Global Policy Forum

By Dr. Christie Peacock*

Everyone knows that the most severe and intractable poverty in the world is in sub-Saharan Africa - and that the situation is getting worse.

Effective strategies to solve such seemingly insoluble problems are hard to coordinate and even more difficult to implement. But unless constraints at global, national, local and household levels are addressed, none of them will have a chance.

Self-sustaining growth

The World Bank has acknowledged the link between agricultural growth and poverty reduction. Indeed a one per cent increase in agricultural growth leads to an increase in the incomes of the poorest by twice as much as the same investment in the service sector. Yet international aid for African agriculture fell by almost half in the last decade of the twentieth century.

Clearly, rhetoric and reality are out of sync.

Directing support to the rural areas where three-quarters of poor Africans live and where it can bring results makes sense. Boosting smallholder production would kick-start self-sustaining growth across a range of agricultural and non-agricultural activities and is the kind of investment we should be making.

FARM-Africa, Harvest Help and the Centre for Development and Poverty Reduction, Imperial College London have published a joint report, Reaching the Poor: A Call to Action – Investment in smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the importance of smallholder agriculture as the key pathway out of poverty for the millions of impoverished rural Africans.

The alternatives are unviable. Mineral extraction and tourism could be important but only in particular areas. "Safety-net" welfare programmes for the poor would cost millions and fail to foster investment and enterprise.

In recent years, much attention has been paid to liberalising markets and creating macro-economic stability in order to stimulate demand for agricultural products. Such policies are necessary but not sufficient.

To enable smallholders to respond to new demand means removing the constraints that have caused smallholder agricultural growth in Africa to lag behind other continents and behind population growth.

Farmer-led initiatives and frontline services

On a global level, the UN advocates spending 0.7 per cent of national income on development assistance. Currently the UK spends just 0.4 per cent. So governments need to up their contributions to the agreed level and plough more money into African land. Northern governments also need to cooperate with NGOs to encourage farmer-led initiatives, working with African governments to make the case for investment in smallholder agriculture and to lobby for farmers to be involved in the policy-making process.

Land and water resources need to be available for farmers if they are to respond to new market opportunities and improve Africa's irrigation potential. Where land is scarce, agricultural development efforts need to target middling and better-off smallholder households and to look for ways to assist the semi-landless through the rural non-farm economy.

Roads, communication, water management and markets in Africa all need improving if the agricultural sector is to grow and thrive. Years of decline in government agricultural frontline services must be reversed.

Directing support to where it can bring results does not mean that growth will be easy, which is why we are pressing for action on several fronts. Industrialised countries must reform protectionist policies and accept that special treatment – in trade negotiations, for example – should be given to agricultural development in developing countries. Smallholder producers need investment so that they can respond to opportunities created by higher prices.

Reform of ministries of agriculture and implementation of coherent rural development strategies are preconditions for large additional investments in the agricultural sector in most African countries. Strategies must involve all stakeholders, including the private sector. This will encourage investment and give donors the opportunity to invest in African agriculture without having to work through national ministries of agriculture or other government agencies.

Seismic shift in commitment

The problems to be overcome are many and varied, ranging from poor soil to the impact of HIV/AIDS, from inefficient agriculture ministries to weak farmers' organisations, patchy roads and telecommunications, low produce prices and limited irrigation. (Four per cent of cropland in Africa is irrigated, compared with 40 per cent in South Asia.)

If these and other constraints fail to be addressed, the prospects for Africa's poor will remain bleak. Next year, the UK hosts the G8 meeting and is President of the European Union. This gives a very real opportunity to make a seismic shift in our commitment to international development.

It is high time that a commitment to agriculture was also renewed. This is essential if we are to make a lasting difference to the lives of some of the poorest people on this planet.

About the Author: Dr. Christie Peacock is Chief Executive of FARM-Africa.