DAILY TRUST Wednesday, May 11,
2 BUSINESS
2011
Busi ness/I nternationa I
Ensuring food security in Africa 8y Edith Nnaji
However, Okonjo-Iweala observed that there was the need to have a databank on issues relating to the food crisis, with a view to initiating pragmatic strategies on how to manage it effectively. "This is one of the major challenges that we are facing; there is lack of transparency in terms of information on where there is food. "It is very important that to have transparent information on the food situation because sometimes, we have vague information on the situation. "We need to know about parts of the world or even countries where enough food is being produced to enable us to distribute food from these areas to the needy areas:' she said.
y most accounts. agriculture is the mainstay of most African economies, as experts insist that Africa has what it takes to produce food for its population of about one billion people and even expor! food to other regions of the world. The continent, which is blessed with good weather and geographical conditions, has the capacity to produce food to feed its inhabitants, all things being equal. Agricultural experts, however, note that some regions of the world, including Africa, have been experiencing food crisis, as global food prices spiralled upwards, partly because of rising fuel prices, among other factors . The rising food prices have elicited a lot of concern from observers and agencies such as the World Bank; whose Food Price Index is currently around its 2008 peak. Since Tune 2010, an additional 44 million people fell below the 1.2S-U.S.-doliar poverty line as a result of higher food prices, says the latest edition ofWorld Bank's Food Price Watch. The situation may even get worse, as simulations show that a further lOoper-cent increase in the food price index could lead to 10 million people falling into poverty, while a 30-per-cent increase could increase poverty by 34 million people. However, the situation varies from country to country. The World Bank publication indicates that low-income and
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konjo-Iweala, nonetheless, reiterated the need for African leaders to adopt modern agricultural methods, so as to attract the youths to participate in farm ing activities. She stressed that improved agriculture would help African farmers to add value. to their lives, while repositioning them to contribute more effectively to the growth of the region The World Bank chief also urged African leaders revamp the infrastructure of their countries and ensure the citizens' access to amenities such as potable water, stable electricity and good telecommuni-
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lower-income countries are experiencing an average 5 per-cent points' higher food price inflation, whe n compared to betteroff countries. A special focus on the Middie East and the North African region in the publication reveals a double-digit food price inflation in Iran, Egypt and Syria, with more moderate levels in other parts of the region. In spite of the gloomy picture, experts, nonetheless, insist that Africa has the wherewithal to produce abundant food, attain food security and even export food to other continents. Prof. Cales taus Tuma, a professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard Kennedy School in the U.S., belongs to this school of thought. He stressed' that agriculture remained the strength of most African economies, adding that if agriculture was given priorityattention in Africa, the region had the
capacity to withstand the vagaries of rising global food prices. Tuma, who said this at the recent IMFI World Bank Spring Meeting at Washington DC in the U.S., stressed that African leaders should focus their attention and energy on how to use agriculture to foster the region's development. ''Agriculture and economy are one and the same, in the sense that the African economy is driven by agriculture:' he said, adding: "Therefore, the countries' ministers of agriculture ought to be the presidents to enable them to effectively coordinate agricultural activities."
Citing the Malawian experience, Tuma noted that Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika, took over the ministry of agriculture, as part of deSigned strategies to enhance food production in the country. He stressed that the leadership factor was very essential in the implementation of food production programmes. Tuma reiterated that the rising food prices in Africa could be effectively curtailed if there was a pragmatic focus on agriculture. Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Managing Director of the World Bank, urged African leaders to focus more attention on developing their countries"agricultural seetors, while making pragmatic efforts to boost food produc-
tion . "I think African countries really have to sustain their efforts to use agriculture funds to ensure food security:' she said. Okonjo-Iweala stressed that the global food crisis had been haunting the world, adding, however, that Virtually all the African leaders had come to realise the pivotal roles of agriculture in efforts to boost the economy. "However, African countries should diversify agriculture for food production, jobs creation and exports:' she said, adding: "They should not practice agriculture in the old way; they should adopt new, modern agricultural techniques to attract young people into agriculture:' Mrs Agnes Edmond, an agriculturist, supported Okonjo-Iweala's sentiments but insisted that greater efforts should be directed at expanding the people's access to credit facilities for agricultural ventures. She noted that most African farmers were hamstrung by their lack of access to agricultural funding, adding that issues regarding the land tenure system should also be examined. ''Africa has a lot of contentious issues. Corruption should be checked, the land tenure system should be properly managed, while farmers shotild have little difficulties in accessing credit for farming activities," Edmond said.
Okonjo-lweala said tbat such efforts would go a long way in stemming ruralurban migration, while ensuring even development within the countries. "We have to think about issues like inter-linkages of connection to modern technology, the Internet, mobile phones and how they can be used to improve agricultural output," she said. "We also have to think of how to support farmers with credit, so that they can improve their production and bridle volatile food prices but there is a compelling need to have reliable information on rising food prices in the world so as to reduce its volatility; she added. )uma urged African countries to take a cue from China in efforts to boost agricultural production, adding that they should also strive to promote mechanised farming. He also underscored the need to encourage African farmers to set up agroallied enterprises, adding that governments should endeavour to promote agricultural activities by putting in place good infrastructure the rural areas. )\Ulla said that the governments should also initiate good incentives for the farmers so as to boost their morale, adding that such motivation should necessarily involve expanding the farmers' access to good credit facilities. Besides, the professor stressed that the success of regional integration activities in Africa would hinge on the availability of good transnational highways to facilitate the transportation of goods within the region. The experts unanimously agreed that agriculture would playa pivotal role in Africa's development if substantial investments were made in the sector. The discussions at the World Bank meeting were incisive, apt and thoughtprovoking but one thing is, however, crystal clear: African countries and their leaders need to make sincere, deSigned efforts to ensure food security on the continent.
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