New thinking needed to fight hunger in Africa
Posted by africanpress on November 10, 2009
By Peter Orengo
African countries have been challenged to embrace commercial agriculture to combat food shortage.
The International Center for Soil Fertility and Agriculture Development (IFDC) said many countries were over relying on subsistence farming.
It said the East Africa Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) should develop an input market information system to spur commercial production.
Speaking at an international training forum attended by agricultural stakeholders from East and southern Africa, IFDC East and Southern African Division director Rob Groot asked countries to expand agriculture.
“The food situation in Africa is deteriorating because agriculture is looked at as a development practice rather than a commercial entity,” Groot said.
He added that African markets are not developed due to lack of access to crucial information.
“The role of the inputs market in promoting food security and agricultural growth is critical to the success of regional and national policies,” Groot said.
In East Africa, he said the use of agro-inputs including fertilisers and improved seeds was extremely low, at an average of 8kg per hectare.
Increased output
This cannot be compared to India, the US and Australia
, who use four times the amount, resulting into increased production.
Based on IFDC experience in Africa, participants heard that output market demand is a major driver for increased food productivity if combined with other market components that drive the value chain.
In Kenya, despite having favourable agricultural soils, nearly 10 million people in marginal agricultural areas are estimated to be highly food insecure.
The food insecurity follows a succession of poor seasons since March 2007, that have resulted in a series of below average harvests, culminating in near total crop failure during the last short rains season.
This failure was compounded by a precipitous rise in food and non-food prices that began in January 2008 and has continued into this year, the forum heard.
In addition, tightened food supplies had arisen due to reduced domestic production and a decline in cross-border maize imports, reduced food availability in local markets.
Experts blamed the perennial food insecurity on over reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
The Government has since rolled out irrigation projects to supplement rain-fed food production.
IFDC said the revamping of agricultural co-operations and trade association could help in food production and provide farmers with extra cash from their produce.
source.standard.ke
