Agriculture as engine of growth for transforming in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Agriculture as engine of growth for transforming
in Sub-Saharan Africa Dr. Freddie
KwesigaDivision Manager, West Central
AfricaAfrican Development Bank(f.kwesiga_at_afdb.or
g) Presentation to the Earth Institute Global
Classroom
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Outline of presentation

• Background the role of the agricultural sector
  in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa
• A systemic approach to transforming African
  agriculture
• From islands of success to continental impact
  Scaling up and out through strengthening
  innovation capacity

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The main Challenge for Sub Saharan Africa
Poverty!

• Approximately 180m Africans live on less than
  US1 each day
• Livelihoods are mainly based on exploitation of
  natural resourcesprincipally agriculture.

Source World Bank 2004
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SSA and the MDGs
Sub-Saharan Africa may miss the 2015 target for
MDG 1 if business as usual approach maintained
Agriculture is key in reversing this trend, we
mst not loose focus on this sector.
Source World Bank, 2005
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Where are the poor and the hungry?

• Mainly in rural areas and reliant on rain-fed,
  subsistence agriculture
• Unable to grow or buy enough food to meet their
  dietary requirements
• Highly vulnerable to risks beyond their control

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Importance of agriculture in economic growth

• Agriculture along with education and health and
  infrastructure were top agenda at the dawn of
  independence for most SSA 50 years ago
• Self reliance in food production was key
• Agriculture remains the main source of
  livelihood for the majority of Africans,
  providing
• 35 of GDP
• 70 of employment
• 40 of exports
• Today, low agricultural productivity and
  degradation of natural resources are accelerating
  and reinforcing poverty and food insecurity.

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Diversity of farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
Given this diversity, recommendations are
indicative, not prescriptive not
one-size-fits-all, but a menu of choices from
which to develop integrated interventions
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Agricultural production system

• Characteristics
• Traditional, subsistence oriented agriculture
  as a way of life not 4 market.
• Largely rainfed, low soil fertility, low input
  use, little mechanization,
• Complex farming systems mixed crops, livestock
• In remote villages, far away from research and
  extension, based on farmer knowledge.

• Women perform the majority of agricultural tasks,
  with limited access to extension, credit value
  addition, market)
• Out-migration of men and youth from to urban
  areas
• Population growth ? pressure on land natural
  resource base
• HIV/AIDS, malaria other pandemic diseases
  impacts labor productivity
• Low input, low output.

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Vicious circle underlying decline in African
farmers livelihoods
Unfavourable economic returns to agricultural
production
Unsustainable agricultural practices
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Vicious circle underlying decline in African
farmers livelihoods
The vicious circle must be broken! HOW?
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Cereal Yield growth among low-income countries
Countries that began with low yields in 1980
tended to experience economic decline between
1980 and 2000
(Sachs, 2005)
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Realities of African Agriculture

• Low Agricultural productivity, reflects the
  failure to find and adopt more productive farming
  technologies and markets.
• New technologies markets helped farmers in Asia
  and Latin America during the green revolution.
  Farmers in Africa did not participate in this
  technological upgrade.

• The inability of African farmers to access more
  productive technologies and markets means more
  destructive methods unable to boost production in
  pace with population growth.
• One example is shortening fallow periods, a
  practice that mines soils and can eventually
  lead to actual decline in crop yields per
  hectare.

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need for systematic diagnosis
Fast growing population
Deforestation due to expansion of agriculture
Shortened fallow periods
Lack of technologies access to inputs
Labour constraints
Low soil fertility
Poor markets and policies
Weed infestation
Low productivity
Long dry season, droughts
Poverty and Food insecurity
Poor quantity quality fodder
Overgrazing
Causal Flow Diagram on household poverty food
security problems in Eastern Zambia (1988)
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Realities of ag sector in SSA

• Lack of access to technology inputs
• Inadequate infrastructure and land tenure
  arrangements
• Weak links to markets, lack of market
  information incentives

• Weak private sector (entrepreneurs exist, build
  on these)
• Underinvestment in Health, education and
  research ineffective RD models weak and
  unaccountable institutions
• Harmful policies (SAP)
• Effects of globalization

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Increasing land productivity through agroforestry
Agro-Forestry systems
continuous cropping
NPK Fertilizer
Improved yields
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Bundle AF with other options

• Farmers need options, Identify entry points

Inorganic Fertilizers
Water
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Two routes to ag production growth area vs.
yield growth (index, 1961100)
Agricultural production growth in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1961-2001 increase due largely to area
growth (doubled), only ?1 annual increase in
yields
Ag production increases in South Asia due to
yield (productivity) increases (?3.6 p.a.)very
slight increase in area
Source Henao Baanante (IFDC). African
Fertilizer Summit, Abuja, June 2006.
http//www.africafertilizersummit.org/Background_P
apers/0320Henao20and20Baanante--Agricultural20
Production.pdf
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Cost of Fertilizer in Europe (FOB) US 90
(Sanchez, 2001)
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Reversing the decline of agriculture requires
implementation of CAADP
Increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and
strengthening national and regional food security

• Extending the area under sustainable land
  management and reliable water availability

Agricultural research, technology uptake and
adoption
Interventions should be systemic ? in turn calls
for partnership and institutional mechanisms for
working in this model
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What are the relevant sub-systems that interact
in SSA agriculture?
Natural resources/biophysical environmt
Policies and markets
Infra-structure
Health and educationsystems
Global political- economic system
Private sectorfor value chain
Research and University Knowledge systems
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Building Infrastructure is key to the success of
agric sector..

