Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday traveled down a dirt road to tour a farm outside Zambia’s capital that’s using new techniques and technology to boost its vegetable crop as she highlighted ways to secure food supplies in an age of global warming.
“It’s an example of what can be done around the world,” she said after walking past rows of peppers and inspecting a drip irrigation system.
Unlike in the United States, where conversations about climate change usually revolve around replacing fossil fuels with clean energy, the focus in Africa is on expanding access to food. Rising prices stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been damaging to poor countries, and global warming is expected to bring more challenges in the coming years.
Hunger can also create instability, leading to migration and conflict. “The connection between these issues is quite clear,” Harris said. She is pushing for $7 billion in private-sector investments, mostly to boost conservation and improve food production, to help Africa prepare for the effects of climate change. She announced that goal as she wrapped up her weeklong visit to Africa, which included earlier stops in Ghana and Tanzania. The trip was intended to advance U.S. efforts to make inroads in a part of the world where China’s influence runs deep.
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