Sixteen African Ministers of Agriculture, Science and Technology have unanimously agreed to commit 10,000 US dollars into research annually to boost agriculture on the continent. The decision was taken at the end of their two-day annual dialogue held in Accra on Friday. It was organised by Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), under the theme "Catalyzing Resources for African Agriculture." A communiqué issued at the end of their first dialogue and read by its chairman, Dr. Tiemoko Yo from Cote d'Ivoire, stated that member countries that were under the European Union would allocate 10 per cent of their budgets towards sustaining agricultural productivity in Africa. He said that the persistent high level of food insecurity and poverty in Africa despite the abundant natural resources to support agriculture was a source of worry to the governments. According to Dr. Tiemoko Yo, if African governments fully supported FARA, the organisation would not only play the central role as a continental voice for agricultural research and development, but also as a platform for networking to enhance Africa's capacity for agricultural innovations. "Agriculture is business rather than a way of life and sustaining increases in investments, requires value for money, transparency and accountability," he said. The ministers were from Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, La Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea, Cameroon, Congo DR, Egypt, Rwanda and the Seychelles. Source: The Ghanaian Times