Food Insecurity: AGRA’s Progress in Enhancing Smallholder Farming as a Solution
KEY POINTS
While AGRA has an impactful presence across several countries, it is faced with challenges such as limited government capabilities and capacity to define a vision and set strategy, coordinate key actors, implement plans, and create accountability and learning systems
KEY TAKEAWAYS
AGRA has made significant steps by working with governments to strengthen state capability, improve the policy environment, and boost regional market systems. This is done in full realization that strengthening state capabilities and policies will incent private businesses to invest, which will lead to better-functioning systems that serve smallholder farmers.
For the longest time, Africa has dramatically suffered from various circumstances surrounding food systems, and it constantly needs implementable solutions to deal with food insecurity. Challenges ranging from climate change, poverty, insecurity, and pests and insects have affected farmers and hampered agricultural productivity.
But while the continent is yet to achieve SDG Goal 2 – end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030 – it is well on the course to ensuring that its populations have sufficient and nutritious food all year. This involves promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting small-scale farmers and equal access to land, technology and markets – and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is at the heart of this progress.
AGRA, alongside various stakeholders in the agricultural sector, have rubbed minds together to find ways to bring lasting solutions to food insecurity in Africa.
Since its inception in 2006, AGRA’s investments across the continent have been directed at increasing food and nutrition security and incomes for smallholder farming households. Since 2017, for instance, the organization has directly reached 10.1 million farmers, serving them with an integrated suite of services to improve how they farm.
The intervention focused on bettering farmers’ livelihoods, addressing food insecurity, and achieving greater resilience to shocks and adversity. Impressively, over 60 percent of the farmers reached by AGRA have adopted new farming practices. For instance, many of these farmers have transitioned to making more efficient use of their seeds.
Before AGRA intervention, no farmers in Kiambu, Kenya, used the recommended row and hole spacing or the correct number of seeds per hole. This usually led to significant waste. However, after being trained by AGRA, all farmers shifted to best practices, and these changes reflect more capable farmers applying best practice techniques.
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As a result of improved farming practices, farmers are experiencing better yields across different countries and crops. In Tanzanian, farmers realized dramatic gains in beans and rice yields, while Ghanaian farmers also saw increases in soya and cassava. On the other hand, Ethiopia reported gains of 5 to 14 percent for teff, wheat, and haricot beans.
Through AGRA’s support, farmers have reported growing incomes due to increased productivity –income increase was substantial, ranging from 20 to over 80 percent for the majority, as stated by the AGRA 2020 Annual Report.
Far from the increased productivity, AGRA has been working on integrating regenerative practices into agriculture systems and landscapes to build long-term systemic resilience against climate, environmental and some extent, market shocks. In the face of shocks such as COVID-19, the organization worked with governments to strengthen input and output supply chains and early warning systems that ensure farmer resilience and continued production and supply of food to urban and rural markets.
By partnering with organizations, the AGR