Nairobi, Kenya
June 30, 2014
Today is a critical moment for Africa's farmers as the heads of state at the African Union (AU) summit in Equatorial Guinea reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen Africa’s agricultural economy. Their consensus is a recognition that investments in agriculture are uniquely effective in driving economic progress, particularly among Africa's poor, most of whom depend on farming for food and income.
African leaders were unanimous in their call for increasing investments from both the public and private sectors, intensifying efforts to develop irrigation projects, increasing access to land and agricultural inputs, and utilizing science and technology to modernize farming and transform agriculture across the continent. As a body, the African Union will coordinate this work through the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP).
It also was encouraging for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to underscore the importance of the AU’s focus on agriculture, which he rightly noted is about more than food production. He described agriculture in Africa as “a source of employment, an engine for economic growth, and a vital contributor to environmental services. It is the glue that binds rural societies.”
Now comes the important part: translating this important political commitment into meaningful action on the ground.
We must keep in mind that ten years ago African Union member states promised to invest ten percent of national budgets in agriculture. Several countries that significantly increased their agricultural investments—such as Ghana, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Rwanda—experienced tremendous progress, not just in agriculture, but also in economic growth across their economies. While significant challenges remain, since the mid-1990s, their investments in agriculture have coincided with major reductions in the percentage of people living in extreme poverty: Ethiopia by 49 percent; Ghana by 44 percent; and Burkina Faso by 37 percent.
A key reason agriculture is such a powerful engine for economic progress is that there is an entrepreneurial spirit among resource-poor farmers in Africa that can be tapped to simultaneously increase food security, raise our standard of living, and even address gender disparities. Up to 80 percent of the food eaten in Africa is produced by smallholder farmers—people who tend crops and raise livestock on less than a hectare of land—and most of them are women. At the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), every day brings powerful evidence that these farmers hold the key to sustainable and equitable growth in Africa. They have never had a proper chance to show their true colors. The time to give them that chance in now – as Africa reaffirms its commitments to agricultural development.
Governments can be the instrumental in realizing the potential of Africa’s smallholder farmers by investing in research to develop new, higher-yielding crop varieties; in extension services to deliver the fruits of agriculture research to farmers’ fields; and in transportation and other infrastructure to develop markets for African agricultural products that will allow poor farmers to profit from their hard work. Governments also can cultivate a policy environment that will encourage private sector investments in locally-owned agriculture businesses, such as seed companies and farm supply stores to serve our very capable but very neglected farmers.
There are abundant examples across Africa that this model works—governments doing what they do best, the private sector playing to its strengths—with the end result that food production increases, incomes rise, and poverty declines.
For our part, we are co-convening with the African Union, African Development Bank, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, among others, the African Green Revolution Forum in September to critically examine the Malabo Decisions. Close to 1,000 leaders of governments, farmer organizations, and international and African agri-businesses will converge on Addis Ababa to generate strategies to assist governments in implementing their new Declaration and Programme of Action.
Let 2014 be the year when African governments take bold steps that will allow our smallholder farmers to become the foundation for building a more secure economic future.
Jane Karuku is president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) (www.agra.org)
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