NAIROBI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Enhancing access to credit for small-holder farmers in Africa holds the key to tackling rural poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and climatic vagaries blighting the continent, agriculture ministers said Monday at a forum in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Despite contributing more than 70 percent of food produced in the continent, small-scale farmers are still grappling with financing bottlenecks that undermine their productivity and resilience, the ministers said at the Scaling Finance for Smallholder Farmers in Africa Conference.

The two-day meeting was convened by the Kenyan government in conjunction with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Pan-African Farmers Organization (PAFO).

Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, called for increased investments from governments and industry into smallholder farming.

"We must ensure that smallholder farmers have access to affordable credit, build their capacity and link them to new markets to strengthen the resilience of agricultural value chains in Africa," Kagwe said.

Nearly 300 delegates, including senior policymakers, industry executives, donors, investors, researchers and representatives of farmers' groups, attended the conference on scaling up financing for African smallholder farmers.

Abubakar Kyari, Nigeria's minister of agriculture and rural development, said that fiscal incentives are key to ensuring smallholder farmers have access to capital for purchasing quality seeds and fertilizers to boost crop yield.

In addition, Kyari said that African governments, industry and development partners should invest in technologies and expertise required to reduce post-harvest losses and boost management of crop pests and diseases.

Unlocking capital to Africa's small-scale farmers through subsidies, blended finance and insurance will boost productivity, household incomes and resilience to external shocks such as natural disasters and market volatility, said Mandla Tshawuka, Eswatini's agriculture minister.

According to Tshawuka, innovative financing is required for the African continent to transition from rain-fed to irrigated farming, promote value addition and fortify food systems from weather-related shocks.

The agricultural financing gap in Africa currently stands at 75 billion U.S. dollars annually, according to AfDB, necessitating the urgency to mobilize new investments in the sector and boost crop yield per acreage.

Pan-African Farmers Organization President Ibrahima Coulibaly said that tapping into the resilience, innovation and agility of the continent's small-scale farmers will boost harvests, create new jobs and foster cohesion.

Coulibaly called on African governments to implement global and continental roadmaps that root for sustainable agriculture financing with a special focus on smallholder farmers. Enditem

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