Africa

Feed the Future

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:00:01 GMT

Global hunger initiative focuses on agriculture

“We need game-changing, innovative solutions to address these challenges.” –Jonathan Shrier, special representative for Global Food Security in the U.S. Department of State, in response to concerns about climate change, food demand and decline in per capita of cultivable land.

6.6 million rural households in developing countries benefit from direct U.S. government food interventions.

When the global food crisis struck five years ago, the U.S. took swift action by investing more than $1.5 billion in food and support in developing countries. These investments were the precursor to President Barack Obama’s Feed the Future initiative, which has pledged $3.5 billion for ag development globally. Currently, the focus is on 19 countries (see map). Working with partner governments, researchers and the private sector, Feed the Future hopes to reduce the prevalence of poverty and stunting in children under 5 years old by 20% in the next five years. This translates to 10 million fewer poor people and 2 million fewer children who have to deal with stunting by 2017.

Steer the Focus to Farming

Recent studies suggest that every 1% increase in agricultural income per capita reduces the number of people living in extreme poverty by 0.6% to 1.8%.

For more information on Feed the Future, visit www.FeedtheFuture.gov

Africa: The Right Way to Help

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:04:10 GMT

Helping sub-Saharan African farmers modernize the way they raise crops, and doing the same for the continent’s agricultural system as a whole, stands to benefit everyone. It not only helps millions of people better feed themselves in this growing world, it sows seeds of prosperity in a region whose population will soon comprise more than 20% of all people on earth. That’s a lot of hungry mouths to figure out how to feed by 2050 and potential future middle-class consumers who will drive billions in commodity sales (think China).

These are just a few reasons the work of U.S. groups - governmental and non-governmental - to help African agriculture is important. But how do we ensure our work is effective amid the challenges of the 21st century? The Farm Journal Foundation decided to address the issue as Congress starts the 2018 farm bill.

The first of a series of new policy papers commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation offers suggestions on ways U.S. groups and the government could more effectively help African agriculture. They’re intended to start the conversation, not provide all the answers. The following excerpts from the first of the three papers.

U.S. National Interest

Investing in Africa’s economic growth is in the U.S. national int3rest. U.S. exports pof agricultural products to sub-Saharan Africa totaled $2.6 billion in 2013 and will grow rapidly if Africa continues to develop. By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa will contain 2.1 billion people - 22% of the world’s population compared with 12% today. Rapidly rising population and incomes in Africa will increase the demand for a safe, affordable and sustainable global food supply. U.S. farmers and agribusiness can help themselves by helping Africa meet its rapidly growing food needs, by investing in the region’s agri-food systems and by supporting a sustainable, efficient global food system.

Public/Private investment

Agricultural growth rarely happens spontaneously or solely through private-sector initiative, as crucial as private investment is. Private investment responds to incentives. A sustainable approach to developing mutual U.S. - Africa interests will require greater support for the development of African public institutions to nurture the next generation of African educators, farm Extension workers, research scientists, business entrepreneurs and workers in agri-food systems, as well as policymakers.

Chronic Underfunding

Despite public agricultural institutions’ role in providing public goods, many such institutions in Africa are no more effective in fulfilling their mandates than they were three decades ago - in some cases, even less so. National agricultural research and Extension systems remain chronically underfunded and, with a few notable exceptions, have had little impact. Though there is strong evidence public expenditures to agricultural research and Extension services are effective in promoting agricultural productivity growth and poverty reduction. Governments in Asia and Latin America provide much more funding to their agricultural research and Extension systems, and these countries are, not surprisingly, reaping major rewards from these investments.

The time has arrived for the U.S. to invest directly in long-term capacity building of African agricultural training colleges, vocational schools, national crop science research organizations, Extension systems and policy analysis institutes. International private companies, universities and non-governmental organizations have important but increasingly redefined roles that put African institutions in the lead.

