Africa Eyes Science and Innovation to Unlocking its Agriculture Potential

Africa is looking at embracing science and innovation to leverage its agriculture productivity through commitments that will be made at the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) taking place in Nairobi.

In Africa, estimates by the World Bank put the annual value of postharvest losses at USD 4 Billion per year for grains alone. Approximately 30 percent of the grain produced in Africa is lost due to inadequate post-harvest management, lack of structured markets, inadequate storage and limited processing capacity.

Agriculture contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa has stagnated in the last five years according to Rockefeller Foundation Africa Managing Director Mamadou Biteye.

Mamadou says, “Only eight countries in Africa are investing 10 percent of national budget to agriculture development. Other countries are only doing three percent; there needs better leadership that will see the importance of agriculture to Africa’s economy.”

“The development of new innovation is an important part of research to improve agriculture and nutrition security in Africa. However, building on existing solutions to increase their adoption and potential on small scale farmers is another strategy to bring rapid benefits to them,” says Dr. Dominique Charron, Director of the Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC).

“Investing in small holder food production, reduction of post-harvest loss and empowering women and youth are effective ways to decrease poverty and meet the food security needs of vulnerable populations,” added Dr. Jemimah Njuki.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock. Willy Bett, on the AGRF Conference said it is an opportunity for the continent to re-look on issues of Agriculture as it will bring policy makers, partners together.

“They parties need to re-look at the sector as being central to our daily life. Economic development without Agriculture is not going to be realized if there is no focus on agriculture. Over 70 percent of the people are in agriculture, it plays a significant role in our country’s GDP. What are we doing that it brings out bigger development in out GDP?  He said.

Dr. Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director, Africa Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation noted that agriculture need to be African based for it to move to the next level.

“Improving efficiencies in the agricultural value chain is central to addressing these challenges. Increasing productivity in agriculture is also critical to reducing poverty. Greater productivity can boost farmers’ income, especially for smallholder farmers, who have limited resources to leverage in growing and marketing their produce.”

“How can we harness all the innovation and solutions are reaching these smallholder farmers? This is a collective effort that involves greater partnership,” he adds.

In 2003 African Heads of State in Maputo, Mozambique unanimously endorsed a Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa popularly known as the ‘Maputo Declaration’.

In the Declaration, they agreed to allocate and implement at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to improve food security, reduce poverty, and spur rural development by 2008.

In June, the European Parliament endorsed criticism of African farming investment efforts to the New Alliance that has failed to address the severe problems identified, including land-grabbing by private companies while smallholder farmers have lost land and money.

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The report called for African governments to invest in local food systems in order to boost rural economies and ensure decent jobs, equitable social safety nets and labour rights, to improve arrangements for democratic scrutiny of access to resources, including farmers’ seeds, and to ensure the effective engagement of small-scale producers in policy processes and implementation.

AGRF 2016’s official slogan is “Seize the Moment” – Securing Africa’s Rise through Agricultural Transformation. “Seize the Moment” is also the name of an ambitious Africa-wide agriculture campaign launched by the African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and key NGOs and donor countries. There is hope that it will soon be backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments from African governments, development partners, the private sector and financial institutions.

The “Seize the Moment” campaign is expected to bring a world-wide call to action from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), energized by President Obama’s Global Food Security initiative—the largest development commitment from the administration and one that is aligned closely with the African Union’s agriculture agenda.

In addition, both the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are expected to endorse the campaign and continue their strong backing of efforts to boost production and income for smallholder farmers and local agriculture businesses. Ten years ago, funding from the two organizations launched the Nairobi-based Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Today, they continue to work closely with AGRA, which has developed an extensive network of partners in the public and private sector across 18 countries.

A major highlight of the meeting will be the release of a landmark annual African Agriculture Status Report (AASR). Subtitled “Progress towards an Agriculture Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa,” AASR 2016 offers a detailed analysis of a decade-long agriculture expansion effort that has been the most successful development initiative in African history. The report also offers a frank assessment of the challenges that lie ahead and recommends strategies for overcoming them.

Another groundbreaking moment at the AGRF will be the inaugural award of the newly-created Africa Food Prize. The accolade calls attention to individuals and institutions that are inspiring and driving agricultural innovation throughout Africa. The Africa Food Prize Committee is chaired by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria.

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