The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has underscored Africa’s central role in the future of global food security, pointing to the continent’s vast agricultural potential.
Speaking during a plenary session at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Adesina said 65 percent of the world’s remaining cultivated and uncultivated arable land is located in Africa, not in Asia, Latin America, or Europe. According to him, how Africa harnesses this resource will have far-reaching consequences beyond the continent.
“So what Africa does with that is going to determine the future of the world,” Adesina stated, highlighting agriculture as a strategic global issue rather than a regional concern.
His remarks come amid growing international anxiety over food supply disruptions, climate change, and population growth. With global demand for food expected to rise sharply in coming decades, Adesina’s comments reinforce calls for increased investment in African agriculture, value chains, and agro-industrialisation.
The AfDB President has consistently argued that Africa must move beyond subsistence farming to become a major global food producer, warning that failure to unlock the continent’s agricultural capacity could deepen global food insecurity.
The statement adds weight to broader discussions at the World Governments Summit on sustainable development, investment, and the reconfiguration of global food systems.