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African heads of state
and development partners will discuss ways to increase Africa’s agricultural
production at a summit in progress in Senegal. Climate change, soaring
inflation, and the effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine have combined to make
food security precarious throughout much of Africa.
The consensus
throughout the three-day event has been that it’s time for Africa to end its
dependence on food imports.
The continent has
enough arable land to feed 9 billion people, yet it spends $75 billion each
year to import more than 100 million metric tons of food, according to the
African Development Bank, which organized the summit.
"Only a secure
continent can develop with pride,” said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the
African Development Bank. "For there is no pride in begging for food. The
timing is right. And the moment is now. My heart and my determination is that Africa
feeds itself.”
Around 282 million
Africans suffer from hunger, according to U.N. figures, and persistent drought
has pushed some areas such as the Horn of Africa and Madagascar to the brink of
famine.
Recent disruptions in
the global food supply chain have also aggravated the issue.
Africa typically
imports 30 million metric tons of food from the now warring nations of Russia
and Ukraine, and energy, fertilizer and food prices have increased by 40 to 300
percent, according to the African Development Bank.
In order to become
self-sufficient, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said, African nations must
increase funding toward agricultural initiatives and rural infrastructure.
"To succeed, there is
no doubt that we need to subsidize farmers,” he said. "We must reduce the rate
of rural to urban migration through the development of rural areas. We must
invest heavily in irrigation to help address the increasing frequency of
droughts.”
Due to high lending
risks, less than 3 percent of total financing from African commercial banks
goes towards funding agriculture, Buhari said, and central banks must pick up
the slack.
At a CEO roundtable
Thursday, Ahmed Abdellatif, president of Sudanese business conglomerate CTC
Group, said risks can be minimized with agri-insurance.
"If you're one of the
unlucky half a percent where the rain does not come, it wipes you out totally,
and you're in very big trouble," he said. "So agri-insurance would be
a big enabler.”
Various speakers
pointed to success stories on the continent. Ethiopia increased production of a
heat resistant wheat variety from 5,000 to 800,000 hectares over a four-year
period and is now on its way to becoming a wheat exporter.
The adoption of a
drought-resistant maize variety in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda has more than
doubled outputs.
In response to the
conflict in Ukraine, Zimbabwe began producing its own fertilizer and wheat.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the country expects to produce
enough wheat to begin exports next year.
"A country must be
ruled by the people of that country. A country must be developed by the people
of that country," he said. "And a country must eat what it sows –
that is village wisdom.”
The conference will
continue through Friday.
VOA
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