Accra, Sept 2, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday called on African leaders to dedicate a substantial amount of their national budgets towards the development of Agriculture.

"All our agricultural programmes need substantial political backing to get the continent out of perpetual poverty, hunger and disease."

Vice President gave this advice during the opening of the first African Green Revolution forum in Accra.

In attendance were dignitaries from Africa and beyond including Mr. Kofi Annan, Chairman, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Mr. Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pinda, Prime Minister of Tanzania, Mr Mamanga Ngongi, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and Sylvia Matthews Burwell, President Global Development Program, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The rest were Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Former Vice President of Ghana, former President Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo of Nigeria, Mr Kanayo Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development and Ms Judith Rodin, President, Rockefeller Foundation.

The forum is aimed at sharing experiences of various agricultural programmes of member countries for adoption to increase food production.

Vice President Mahama expressed the hope that at the end of the programme, member countries would go back with sustainable and reliable policies that would increase food security in the continent.

He said Ghana had developed a medium term agricultural programme which would be launched to increase investment and appealed to farmers to revamp the cooperative system to strengthen their capacities and attract financial support from governments and other development partners.

He said Ghana's radical programme on poverty and hunger was yielding dividends as the poverty level, which was about 52 percent a decade ago, had reduced by 50 percent and expressed the hope that the figure would further reduce to the barest minimum by 2015.

"Sustainable Green Revolution is feasible to tackle poverty and government will continue to partner AGRA to make food available in the entire continent," Vice President Mahama said.

Mr Annan, a former UN secretary General, attributed poverty and hunger in Africa to lack of finance, poor soil fertility and lack of policy support.

He called on governments to draw up comprehensive programmes to achieve their goal of eradicating hunger in the continent by 2015.

He appealed to commercial farmers to render adequate support to smallholder farmers to produce enough food for the continent and to support other humanitarian programmes across the globe.

Mr. Annan said 14,000 metric tonnes of improved seeds were made available to farmers across the continent and plans were also underway to secure markets for 4,000 banana farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tazania.

He said African countries needed $32 million annually to achieve their economic potentials and tasked political leaders to consider agriculture as a priority to get themselves out of famine and hunger.

Mr Annan appealed to political leaders to use the forum as the springboard to accelerate agricultural production in their countries.

"This is the time to scale up our progress to achieve African Green Revolution and prepare the continent on the path of prosperity and self-sufficiency."

Mr Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pinda called for a closer collaboration between Tanzania and the private sector to achieve the food needs of the continent.