Cheap food imports weakening Africa’s agric markets – AGRA
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) on Wednesday launched its inaugural report on the state of African agriculture in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Africa Agriculture Status Report takes an in-depth look at the staple crop value chain – from classroom to field to market – in 16 countries across the continent.
The report brings together data and analysis from more than 15 national and international organisations, including ministries of agriculture, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
It presents data in an accessible and consistent format, creating a benchmark to monitor the development of agriculture in Africa.
The inaugural Africa Agricultural Status Report focuses on staple crops, such as cereals and root-crops, around 75 per cent, produced in Africa.
The report reveals that while a number of countries are investing heavily in research and development and developing their agricultural sector, others are lagging behind, to the detriment of food security.
It said in terms of personnel engaged in agricultural research, Africa has the world’s lowest capacity with only 70 researchers per million inhabitants.
It noted that declining soil fertility threatens crop yields and agricultural development in a number of countries, while the average price of fertiliser delivered to farms in the US is $226 per tonne, it is $414 per tonne in Zambia.
The report said outdated national and regional laws and regulations are restricting the development of Africa’s seed markets, adding that the average length of the seed release process is around three years in most sub-Saharan African countries.
“Low cost and subsidised food imports are weakening African agricultural markets, along with poor access to credit, trade restrictions and high transportation costs.
“Although agriculture represents as much as 40 per cent of gross domestic product in some African countries, only 0.25 per cent of bank lending goes to smallholder farmers.
“Women, who represent the majority of Africa’s smallholder farmers, are heavily disadvantaged under current land rights systems.
“This is reducing their ability to access credit, agricultural technologies and services,” it stated.
The report said evidence shows that women in Africa are five times less likely than men to own land.
At the launch of the report, Strive Masiyiwa, Vice Chair of the Board of AGRA, said: “If we are to succeed in bringing about a Green Revolution in Africa, we need to record and understand where we making progress, but also where we are lagging behind.”
Jane Karuku, President of AGRA, said: “The Africa Agriculture Status Report is being published at a critical time for the continent. Ten years on from the Maputo Declaration, we can recognise some significant progress, but we must also shine a light on areas where action and investment are urgently needed.”
David Ameyaw, Director of Strategy, Monitoring and Evaluation at AGRA and one of the report’s leading authors, said: “This report marks the beginning of an ambitious project to consolidate reliable and accessible data on African agriculture”.
Source: GNA