An African Green Revolution?

When we think about Africa what comes to our mind is the harsh climatic conditions, the vast endless desserts, poverty, destabilized countries and a host of other problems. Hardly anyone thinks about Africa in a positive light. Yes, Africa is a challenging place! But it’s got the potential to be a game changer. We know it’s got vast natural resources. And one movement that is transforming the face of Africa is the African Green Revolution. So will Africa become the food basket of the world in times to come? Let’s find out the answer to this.

Agricultural yield in Africa is roughly one metric tonne from one hectare of land, which is lower than other places in the world – approximately seven metric tonnes per hectare, which suggest that there is a huge scope for improvement. The potential is there but how to reap it. Africa has got huge infrastructural problems, access to seeds, access to markets, irrigation facilities – the challenges are plenty. In addition to these, a history of conflicts, poor governance scares investors away from Africa. How to overcome them?

Africa is the focus of the world today in terms of agriculture produce. It is being looked at as a major future source of food for the whole world. As of now Africa is a food deficit continent. Many organizations are working hard to change that. Some of the notable ones are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller foundation, Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is working along with Coca Cola co. on a $11 million project in countries like Kenya. They are supporting farmers to produce fruits which can be used in Cokes Minute Maid drinks. The farmers are benefited by getting a better return for their produce.

The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has adopted a four point approach to tackle the problem of African farmers. First the Seed program. AGRA ensures that farmers have access to better quality of seeds, seeds which are more resistant. Low quality of seeds and soils is a major reason why Africa’s crop yields are lower than rest of the world. Second is the Soil program. This program aims to improve farm productivity by providing farmers access to locally adapted soil nutrients and integrated soil and water management. Third, the market access program, provides farmers with access to markets to sell their improved crop yields. And lastly, the Policy and Partnerships program which aims to create policies to provide support to farmers and local, regional and global level.

The Food and Agriculture Organization projects that Africa share in global cereals production will increase to 8.6 percent in 2050 from the current level of 4.5 percent. However, they are even more optimistic and say that with the right management and inputs, African crop yields have the potential to double or even triple. 

Africa’s agricultural transformation is based on a very simple idea. It is to aggregate the small farmers, which make up for 80% of the total farmer population in Africa, in to large groups and provide them with the right materials, training and access to markets. Hopefully, this simple idea will help about in bringing the ‘African Green Revolution’. Given the way world population is exploding, Africa will play a major role in satisfying this huge populations hunger. Program's like these have just started to bring about the necessary revolution, however, there is still a long way to go and numerous challenges to be overcome to realize Africa’s potential as a food basket for the world.