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Africa could triple food output, UN says

Simple changes in farming practices could triple or even quadruple Africa's food production in two seasons, Reuters reported a UN food expert as saying.

Soaring food prices mean the continent should end its reliance on food imports, Mafa Chipeta, from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), was cited saying.

Governments should reduce fertiliser prices and introduce high-yield seed varieties, he said. He also urged greater investment in irrigation, but dismissed the need for high-tech solutions such as genetically modified organisms.

Chipeta was speaking on the sidelines of a regional FAO conference in Nairobi, Kenya. He told Reuters he hoped the week-long conference would produce "actionable decisions" for Africa’s agricultural sector, which employs about two-thirds of the continent’s workforce.

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