African Green Revolution is attainable goal
Hunger is rampaging around the world. Global food prices have more than doubled in two years, creating a global food crisis. Nowhere is this crisis more serious than in Africa. We have seen food riots in places such as Egypt, Cameroon and Senegal. The economic and social costs are very high. Less visible, however, is the silent hunger that has plagued Africa for decades. Well before the global food crisis became world news, an estimated 200 million people — one third of Africa’s population — were hungry.
This situation is easily explained. African agriculture has long been neglected at national and international levels. As a result, cereal yields in Africa hover at one-quarter the world average — and Africa must depend on food imports and food aid. This is unsustainable.
To end widespread hunger and poverty, the continent needs a uniquely African Green Revolution that will substantially increase the productivity and incomes of millions of small farmers, most of them women.
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa is working with African farmers and our partners to put in place the medium- and long-term measures needed to replace poverty with prosperity. We are working to increase farmers’ access to essential inputs, such as high-quality seeds and appropriate fertilizers; to increase access to affordable financing; to advance agricultural education; and to improve soil fertility. We are supporting the development of improved varieties of Africa’s crops that are high-yielding, drought- and disease-resistant. Other measures are needed as well, including strengthening infrastructure, value-added enterprises such as food processing and small-scale irrigation.
These efforts need the support of national and global policies that are pro-poor, pro-agriculture and pro-environment. Globally, trade policies that restrict agricultural products must end. Trade rules must be rebalanced so that poorer farmers can join regional and global markets as their productivity increases.
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa is working with our partners to rapidly increase agricultural productivity; protect the environment and biodiversity; create jobs, and stimulate investment in rural areas. Only such an African green revolution will enable African nations to become self-sufficient in food and to become a bread basket for the world.
