to improve infrastructure generally outside the cities and to ensure that banking and lending facilities were extended to the countryside. The result would be not only better food production, but also an extension of the anti-poverty campaign beyond urban centers. “If you look at 20 years of development, it hasn't really taken hold,” she said. Improving the agriculture sector “requires investors, it requires policies.” The food crisis has been felt around the world but particularly in Africa, where most countries import food.
