Affordable food envisioned for Africa

Through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), African leaders believe that the agricultural sector, which already supports about 80% of Africa's population, especially the impoverished, and employs 60% of the same population, is the perfect vehicle to reach Africa's goal of becoming self-reliant and fully productive.

“The NEPAD goal for this sector is agriculturally-led development which eliminates hunger and reduces poverty and food insecurity, thereby enabling the expansion of exports and putting the continent on a higher economic growth path within an overall strategy of sustainable development, coupled with preservation of the natural resource base” said John Purchase, Agribusiness sector head for the NEPAD Business Foundation.

Purchase added that the CAADP programme, which was adopted by African Ministers of Agriculture in 2002, aims to secure the availability and affordability of adequate nutritional food, especially for the poor.

The programme will be founded upon four pillars, namely, improving rural infrastructure for trading markets, improving food production and reducing hunger, ensuring sustainable land management and reliable water control systems, and developing agricultural research and ensuring technology transfer and adoption.

Based upon the pillars, the programme will also strive to reach the average 6% annual growth rate by improving productivity, while creating dynamic agricultural markets between nations and regions.

Women and small scale farmers will be given special attention and thus integrated into the market economy.

“This will result in better access to markets and Africa becoming a net exporter of agricultural products,” said Purchase.

“We also plan to achieve a much more equitable distribution of wealth, as well as becoming strategic players in agricultural science and technology development.”

He also said that, to avoid degradation and promoting a culture of sustainable management of natural recourses, environmentally sound production methods will be practiced.

Many stakeholders from both developed and developing countries are already highly involved, through capacity development of organisations that are promoting sustainable and competitive production, agribusiness, agro-processing and agricultural trade and investment in Africa.

“Country and regulatory information on African trade and agro-processing will be supplied, while role players in those sectors, including the farming sector, are being identified,” said Purchase.

Several projects, such as the Joint Agribusiness Department of Agriculture Forum for Africa (JADAFA), the NEPAD-OECD Investment Initiative, EU-SADC Agro-Industry Partnership, and Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) and especially the Association for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) have already been launched to address some of these issues. The NEPAD Business Foundation has been involved in many of these successful initiatives.

Agribusiness, the biggest source of foreign exchange, is also Africa's largest GDP contributor, contributing about 40% to Africa's hard currency.

Consisting of the entire food and fibre value chain, from input to retail, it is the dominant provider of industrial raw material and the main generator of saving and tax revenues.