Leaders say continent can dramatically boost agricultural production

Cape Town, Jun 12, 2009 (World Economic Forum) -- Despite a host of obstacles - such as a lack of irrigation, inadequate roads, limited access to capital and widespread governmental indifference, sub-Saharan Africa has the potential not only to feed its own population but to become a major food exporter, business leaders and development officials contended at this year's World Economic Forum on Africa.  Such a goal may seem unrealistic, given that an estimated 300 million Africans currently go to bed hungry each night. However, precisely because agricultural productivity on the continent is so low, relatively modest investments in technology, infrastructure and education can yield sizable gains in crop yields and rural incomes, participants at this year's meeting were told.
"In partnership with the public and private sectors, Africa's small farmers can drive economic development," contended Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Africa. Annan cited the work being done by numerous groups, such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which he chairs, to provide small farmers with improved seeds, fertilizer and farm equipment, and improve their access to global and regional markets.
Together with greater public and private investment in roads, railroads and port facilities, these efforts could produce a "uniquely African grain revolution" - particularly in the continent's southern and central breadbasket regions, Annan said. This development in turn could boost Africa's industrial development by expanding rural markets for manufactured goods, added Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Thirty years ago, most South-East Asian countries had agricultural profiles that looked much like Africa today in terms of the balance between domestic production and consumption, noted Onajite Okoloko, Chief Executive Officer, Notore Chemical Industries, Nigeria. However, the market reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, building on the first Green Revolution of the 1960s, enabled many Asian countries to become net food exporters, he noted. This experience can be repeated in Africa, Okoloko argued, as long as four key ingredients are provided higher quality agricultural inputs, technical and economic training for farmers so they fully understand the benefits of those inputs, knowledge of and access to global markets and infrastructure investment.
Harish Manwani, President, Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Unilever, United Kingdom, argued that Africa's large rural population is a benefit, not an obstacle, when it comes to agricultural advancement. When his company seeks to establish operations in new countries, the most serious challenge it faces typically is finding qualified employees. But no such shortage exists in the country's agricultural sector. "Africa has 2 billion people who know how to farm," Manwani said. "We just have to provide them with the right tools."
More than 900 participants from 50 countries participate in the 19th World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town from 10 to 12 June 2009 under the theme Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Africa.
The Co-Chairs of the 2009 World Economic Forum on Africa are Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Soud Ba'alawy, Executive Chairman, Dubai Group, United Arab Emirates; Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of the Board, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, People's Republic of China; Graham Mackay, Chief Executive, SABMiller, United Kingdom; and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank, Washington DC.

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