adminSifelani Tsiko Senior Writer
BILLIONS of dollars that have been poured to drive up Africa’s agricultural sector through the introduction of scientific farm technologies over the years have failed to reduce hunger and poverty on the continent, development experts say.
Development experts who met recently at a conference to discuss agriculture, environment, science and technology organised by the Regional Agricultural and Environmental Initiative Network said African leaders need to consider how certain policies and strategic investment in scientific research could lead to meaningful progress to smallholder farmers.
RAEIN-Africa board chairman and agronomist Mr Andrew Mushita expressed concern that significant investments in science and technology, research and development had failed to reduce poverty and food insecurity in the sub-Saharan Africa.
“Despite these investments, sub-Saharan Africa continues to be plagued by poverty and food insecurity especially for resource-constrained communities,” he said.
“Most countries will not be able to achieve their MDG targets particularly that of eradicating poverty and hunger by 2015.”
The conference was being held at a time when the region was facing increasing challenges — rising poverty levels, increasing unemployment, declining agricultural productivity and increased loss of biodiversity.
Other development experts said although the continent was endowed with economic potential, African governments have been unable to institute realistic and efficient policies and programmes that would address basic problems affecting their smallholder farmers who account for 70 percent of total output.
“Significant investment should be channelled towards supporting the rural poor, particularly smallholder farmers,” said a researcher from Swaziland.
“Agriculture has been sidelined in favour of other political and economic priorities despite the challenge of hunger on the continent. We need to realign investment in agriculture and direct it towards poor farmers.”
Analysts say Africa is home to a quarter of the world’s fertile land but only account for 10 percent of global agricultural output.
The World Bank says it has committed itself to providing US$8-10 billion annually and a significant portion of this, up to one-third, is being directed to the specific needs of Africa’s farm sector.
In addition, the multilateral institution has expanded lending from US$0,4 billion in 2008 to US$1,2 billion a year and was working to boost Africa’s irrigated area, from 20 percent to 40 percent by 2030 by raising a quarter of the US$40 billion required for the investment.
Development experts remain sceptical that massive investment by the World Bank, EU and other multilateral and bilateral arrangements will boost agricultural output and end hunger in Africa.
“We must explore innovative and action driven measures to put an end to hunger in Africa,” said RAEIN-Africa director Ms Doreen Shumba-Mnyulwa.
“As researchers, we need to examine why certain agricultural technologies have been rejected by farmers and engage in participatory research that aims to address the practical needs of farmers.
“So much money has been poured into agricultural technologies and yet this has not improved agricultural output.
“We need to change this and support innovative initiatives that target to support smallholder farmers.”
The international conference, which attracted participants from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, sought to discuss innovative strategies that will reduce poverty and increase the resilience of the poor in addressing climate change and food insecurity.
It also aimed to identify opportunities and challenges in the development of pro-poor innovations that enhance the resilience of smallholder farmers in southern Africa.
Emerging policy options for strengthening co-innovation processes in the Sadc region were also discussed.
Poor transport and storage infrastructure, lack of appropriate farming technologies, inputs, labour and access to financial support and markets, are among factors holding back growth of Africa’s agricultural sector.
Development experts at the conference said working to increase market access, remove trade barriers and improve competitiveness, trade, transport, infrastructure, post-harvest handling and access to land could significantly improve food output on the continent.
Online Reporter