Farming remains a key source of income for 60 to 65 percent of the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa and will continue to be a major source of employment for most countries for a decade or more, particularly for poor Africans.
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As the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) kicked off this September 6 in Nairobi, with the participation of heads of state and high-level officials from around the world, a new report revealed that the countries which invested in agriculture were rewarded with sizeable jumps in both farm productivity and overall economic performance.
“For example, African farmers cultivating new, improved varieties of maize and other crops see only a 28 per cent jump in yields on average while farmers in Asia get 88 per cent increase”, said David Ameyaw, one of the authors and Head of Strategy, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
According to the report, after decades of stagnation, much of Africa has enjoyed sustained agriculture productivity growth since 2005, and as a result poverty rates have declined in places like Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso.
Between 1967 and 2014, it approved loans and grants to African member countries with commitments amounting to USA $100.68 billion, of which agriculture and rural development accounted for 12.4 percent (US $12.45 billion). When we invest in our farmers and in the all the things they need to succeed, good things happen across the economy.
Meanwhile, the Nairobi forum was created to showcase examples of agricultural transformation in action and to promote efforts to accelerate impact and provides golden opportunity to delegates for learning, sharing and networking. There are a lot of missed opportunities for the African continent and when you think of US$35 billion per year which African countries use to import food, of which US$500 million is from East Africa, importing rice, that amount of money we use to import food is just too big.
Kenya devotes less than 10 per cent of its budget to agriculture, against the African Union’s recommendation.
On malnutrition, countries that were quick to put the CAADP into practice experienced an annual average decline of 3.1 percent, while those that did not sign up saw a drop of only 1.2 percent.
Annual public investments in agriculture have risen appreciably across Africa, from an average per country of United States $186.4 million between 1995 to 2003 to USA $219.6 million between 2008 to 2014.
“The track record is far from flawless”.
It also suggested greater access to markets, ensure exclusivity and women empowerment, consider a multi- sectoral approach, and government policies that serve the interests of farming families. “So, we are happy that AGRF has convened this meeting in Nairobi and this is coming at a time when African countries have come up with so many frameworks towards development of agriculture and as the theme of this conference says, I think all African countries must seize the moment and be on the already established momentum to develop agriculture even more”, Bett explained.
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Reforming the land tenure system is important in countries where arable land is inherited by siblings, the scientist added.
