up cause
- Poorest continent needs an 'agricultural revolution'
- Farms must be improved and GM crops developed
David Smith in Johannesburg
Friday December 3 2010
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/02/africa-feed-itself-generation
"Africa can feed itself. And it can make the transition from hungry
importer to self-sufficiency in a single generation."
This is the claim of a new book that argues that the world's poorest
continent could break its dependence on foreign aid and become a food
exporter by realising its rich agricultural potential.
Researchers led by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma said
they were challenging pessimistic views of Africa, a continent often
associated with images of famine and campaigns such as Live Aid and
Comic Relief.
One in three Africans is chronically hungry, according to the UN,
despite $3bn (?1.9bn) spent on food aid for the continent annually and
$33bn in food imports. Population growth and climate change are
growing threats.
But Juma, author of The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in
Africa, calls on politicians to put agricultural expansion at the
heart of decision-making about everything from transport and
communications to education and innovation.
Juma said that Africa was the only continent with arable land readily
available to expand agriculture, and that southern Sudan alone could
feed all Africans if it was properly developed.
"An African agricultural revolution is within reach, provided the
continent can focus on supporting small-scale farmers to help meet
national and regional demand for food," Juma said.
His proposal includes the modernisation of farms, with new machinery
and storage and processing facilities, and the selective use of
genetically modified crops. He calls for new roads, energy sources and
irrigation projects.
Some African leaders have been criticised for enriching themselves or
their militaries. Juma said they had to recognise that "agriculture
and economy for Africa are one and the same".
He told the BBC: "It is the responsibility of an African president to
modernise the economy, and that means starting with the modernisation
of agriculture."
Juma said that food self-sufficiency would require big shifts in
policies that have led to dependence on food aid and imports. His book
calls for more direct involvement by political leaders in sectors such
as water, energy, transport, communications and education.
Juma said the army might refuse if the agriculture minister asked them
to build a road to distribute food. "But if the president asks, they
will do it," he said. "The president is the commander in chief."
About 70% of Africans are involved in agriculture, but almost 250
million people, or a quarter of the population, are undernourished.
The number has risen by 100 million since 1990.
The researchers found that, while food production has grown globally
by 145% over the past 40 years, African food production has fallen by
10% since 1960. Only 4% of the continent's crop land is irrigated.
Fertilisers, pesticides and high-quality seeds are prohibitively
expensive and in short supply.
Juma said: "African agriculture is at the crossroads. We have come to
the end of a century of policies that favoured Africa's export of raw
materials and importation of food. Africa is starting to focus on
agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and
prosperity."
The findings were presented in Tanzania today, where the presidents of
Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi were holding an informal
summit to discuss Africa's food security and climate change.
African political and economic analysts welcomed the research. Dr Greg
Mills, author of Why Africa Is Poor, said: "Agriculture is one of the
areas of competitive advantage that Africa has, but in the past
century we've done very badly.
"Africa can do a whole lot more. I don't think every country is going
to be self-sufficient, but many countries can be. It's not just about
food self-sufficiency; it's getting the balance right between domestic
crops and crops for international consumption."
George Mukkath, director of programmes at the charity Farm Africa,
said he was in broad agreement with Juma. "There hasn't been much
reform of African agriculture. Only 10% of GDP is invested. The
question is whether governments are willing to look at it as a
priority."
He added: "Climate change makes the whole thing more crucial. There
needs to be more investment in technology for crops. "
Fears have been expressed that "land grabbing" ? in which wealthy
countries buy or lease land in Africa to farm it for their own
populations ? could hurt Africa's potential for self-sufficiency.
Mukkath added: "That needs to be regulated. There needs to be a code
of conduct on how investments are made."
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2010
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