SIRTE (Libya) - AFRICA needs investment of US$65 billion (S$95 billion) over the next 20 years to make enough water available for development of its farm and energy sectors, a UN agency said on Monday.

The 'Blue Revolution' programme aims to ensure water supplies in villages, for irrigated land and in big rivers, to help agriculture and hydroelectricity, said Jacques Diouf, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

'It is the first time that a balance sheet for short, mid and long terms has been drawn up so exhaustively and so precisely,' he said at the opening of a ministerial conference in Libya on water, agriculture and energy in Africa.

The meeting has been organised under FAO auspices and 53 African countries are represented, around 40 of them by water or farm ministers.

They are expected to approve 964 projects drawn up by the programme for submission to funding organisations.

The FAO wants Africa to triple its food production over the next 40 years and ensure electricity supplies to millions of homes and factories to spur the continent's economic development, the agency said in a statement.

Mr Diouf stressed the urgency of a 'massive acceleration' in investment in agriculture, which represents 17 per cent of gross domestic product and 57 per cent of jobs in Africa.

The disappointing performance of African agriculture, which has failed to keep pace with population growth, has had 'tragic' consequences for the continent, he said, noting that of the 36 countries hit by the global food crisis, 21 are African.

On energy, Mr Diouf said there is a 'serious shortfall' in supplies despite Africa's 'considerable hydroelectric and solar potential.' Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where the number of people without access to electricity is growing, he said. -- AFP