We are all too familiar with the many obstacles standing in the way of feeding the world by 2050, while facing both undernutrition and escalating rates of overnutrition. In fact, often the challenge seems quite daunting. But, despite the global food and nutrition security challenge we are facing, I am hopeful.
I am hopeful about our progress and the direction we are headed. But, I am most hopeful about tapping Africa’s tremendous potential to curb global hunger and poverty – it is a game changer.
Without question, the African continent has suffered its share of uphill battles when it comes to food and nutrition security. Countries in southern Africa have faced grave chronic hunger and malnutrition due in part to an increasingly dry climate.
Only four percent of the continent’s cultivated land is irrigated, compared to 14pc in Latin America and 37pc in Asia, contributing to its drought conditions. Many African governments remain wary of new technologies and innovations, such as improved seed and genetically engineered crops, limiting the potential for farmers to increase agricultural productivity.
Poor infrastructure, including the lack of roads, bridges, ports, electricity and storage, factors are significant factors for postharvest waste and loss. And a history of political instability and unrest across the continent has made it difficult for countries to focus their attention and resources on the agriculture sector. As a result, Africa has largely lagged behind the world in agricultural development, despite being home to 60pc of the world’s uncultivated arable land.
Thankfully, the continent is finally reaching its tipping point. We are seeing national debts decline, more peaceful elections and after more two decades of little to no investment in African agriculture, national governments, country donors, the private sector and international development organisations like the World Bank are playing a larger role in closing the agricultural development investment gap.
All of these factors are paving the way for Africa to become the next breadbasket. With better policies, new innovations, better practices and greater investment, African farmers are demonstrating their potential to bring about another Green Revolution.
I have seen this firsthand through my work with many poor Millennium Villages throughout Africa. Staple crop yields have tripled due to a combination of the best hybrids or varieties and the appropriate use of mineral fertilisers.
Together with the development of village health facilities and improved water and sanitation, malaria prevalence has drastically decreased and also the stunting of children under two years old has decreased from 50pc to 30pc. Virtually all children are going to primary school where they receive a nutritious meal.
The number of trees in the villages is increasing, warehouses are being built to sell surplus in bulk as is required for a dynamic food value chain. And, farming as a business is beginning to replace farming for subsistence.
Now also consider Nigeria, which has renewed its commitment to the agriculture sector. Once one of the most promising agricultural producers worldwide, Nigeria, is looking to reclaim its title. By 2015, the country’s current agricultural program aims to boost food production by 20 million tons, create 3.5 million jobs in the agriculture and food-related industries, and become self-sufficient in rice production.
In Senegal and Ethiopia, risk mitigation and insurance tools are helping rural farmers to better manage climate shifts that are threatening crops and livestock. Meanwhile, mobile technology solutions all over the country are connecting smallholder farmers to real-time information on market prices, weather, and pest outbreaks. These mobile solutions enable the limited number of agricultural extension services on the continent to reach its farmers.
Not to mention, new models of farming are also emerging on the continent.
While there are concerns about the effects of, for example, large-scale farming and outgrower models in Africa, these projects can lead to new farming opportunities for smallholders and needed agricultural development. For these models to be mutually beneficial, it will be important to partner with smallholder farmers to ensure land rights are not comprised, establish fair wages, and provide adequate support services and inputs.
This is the direction that Africa must continue to take to redefine its future. Africa can become the model for the local tools, solutions, and practices needed to increase agricultural productivity and enhance the nutrition of crops and food around the world.
But, realising Africa’s agricultural potential will require continued investment from both domestic and international sources. It will also require attention to hurdles, including limited human resources, political pressures, volatile food prices, and inadequate infrastructure. And, country governments should work toward facilitating enabling policy and regulatory environments to encourage greater private sector investment in agricultural research and technology.
Thus, I urge for a continued focus on each of these challenges to catalyse agricultural development across the continent. Achieving Africa’s food and nutrition security should be a goal shared by all of us. After all, while the promise of a food and nutrition secure world may not have begun in Africa, the continent will be critical to achieving our success.
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