'Africa can feed the world' | Mark Tran

Kanayo Nwanze in a visit to China last week. At the Conference of FAO in Rome, said that Africa could repeat the success of farmers in China, which also suffered frequent droughts. Photography: Park Ji-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

Africa can feed not only himself, but the world is a bold statement to make at a time when famine looming over part of the continent.

But this is precisely the demand made by Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for agricultural development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations. Nwanze gave a forceful intervention in emergency meeting on Monday in Rome to discuss the crisis in East Africa, where, according to the UN, some 11.6 million people need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Nwanze drew a sharp contrast between Gansu province in Northwestern China and parts of Africa who can not feed. He said as many parts of the world, Gansu suffers from frequent droughts, limited water for irrigation and severe erosion. Even though the climate and the harsh environment, the programme area of Gansu farmers are feeding and increase their income.

"I met a farmer whose incomes have risen only 2 (￡ 1.20) per day in 2006 to $35 a day last year", he exclaimed.

So when asked why this could be done in China but not in Africa, Nwanze said the vital difference political era of the Government.

"What I saw in Gansu was the result of the policy of the Government to invest in rural areas and reduce the gap between the rural and the urban and curb the migration," said in a telephone interview. "You have a very hard environment, it has only 300 millimeters of rain a year, compared to the Sahel to get 400-600 mm, but the Government has invested in roads and electricity." We are a community ready to transform their lives for rainwater harvesting, using biogas, slopes terraces in the mountains. "There are cultures, earned, are vegetables, wheat and maize cultivation and income generation that allow you to build resistance."

While Somalia is a worse, still Nwanze, Ethiopia and Djibouti has been a lack of investment in the long term which makes them vulnerable to climate change. "Not enough to wait for disaster to act crisis." The rains will fail again, but Governments have not invested in the capacity of populations to resist drought.

Nwanze argues that Africa is facing the consequences of decades of neglecting agriculture, a fault found with aid donors and African Governments.

"There was a change in the paradigm of the agriculture industrialization," he said. "Is good, but not to the extent that neglect food and now face the consequences." Even where farming practices has been seen as the occupation of a poor man. "It is not as an attractive profession."

The figures backup you. In the mid 1990s, ODA for global development to agriculture reached $20 billion before decline to $endowed in a early 2000. It is slow upward again, reaching $9bn in 2009. In a recent report, one advocacy group, gave two reasons for the decline: complacency for food production in the world after the dramatic improvement in the production of food in Asia and Latin America and the doctrine of development stressed developing countries dismantle State and State enterprises including agricultural research during the 1960s and 1970s.

But after decades of neglect, agriculture is fashionable again in development circles. Posts by the increase in food prices worldwide in 2009, the g-8 group of rich countries and other donors committed to provide $22bn of funds for agriculture and food security. Donors have some ground to fulfill those promises in the agreed deadline of three years, but agriculture is firmly on the international agenda. In June, Ministers of Agriculture of the G20 agreed to a plan of action in Paris, which reiterated their commitment to the promise of 2009 L'Aquila and cited the importance of small farmers.

Nwanze, who welcomed the plan of Action considers that small farmers as the great hope of Africa. Agriculture, mainly on a small scale, represents approximately 30% of the GDP and at least 40% of the value of exports from sub-Saharan Africa. In a number of small countries in Africa, agriculture plays a more important role, representing 80 per cent or more of export earnings.

The President of IFAD said that Africa could easily increase the use of fertiliser without impact on the environment, because the current usage is so low. And cited the possibility of increasing irrigation: only 7% of the land in Africa is irrigated, compared with more than 30% of the land in Asia and the possibilities of farmers using improved seed varieties which would considerably increase the productivity.

If this sounds circular in the sky, Nwanze cites a number of countries that are experiencing success focusing on agriculture, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana - whose Governments, assisted by the private sector, have made a great commitment to agriculture. "The potential is enormous, said Nwanze.""With a small investment, Africa can feed and has the potential to feed the world".

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The crisis in the Horn of Africa is a warning to the world | Jeffrey Sachs

Newcomers tail of Somali refugees in tents by the charity of the Lutheran World Federation on the side of the Dagahaley in Dadaab, in Kenya refugee camp. Photography: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

The crisis in the Horn of Africa is a profound human disaster in the making and a warning to the world. More than 11 million Africans, primarily pastoralists in dry land of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and neighbouring countries, are at risk of dying of starvation after two seasons of rain has failed. They need urgent help to survive, and the Governments and non-governmental organizations are in place to deliver that aid if the necessary funding is confirmed immediately. An estimated $mil is urgently necessary, equal to $1 for each person in the world of high income.

The warning is clear. The Horn of Africa is the region's most vulnerable worldwide, beset by poverty, hunger and global climate change, in particular a drying and warming of the climate during the last quarter of a century. These scourges are leading to the spread of violence and war, and war is contributing to global instability. If fail to meet the challenges of the Horn of Africa in its causes: poverty and the vulnerability of pastoralists and nomadic populations of the agro - we will face increasing violence in the Horn of Africa, Yemen and beyond. The world could be severely endangered and trillions of dollars that would eventually be spent on military responses would be useless to prevent unrest. Hunger cannot be overcome by violence.

West has contributed to the crisis in the region through global climate change to sexual life and livelihood of the population of the region. It is high time that we act to help strengthen the economies of the pastors of these environmental threats to the region. We must not only provide emergency relief but go beyond, to help these poor regions out of extreme poverty and to be more resilient to climate change. Support the sustainable development of pasture in the Horn of Africa is not only save lives but help to put an end to the war and the spread of global instability.

"Traditional donors", including the United States and the European Union, have fallen much promises made at the Summit of the G8 in L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009 to help small farmers, including pastoralists. United States and the EU are in a deep political and financial crisis, meaning or is likely to step forward with the scale of emergency and long-term aid to the Horn of Africa that normally expected to comply with.

In this situation, it is encouraging that the Gulf countries, including members of the GCC, have demonstrated willingness to intensify its assistance to the Horn of Africa, across the Red Sea. These countries are experiencing an impressive increase in income from exports this year, giving them the opportunity to expand its regional and global leadership as well. The Islamic Bank of development, the leaders of the 57 countries of the Organization for cooperation on Islamic (OIC), the financial institution has also shown impressive and inspiring dynamism, as well as a commitment of countries in crisis in the Horn of Africa.

New donors, in the end, step forward to help meet the urgent needs of the Horn of Africa. The time is very short and the needs are great. Generosity and speed are of the essence.

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