Every three years, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, FARA convenes a continental gathering of all stakeholders involved in Africa agricultural development, known as the Africa Agriculture Science Week, AASW. The 6th edition with the theme, “Africa Feeding Africa through Agricultural Science and Innovation” was hosted by the Government of Ghana and the General Assembly of the FARA between Monday, July 15 and Saturday 20 with a focus on home-grown food security and innovations that will enable Africa feed itself and improve livelihoods.
The objectives among others were to enable FARA constituents meet to review progress and lessons learnt since the 5th Agriculture Science Week; to determine the African regional agenda for the next three years; to hold the Ghana Agricultural Science day as a highlight of Africa Agriculture Science Week; to mark progress towards achievement of the CAADP vision; and to hold the Business meeting for the purpose of ratifying various issues related to the program, governance of FARA and the leadership of the FARA and Secretariat.
The theme of the Week is “Africa Feeding Africa through Agricultural Science and Innovation”, with sub-themes on education and human resource development, innovations to improve productivity and resilience, moving from competition to collaboration and innovative financing and investment in agriculture.
Members of FARA said the focus is on home-grown solutions to ensure food security on the continent, while making agricultural research and development a priority.
“The purpose of Africa Agriculture Science Week was to bring all entities, partners, collaborators, constituents, all that are involved in agricultural research for development in Africa, and this includes constituents and partners from outside Africa, convened to Accra, Ghana, so that we can discuss issues relating to agricultural research for development in Africa, particularly the role of science and technology,” explained Professor Monty Patrick Jones, executive director of FARA.
Prior to the commencement of the meeting, Jones had named two gaps in the process of ensuring food security for Africa. One, he said was a lack of what he called foresight thinking. Good enough, participants were able to analyze the present status of their efforts, identified gaps, came up with recommendations, and determined what needs to be done within the next three years.
“In the current light of climate change, we are having severe drought, where we are having floods in some areas, and aggravated levels of diseases and insect pests. We want to know what will happen in the foreseeable future, and we want to be able to put in place programs that will address those problems,” said Jones.
The executive director said another major gap to Africa’s food security is capacity building. He explained that this centers on lack of resources in many countries which directly leads to a lack of skilled workers.
Jones said with the large turnout of senior ministers at the event this week, the goal is to drive a message of support for Africa to claim ownership of its own programmes. “We are not saying that we don’t need the support of our donor partners from the west and other places. We do,” related Jones.
He added to show that Africa is serious about solving its own food security problems; stakeholders are putting together a science agenda for Africa. Jones said it will be a key document that spells out the type of science needed to take the continent to where it wants to be and where it needs to be in the near future.
Meanwhile, the President, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Dr Kanayo Nwanze, has identified the decline in agriculture as the cause of hunger and poverty in Africa. Speaking at the opening of the AASW with an estimated 1200 participants from across Africa in Accra, he stressed that waste of human lives and potentialities through hunger and extreme poverty were not only tragic but also a disgrace to the continent.
According to him, growth in agriculture equates to a reduction in poverty, adding that in the sub-Saharan region, growth generated by agriculture is 11 times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth in any other sector.
The IFAD president said there has been a tremendous decline in Africa’s agricultural sector in the past three decades because of lack of investment and inadequate research and development.
“Today, it seems that while much of the world moves forward, Africa is moving backward. Over the past three decades, agricultural productivity in Africa has been stagnant or declining because of years of under investment.
“Is there any wonder then that there is so much poverty and hunger on our continent, the resulting waste in human lives and potentialities is not only tragic but it is a disgrace because there is simply no reason for it?
Nwanze, however, urged the government of each country and international bodies to pay adequate attention to smallholder farmers as they are the key to development in Africa.
“There is a focus on the smallholder farmers by IFAD because they produce 80 to 90 per cent of the food we consume in this continent; they are part of the solution to food sufficiency and security in Africa.
“They are businessmen and women; they are not waiting for government, they are waiting for economic opportunities to grow their businesses.
“Smallholder holds the key to Africa’s development. Successful small farms can provide a variety of jobs, decent income and food security,’’ he said.
As the president commended the Forum for Agricultural Development in Africa, FARA for bringing together African countries to share their experiences and address their challenges in order to boost productivity, he pointed that the forum’s aim would be defeated if they was no consistent research and development in the continent, Nwanze noted..
“The development of a science agenda for agriculture in Africa under the auspices of FARA is an important step on the road to a strong agricultural sector.
“It is all the more important because it is Africa-owned and Africa-led. It holds the promise for African farmers and citizens reaping the benefits of African research.
“But it will only translate into stronger nations and better lives for the people of Africa if it is supported by coherent investment in agriculture and the development of the continent.
“One-third of all food ends up as waste, 57 per cent of the potential edible crops harvested is not available for consumption and 90 per cent of the world soya bean production is consumed by animals instead of humans.
“Our continent is not immune to waste. In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 20 to 40 per cent of the crops produced deteriorate after harvest because they cannot be safely stored.
“Consider the post-harvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa which averages about four billion every year. “This food should meet the nutritional needs of about 50 million people; losses on this scale are scandalous particularly on a continent where millions go hungry.’’
Nwanze advised Africa to make sure that it did not put agriculture and development into separate silos as it looked forward to the post-2015 development agenda.
In his remarks, the Vice President of Ghana, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur urged IFAD to increase its assistance to rural communities to create other forms of employment to absorb labour released from farming.
Prior to the official opening, stakeholders and organizations engaged in agriculture and rural development around sub-themes on food security. The recommendations of these meetings will be presented during plenary sessions on July 16.
With the target date for the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs drawing nearer, the Week’s topics are particularly relevant given that food and nutrition security remain key challenges especially in Africa. The Week which attracted over 1,200 delegates including Ministers of Agriculture; Science and Technology, researchers, farmers, extension workers, civil society and development partners.
Speaking at the launch of the AASW, Dr. Tiemoko Yo, Chairperson of FARA said the Science Week, and the range of events taking place during it, plays a critical role in responding to burning issues in African agricultural Research and development.
“The recommendations emanating from the pre-plenary meetings, which will be presented at plenary will take center stage in shaping Africa’s agenda for food security, poverty reduction and economic development over the next three years and will also contribute to global initiatives for African development for the post MDG era,” he said.