from ALEXIS DOUMBIA in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
ABIDJAN, (CAJ News) – THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged to develop resilience and sustainable energy in the Sahel region.
It is enhancing that role at the Sahel Alliance, an international cooperation platform to spur development and stability in the area.
The Sahel Alliance is holding its second general assembly in N’Djamena, Chad.
At the assembly, taking place on the side-lines of a summit for the G5 Sahel countries, AfDB is leading a working group on agriculture, rural development and food security.
The bank’s extensive experience in the Sahel region in the management and control of water, agri-pastoral and fisheries development, as well as the sustainable management of natural resources, attracted it to the Sahel Alliance.
AfDB’s current Sahel portfolio includes three key projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of ecosystems and populations and ensuring food security through investment in agriculture and livestock farming as well as sustainable management of natural resources.
The bank’s flagship Desert to Power solar initiative, valued at $20 billion will turn the Sahel region into the world’s largest solar zone giant solar zone with up to 10 000 MW of solar generation capacity.
Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Chad are beneficiaries.
– CAJ News