THE African Development Bank (AfDB) president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, is seeking re-election for the second five-year term at the helm of the regional finance institution.

He was first elected to head the entity in 2015. AfDB announced this week that Dr Adesina’s first tenure of office expires this year and was marked by the implementation of five strategic priorities for the continent’s development, known as the “High 5s.”

During a virtual session at the start of the bank’s 2020 annual meetings, Dr Adesina was quoted reflecting on his tenure

“Five years ago, right here in Abidjan, you elected me president of the African Development Bank.

“It was a huge responsibility to shoulder. I promised that I would work tirelessly to accelerate Africa’s development. My vision was focused on the High 5 priorities, commitment, my promise, my compass.”

He noted that time has passed so quickly and cited AfDB’s achievements in the five years of his presidency.

“An additional18 million people now have access to electricity, 141 million people have received more advanced agricultural technology to improve food security, 15 million people have access to financing, 101 million now have access to improved transport, and 60 million people have gained access to water and sanitation,” said Dr Adesina.

In the context of the above positive results, Dr Adesina asked the AfDB board of governors to renew their trust in him for the next five years.

Meanwhile,  AfDB has announced that its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation programme would benefit 40 million farmers in the next five years, adding 120 million tonnes into the continent’s food basket.

Since the launch of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation programme in 2018, the project has been implemented by 28 countries including Zimbabwe while four more are in the process of joining the programme.

The overall goal of TAAT is to radically transform African agriculture into a competitive sector by deploying high-impact, proven agricultural technologies to raise agricultural productivity in Africa.

The programme is also aimed at mitigating risks and promote diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight priority intervention areas.  These include self-sufficiency in rice production, transforming African savannahs into breadbaskets, expanding horticulture, increasing and increasing Africa’s wheat output.

– @okazunga