Africa is spending 35 billion US dollars in importing food; a figure that is projected to grow to 110 billion US dollars by 2025.
Why is a continent that has 65 per cent of the world’s arable land importing struggling to produce enough to feed its people?
There is water efficient, drought-resistant maize, types of cassava, and rice varieties that can improve yields, and there are biofortified beans and orange fleshy potatoes that can help tackle malnutrition.
Transforming African agriculture and finding ways to increase production to improve food security on the continent cannot be done without finding ways to make the savannahs more productive. Africa has about 400 million hectares of savannah lands that could be cultivated, though only about 10 percent is used for that purpose now. Other regions in the world, most notably South America, have found ways to make their savannah’s productive agricultural lands.
Why is a continent that has 65 per cent of the world’s arable land importing struggling to produce enough to feed its people?
There is water efficient, drought-resistant maize, types of cassava, and rice varieties that can improve yields, and there are biofortified beans and orange fleshy potatoes that can help tackle malnutrition.
Transforming African agriculture and finding ways to increase production to improve food security on the continent cannot be done without finding ways to make the savannahs more productive. Africa has about 400 million hectares of savannah lands that could be cultivated, though only about 10 percent is used for that purpose now. Other regions in the world, most notably South America, have found ways to make their savannah’s productive agricultural lands.
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