Africa is hungry, and because it is hungry, the continent is vulnerable to diseases, instability, economic paralysis, and worse still, says an opinion piece published in Le Monde (France).
The piece is written by Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the UN Millennium Project and Director of Columbia Universitys Earth Institute, and Pedro A. Sanchez, President of the Working Group on Hunger of the UN Millennium Project and Director of the Tropical Agriculture Program at the Earth Institute.
Amongst all the developing regions of the world, Africa alone did not benefit from the Green Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. The important developments in agriculture that allowed India, China, and other parts of the developing world to escape extreme poverty, disease and famine, did not occur in most of Africa, the pair write according to the World Bank press review Wednesday.
Last July, during the African Summit in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Kofi Annan, the UNs Secretary General, called for a 21rst century African green revolution. He is absolutely right. This can be done, and must be done, if Africa wants to take the path towards greater economic development, the authors argue.
It is not surprising that Africa is suffering: Its farmers are cultivating lands whose nutrients have been completely depleted. Consequently, the cereal output—measured, for example, in tons of maize yielded per hectare— has reached an average of 1,6 in Africa compared to 3,8 in Asia.
It is possible to remedy this situation, but only if donors become aware of basic agricultural rules. Instead of sending food to Africa, donors should be helping African farmers initiate their own green revolution. The key to this lies in an updated agronomy, supported by investments in the continents rural infrastructure, Sachs and Sanchez write.
A green revolution requires the presence of four agricultural elements, all of them missing in a large part of Africa. Farmers need
1) nutrients for the ground,
2) clean sources of water,
3) improved varieties of seeds that can thrive in constraining local climates and resist insects, and
4) better agricultural services.
The provision of nutrients to the most vulnerable should be accompanied by the purchase of local food produce, which would stimulate market demand while providing a balanced diet, with products that local inhabitants would enjoy consuming.
A green revolution also necessitates a minimum of rural infrastructure. Every village should own a vehicle to transport fertilizers and bring harvested products to the markets.
Many African villages are completely isolated, linked to each other by pedestrian trails fit only for individual human carriers (often women), who do not have the capacity to buy materials necessary for production or to sell their produce.
Every village should own means of communication. Fortunately, it is easy to obtain mobile phone networks that can cover a large part, and even the majority of the continent, including the rural areas. Everyone should have access to a clinic, mosquito nets for beds, and drugs against malaria, as well as potable water from protected sources and wells.
We have evaluated the cost of these interventions: it would reach about 40 euros per village dweller. Its sum is far beyond what African villages can finance; African farmers survive on their production but do not generate any money. However, it would be a small price to pay for donor countries.
Our point is that this type of assistance is far more effective than sending food. It would not simply imply keeping people alive, but giving them the means to develop economically in the long run, like it is currently happening in Asia, Sachs and Sanchez conclude.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
