Africa: Green Revolution Forum convenes in Ghana

By Peter Omondi

Accra, Ghana  – Addressing over 500 participants at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), leaders representing African governments and the continent’s best and brightest in the fields of agriculture, finance, and development emphasized the need to break from long-term policies that have neglected agriculture and discouraged investment in the farm sector.

“The time is right to invest in African agriculture and our smallholder farmers,” said Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in his opening address to the Forum. “If we prioritize our investments and work together in partnerships, we can deliver long-term solutions to hunger and poverty, and propel our continent on a path to prosperity.”

The Forum brings together African policymakers, farmers, scientists, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, NGOs, and civil society to prioritize policies and investments for driving agricultural productivity and income growth for African farmers in an environmentally sustainable way. AGRF is supported by the African Development Bank, AGRA, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), NEPAD, the Rockefeller Foundation, Standard Bank, and Yara International.

“There comes a time in the history of people and continents, when they make decisions that will affect current and future generations. I believe we have come to such a moment,” said H.E. John Dramani Mahama, Vice President of Ghana, in his opening address to the Forum.

“The world is recovering from a global food and financial crisis,” said H.E. Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pinda, Prime Minister of Tanzania. “As a result the number of undernourished people has increased. Africa must take the bull by the horns and end the structural reasons that prevent it from feeding itself.”

Starting in the 1970s, policies of structural adjustment “abolished all forms of support for farmers,” with a devastating effect on smallholders in particular, according Pinda. During this time the use of fertilizer and other farm inputs declined, along with agricultural production.  But today, Pinda said, Tanzania approaches agricultural development “on our own terms.”

The Tanzanian government launched a voucher programme in 2005-06, enabling smallholder farmers to obtain improved seed and fertilizers.  In 2009, the government launched the Kilimo Kwanza, which means Agriculture First in Kiswahili, to transform agriculture into a modern and commercial sector. The programme has resulted in maize surpluses. According to Pinda, a new problem now exists: a market for farmers to sell their huge surpluses at profit.

Along with the renewed focus on home-grown African policies was an acknowledgement that neither governments, nor the private sector, nor civil society alone can make changes on the scale needed.

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo noted that development has been difficult to sustain in the past, particularly when some countries experience a change of political leadership.

“Partnerships between philanthropic organizations, the public and private sectors offer a solution. These will make sustainability possible,” he said.

These issues and more were discussed during a workshop on building a vibrant and competitive seed sector in Africa. The topics focused on production and marketing of Africa’s food staples and oil crops; high value crops like cocoa and other products; regional and national farm commodity exchanges and marketing information; increasing access to finance; policies for improving fertilizer supply; and empowering women for Africa’s Green Revolution.