Read the whole paper here

Editor’s Note: The original report was authored by: Thomas Jayne, a professor at Michigan State University; Chance Kabaghe, executive director of the Zambian Association of Manufacturers, board chair of the Zambian Agricultural Commodity Exchange and former deputy minister of agriculture, Government of Zambia; and Isaac Minde, a professor at Michigan State University and deputy director of the Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative (iAGRI), in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Farm Journal Foundation is dedicated to sustaining U.S. agriculture’s ability to serve the vital needs of a growing world population with education and empowerment. The foundation houses Farm Journal’s many advocacy initiatives such as the Farmers Feeding the World campaign and elements of the Farm Journal Legacy Project. For more information on the Farm Journal Foundation, visit www.FarmersFeedingTheWorld.org

Less Oil and More Farms Is What Africa Needs, UN Agency Says

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:03:37 GMT

African countries need to increase their focus on agriculture investment and lessen emphasis on oil and mining to improve food security for their citizens, a United Nations agency said.

Most African governments have focused on growth in extractive industries such as oil and mining, resulting in some neglect of agriculture, said Kanayo Nwanze, the president of the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development, based in Rome. That’s heightened food insecurity and crippled opportunities for the majority of the continent’s population that lives in rural areas, he said in a telephone interview from London.

“Oil hasn’t fed people,” Nwanze said. “It has enriched the pockets of a few people and the majority have become poorer. A vibrant agricultural sector not only feeds your population, it creates jobs, it generates wealth and it will keep people on their land.”

Countries such as Nigeria, the continent’s most-populous nation, Angola and Zambia rely on exports of commodities such as oil, natural gas and copper for revenue. Their vulnerability to price swings was laid bare last year as commodity prices collapsed, leading some nations to seek help from the International Monetary Fund. Agriculture comprised about 17 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product in 2015, while industry, which includes mining and manufacturing, accounted for about 25 percent, World Bank data show.

Minimum Allocations

While each nation is different, “there is no doubt that African countries in general are not providing the minimum allocation of resources as agreed in the Maputo Declaration of 2003,” Nwanze said. The agreement, signed by most African states, obliges countries to allocate 10 percent of their budget to agriculture development. There are probably eight countries that have done it consistently, according to Nwanze.

“Africa’s development is not going to be sustained or maintained by the extractive industries or non-farm sector,” Nwanze said last week. “The rural agriculture communities are the backbone of development.”

There are signs of change. Nigeria, which relies on oil for two-thirds of state revenue and 90 percent of foreign-currency earnings, is turning to farming as dwindling oil income has driven the economy to the brink of its first full-year contraction in 25 years and more people go hungry. The government plans to capitalize the state-owned Bank of Agriculture Ltd. with 1 trillion naira ($3.2 billion) so it can lend to farming projects at less than half the commercial rate.

About 45 percent of IFAD’s investments in loans and grants go to sub-Saharan Africa, which has 25 percent of the world’s arable land, but generates only 10 percent of its agricultural output, according to IFAD. The organization’s investment on the continent more than doubled to $2.7 billion in 2015 from 2009.

Nwanze was in London last week to give a speech at All-Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture and Food for Development in the U.K.’s House of Lords. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities.

Many southern and eastern African nations’ harvests have been hurt by an El Nino-induced drought. This includes output from South Africa, which is the continent’s biggest producer of corn and whose white variety is used to make a staple porridge eaten throughout the region.

Del Monte pineapple tags highlight sustainability projects

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:24:38 GMT

Del Monte Fresh Produce North America Inc. , Coral Gables, is introducing pineapple tags to highlight sustainability efforts.

The company’s gold pineapples will feature tags featuring six Del Monte Fresh sustainability facts, according to a news release.

“Sustainability is ingrained in our company values,” Dennis Christou, vice president marketing for Del Monte Fresh,” said in the release. “We not only strive to conduct our business in ethical, socially responsible and transparent ways due to our respect for our employees and the communities they live in, but we want our consumers to feel good about the food they are eating when enjoying Del Monte Fresh products.”

The tags will focus on six sustainability facts:

In Kenya, Del Monte’s protected waterway supports more than 95 hippopotamuses;
The company gave 640 scholarships to children in Central American communities in 2017;
Del Monte Fresh Produce has recycled more than 30,000 tons of plastic used on its banana farms since 1995;.
More than 1,000 species of animals live at Del Monte’s El Tigre Forest Reserve in Costa Rica;
A redesign of Del Monte pineapple boxes in 2000 has reduced paper use by more than 160,000 tons; and
More than 90% of Del Monte pineapples are grown on sustainably grown certified farms.

Del Monte Fresh Produce has also planted more than 700,000 trees, funded clean water projects in Kenya and the Philippines and has reduced energy consumption, according to the release.

The Del Monte Sustainability Report outlines the company’s progress.

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