The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) wants to launch a project in Africa called “1000 Digital Villages”. The aim is to diversify farmers’ incomes.
The Director-General of the FAO, QU Dongyu, asked participants at the 31 st Regional Conference for Africa on Tuesday 27 October to designate sites for the “1000 Digital Villages project.”
“I invite the country delegations to designate sites to participate in the new FAO ‘1000 Digital Villages project’ that will convert villages or cities into digital centres,” said QU Dongyu. He acknowledged that digital links and rural tourism could be engines for increasing resilience, diversifying farmers’ incomes and better rebuilding.
Nevertheless, QU Dongyu said Africa’s potential gives him hope that the battle against poverty and hunger can be fought. “Africa is the continent with untapped potential and remains a key priority for me,” he said. “I am convinced that agricultural and rural development is the key to winning the battle against poverty and hunger in Africa,” he added.
The 31 st FAO Regional Conference was hosted virtually by Zimbabwe and attended by 95 ministers and officials from 48 countries. Observer countries, donors and representatives of civil society and the private sector participated in the biennial conference.
Gérard Rugambwa
