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Idris Elba sounds alarm as pandemic threatens food crisis for farmers

Fri, 29th May 2020 22:05

By Nellie Peyton

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Idris Elba
on Friday called for urgent action and creative solutions to
prevent a looming hunger crisis in poor countries, where food
production and transport have been disrupted by the coronavirus
pandemic.

The British actor and filmmaker said the issue is personal
to him and his wife, model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba,
since both of their families come from Africa.

The couple launched a United Nations fund in April to
support rural food systems and spoke in an online panel on
Friday with experts from the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD).

With 60% of employment in Africa in agriculture, "that's an
awful lot of people who are going to suffer and not eat because
of the crisis and ongoing effects," Elba said.

"At the beginning stages of this pandemic ... everyone was
looking at themselves. And I think what's happened now is we've
realized that we're all connected somewhat," he said.

Coronavirus is set to almost double global hunger by the end
of the year, putting an additional 130 million people at risk
because of cut-off trade flows and loss of income, according to
the World Food Programme. Most will be in Africa.

In many places farmers cannot buy seeds or fertilizer due to
lockdowns or reach markets to sell their crops. In West Africa,
traders said they've had to throw out fresh produce because they
couldn't get it across borders to sell.

"If we can transport soldiers and ammunition, we can
transport food," said Elba, adding that governments should think
about using military resources to help.

IFAD has pledged $40 million to the new U.N. fund and is
providing cash transfers to farmers, distributing seeds and
fertilizers and in some places negotiating with authorities to
get food to market.

"The combined effects of climate change, exacerbated by the
locust outbreak, exacerbated by COVID means there's been a
complete disruption in all food supply chains," said Sara
Mbago-Bhunu, director of IFAD's East and Southern Africa
Division.

"This is an alarm call. The potential devastation is huge."

Elba was born and raised in London but his father came from
Sierra Leone and his mother from Ghana. He is known for his
roles in the television series "Luther" and "The Wire."

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton, editing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Please
credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of
Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the
world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)

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