• Urgent need for more and better
• Transportation infrastructure roads, waterways
  ports, railways, research, education, health
• Investments in water systems dams, large and
  small-scale irrigation systems, wells and most of
  all water harvesting and storage at farm level
• Provision of fuel and energy ( e.g solar
  powered)in rural areas
• Communications (use of IT is key, see cellphones)
• Investments in agro-industries (processing of
  agricultural products)

Urgent need to end the drudgery of collecting
water fuel ? womens burden
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Agriculture in SSA could gain more ground if .
Responses
Challenges

• Farmers produce what market requires (product
  mix, quality)
• Unavailability of quality seed
• Very low use of fertilizer (Africa averages
  12kg/ha, vs. 150Kg/ha in India and gt 400kg/ha in
  Japan)
• Lack of (timely) credit
• High post-harvest losses
• Little processing of production (value-adding
  activities) in rural areas
• High costs of transport to urban markets

• Improve access to market informa-tion, quality
  standards, etc. (e.g., market info delivery via
  cell phone)
• Partnerships emerging, (AATF, CGIAR, PVT sector)
• Increase availability of fertilizer, engage
  private sector (stockists) in distribution(AFFM
  at AfDB, GR)
• ? microfinance, esp. for women

Increase investments in post-harvest storage and
processing activities (machinery, training),
incl. ? role for private sector

• ? roads, farmer transportation cooperatives, ?
  regional markets

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African agriculture has registered some successes

• Varietal improvements (NERICA rice mosaic
  resistant cassava, IR maize, etc.)
• Increased use of inputs (soil fertility, fodder,
  pest management)
• Improved water capture and use (irrigation)
• Infrastructure (roads, dams) to support the above

• However, these have not had broad impact due to
• Poor linkages between production, processing,
  trade/marketing and consumption( value chain)
• Inadequate human and financial resources
• Weak institutional frameworks, including lack of
  partnerships for addressing these issues

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Signs of hope Greater input availability

• Increasing the availability of inputs recognized
  as essential to jump-starting agricultural
  growth, e.g.
• African Fertilizer Summit (Abuja 2006)
• AGRA initiative (Gates Rockefeller Foundation
  Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa)
• Millennium Villages initiative, Malawi story
• Growth of private sector seed companies
• AfDB African Water and Fertilizer Facilities
• Initiatives supporting micro-credit,
  micro-financing ( drawing from Grameen Bank)
• AfDB, World Bank investments in infrastructure
  (roads, irrigation systems, markets)
• CAADP agenda

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Signs of hope IT, private sector

• Emergence of IT (internet, cell phones) breaks
  down knowledge and information barriers (but more
  is needed to reduce costs and improve available
  information)
• Gradual increases in private sector involvement
  in African agriculture (recognize and empower
  Private sector from community perspective such as
  shopkeepers, transporters in value chains need to
  become more profitable, better linkages to
  markets for this to take off)

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Successful models as example ofinnovation system
initiative

• EXAMPLE 1 outgrower schemes are transferring
  knowledge and income sources to farmers in
  Mozambique and many other African countries.

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innovation systems

• EXAMPLE 2 Agroforestry/INRM to improve
  livelihoods o.f Kenyan Milk producers for the
  Nairobi Market

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innovation systems

• EXAMPLE 3 Organizing women farmers to improve
  access to inputs and markets in Malawi and
  Western Kenya. Fertilizers sold in small
  affordable packets ( like salt, sugar, paraffin
  etc)

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Scaling up out of successful innovations

• Documenting success stories and farmer
  innovations
• Understanding farmer practices of technology
  adaptation
• Perfecting use of extrapo-lation domains (GIS)
• Strengthening knowledge sharing processes
• Fostering enabling environments (policies, market
  incentives, etc.)

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Conclusions (1)

• Our goal must be to make African agricultural at
  profitable, and pleasurable to attract the
  youth, create jobs. This calls for renewed
  investment and focus on Africas rural poor
• Putting farmers first empower farmers to
  drive the development process
• Reaching Africas women farmers with inputs
  technology, and improving their education,
  health, economic returns and empowerment, are key
  drivers to the development process
• Major investments in sustainable soil and water
  management are required, especially in light of
  climate change

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Conclusions (2)

• More value-adding activities need to be created
  at the village level to generate more jobs and
  stem out-migration of Africas rural youth.
• Partnerships outside agric sector are key
• Slowing population growth and improving the
  skills health and education of rural people
  are essential for sustainable improvements in
  rural livelihoods
• Interventions must be grounded in a systems
  approach and long term planning
• Good science and good policy, good governance
  must underlie all our efforts.

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Thank you for your attention