The number of African countries facing severe food shortages
has doubled over the past two decades. The United Nations reports that the
factors that have contributed to this include extreme weather conditions,
natural disasters and insurgencies. According to the UN, as many as 24
countries are contending with food crises across sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 240
million people in sub-Saharan Africa, or one person in every four, lack
adequate food for a healthy and active life. And record food prices and drought
are pushing more people into poverty and hunger.
These problems are only going to get worse as the upward
trajectory of urbanisation casts its shadow across most of Africa, which will
require more food to be transported and distributed within cities, increase
demand for water and also increase demand for agricultural and food products.
The demand for food staples is predicted to double by 2020 as urban populations
grow by 4 per cent each year. Much of that growth is made up of low-income
earners who spend the majority of their pay on basic food items.
Today, Africa does not grow enough food to feed its own
population and African countries have tended to satisfy increasing demand
through more expensive imports from the global market. The agriculture sector
in many African countries is in a parlous state. It's a situation primed for
hunger and unrest. It is stating the obvious that the solution to the food
crisis in Africa is for Africa to grow more food locally. However, Africa has
the ability to grow enough food not only to feed itself, but also to help solve
the worldwide food deficit. Many African countries have the advantages of
fertile soil and the possibility of year-round farming and more than one
harvest per year.
Only 5 per cent of grain consumed in Africa comes from
African farmers. Its yields are a third or half of yields elsewhere in the
world. There is only one tractor per 320 people economically active in African
agriculture with 3.5 million more tractors needed to put Africa on a par with
other agricultural economies. 79 per cent of arable land in Africa remains
uncultivated and annual post-harvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa average
US$4 billion. Most African farmers are smallholders with limited access to
technology and tools, fertiliser and good farming know-how. Regions in Africa
have natural food surpluses in certain staples and deficits in others; the key
is to maximise output and get the food to where it's needed. The attempts at
national self-sufficiency have not worked.
Africa spends more than $35 billion annually on food imports
while food worth up to $48 billion is lost annually in postharvest losses, and
a further 6.6 million tonnes of potential grain harvest, enough to meet annual
calorific needs of approximately 30 million people, is lost due to degraded
ecosystems. Between 2000 and 2010, up to 13 million hectares of forest were
cleared annually in Africa primarily to expand land for food and fuel. The
consequence was a degradation of ecosystems that underpin food production in
the first place and loss in potential yields further compounding the food
security scenario. As an example, due to deforestation, up to 6.6 million tonnes
of potential grain yields are lost annually in Africa. If left unchecked, such
approaches contribute to the virtual cycle of poverty and food insecurity in
the continent.
On incomes and poverty reduction, the World Bank reports
that in Africa, a 10 percent increase in crop yields translates to
approximately a 7 percent reduction in poverty. Neither the manufacturing nor
services sectors can achieve an equivalent impact. In addition, agriculture
currently employs up to 60 percent labor in the continent, making it the most
potent conduit sector through which inclusive growth in Africa can be achieved.
However, current productivity of Arica’s agriculture is low, contributing a
lowly 25 – 34 percent of continental GDP.
Agriculture can potentially ensure inclusive and sustainable
growth in the continent if its value chain is optimized holistically. It can
create jobs for many of the 17 million youth entering the job market annually
while simultaneously feeding Africa. A climate proofed agriculture sector based
on ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) techniques that work with nature and
augmenting on farm productivity with value addition strategies to unlock income
opportunities along the entire agro-value chain will potentially result in
yield increases of 116 – 128 percent and accompanying farmer income increases,
and be two to four times more effective in reducing poverty relative to other
sectors.
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