Think of the Small Scale Farmers to Transform Agriculture, Africa Told

The Sixth Africa Green Revolution Forum closed on Friday with the over 1500 delegates all acknowledging that agriculture is the essence of life and forms a critical pillar of the economies of all African countries.

A commitment of more than $30 billion was made at the Forum, to transform agriculture on the continent over the next decade with calls to heavily invest in small-scale farmers in a bid to increase agricultural output in the continent.

The forum agreed that improving agricultural productivity is the key for reducing poverty in Africa with consensus that it must move up on the global development agenda, and that investment in agriculture, especially smallholder agriculture, must be increased if the twin goals of poverty reduction and food security are to be achieved.

In the final communique from the forum, delegates pledged over the next 16 months to focus on smallholder farmers to achieve significant growth in agriculture productivity and profits in at least 20 countries while committing US $200 billion in investments in the agriculture sector.

“There are many opportunities for Africa to transform its agricultural agenda. The continent’s imports agricultural products worth $35 billion (Sh3.5 trillion), which can be produced in the continent and it’s set to hit $110 billion if nothing is done,” said Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President Agnes Kalibata.

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Specific commitments include unlocking 10 percent of public expenditures for agriculture, as many countries agreed to do when they first joined the CAADP partnership.

Actions steps also will involve launching innovative approaches to providing finance for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses and working through initiatives such as GROW Africa to bring in at least $20 billion in private investment.

“This has been the most productive AGRF since the call to launch the Green Revolution in Africa was made ten years ago by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan,” said Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which serves as the secretariat for AGRF.

“As an alliance, AGRA is committed to working every day with our partners to ensure the ‘Seize the Moment’ campaign has a tangible, meaningful impact in the lives of millions of Africans.”

“Seize the Moment” was first launched in April at the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP) Partnership Platform in Accra, Ghana. It has quickly become a rallying point for accelerating work around the African Union’s 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The transformation of Africa will only work if we transform agriculture,” said Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta. “This meeting has been not only important, but also very urgent,” he added. “Because we are coming together at a time when our continent is filled with incredible opportunity, but at the same time it also is faced with profound threats in almost equal measure.”

The 2017 AGRF will be co-hosted by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, AfDB and AGRA in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.