frica has a lot of untapped agricultural potential that can feed the continent and spur socio-economic growth right from the bottom of the pyramid. The key to this lies in the mass of struggling smallholder farmers, comprised largely of women and a youthful population that governments and policy makers in Africa have left to their own devices.
Recent assessments by the African Development Bank (AfDB) reveal that there is an increase in the severity of food insecurity in Africa, and urgent interventions are required in the continent. Across the continent, hunger poses an even greater risk than COVID-19. The number of people living with hunger increased from 214 million to 246 million between 2015 and 2020.
According to AfDB, Africa spends about $35 billion annually on food imports and the figure is projected to rise to $110 billion by 2025. In its 2016-2025 strategy for agricultural transformation in Africa, the AfDB reports that to achieve the goal of a food-secure continent governments need to empower smallholder farmers, women, and youth.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of AfDB, said in a recent interview that Africa should be a global powerhouse in food and agriculture because 65% of the cultivatable arable land left in the world is in Africa.
“If you take a look at Thailand’s smallholder farmers, they produce the bulk of the rice we eat globally. Smallholders in India are the ones that produce rice and some of the pulses we eat globally. That tells me there is nothing wrong with smallholder farmers,” said Adesina.
“What we must do is make sure that smallholder farmers are provided with the support systems that they need. They need access to finance, information, markets, the best technologies in the world (including mechanization), and rural infrastructure to transform the rural economy.”
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)Food and Agriculture’s study; Smallholders, Food Security, and the Environment, smallholders manage over 80% of the world’s estimated 500 million small farms and provide over 80% of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world, contributing significantly to poverty reduction and food security.
Some experts agree that small-scale farmers, women, and youth in Africa can play a key role in ending food insecurity in the continent, if supported and included in the agriculture value chain.
Dr. Alex Awiti, a policy and development expert, explains that inadequate sound policies and strategies that support smallholder farmers are to blame for the food production crisis in Africa.
“Improving agricultural productivity is a complex public policy problem—it is influenced by a number of complex socioeconomic and political factors,” said Awiti.
Some of the factors—such as the use of inappropriate technology or inaccessible farm inputs—which are more often attributed to low agricultural productivity are symptoms of other deep structural problems in policy formulation.
Low agricultural productivity in Africa is further compounded by quality of inputs and technology. For example, “fertilizer use in smallholder farms in Africa is about 13-20 kilograms per hectare. This is about a tenth of the global average,” says Awiti. Besides, most of the smallholder farmers in Africa do not use high yielding fertilizers and seed varieties.
Another concern is that African governments focus on large-scale commercial farms on the premise that they are more efficient compared to the smallholder farmers who run the existing agricultural sector. Denying the existing local agriculture models opportunities for growth and attention only exacerbates the food productivity shortages and fails to improve the value addition chain.
African governments seem to be unaware that such large-scale commercial farms focus on industrial production at the expense of smallholder producers and are highly destructive and largely to blame for the agricultural productivity gap in Africa. Invariably, private sector investments tend to target international export markets with little commitment to local food and nutritional security goals.
Since they grow their own, such investments do not in any way boost the earnings of the local smallholder farmer, creating a cycle of poverty when clusters of farmers in remote rural villages cannot even afford to purchase farm inputs. This makes agriculture in Africa appear detestable, even to the youth, making its future look grim even when research shows that agribusiness is the future of the continent given that 50% of the region is arable land.
The agricultural sector in Africa continues to face numerous constraints that include diminishing farming land, over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture, poor soil fertility, fake fertilizer inputs in the market, low quality seeds, variability of crop prices, and an under developed credit market. “Less than 10% of Africa’s land is under irrigation and most of the production is exposed to the vagaries of weather and climate,” says Awiti.
Add to the litany of roadblocks the lack of agricultural inputs, bad technology and poor agricultural practices like the over-use of nitrogen fertilizers, which acidifies the soils and affects crop production. When inappropriately addressed and compounded together they lead to crop failure and poor yields.
Declining government support in agriculture, especially to smallholder farmers in African countries has had tremendous effect; a matter that needs to be addressed.
For example, in Ghana, absence of accessible storage and warehousing facilities means that farmers have to travel to long distance markets. With poor infrastructure in the rural areas, transportation costs are high. This makes farming a very costly undertaking that drains their resources. “Many smallholder farmers in Ghana farm on poor and degraded soils. Lack access to affordable and appropriate inputs including quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides,” says Kofi Yeboah, a knowledge mobilization strategist from Ghana.
In South Africa, smallholder farmers do not have adequate access to research and extension services, and often lack information about pricing. Combined with their lack of negotiation skills, it is hard for them to achieve optimal prices for their output.
“Small-scale farmers and the youth face the challenges of not receiving necessary funding and support from government and financial institutions. This is in part due to high risks associated with framing, and government's slow pace of land reform/redistribution,” says Mabine Seabe, a young farmer and youth leader in South Africa.
Mr. Mabine points out that youth and small-scale farmers struggle to access markets that will purchase their goods—large-scale and commercial farmers dominate the markets. “Ultimately, I would like to see commercial farmers partnering with and mentoring small-scale and youth farmers. The success of small-scale farmers is imperative in achieving food security” he adds.
Africa’s Progress Panel, believes that Africa can close the productivity gap in the agriculture value chain if smallholder farmers are supported to make use of the latest agronomic practices in combination with appropriately adapted seeds and fertilizers to boost their crop yield. However, to get there, African governments must support smallholders and give them incentives that would increase their productivity in order to generate surpluses to sell.
Similarly, Awiti notes that smallholder farmers are the future of agricultural development in Africa. “If governments prioritize the provision of agricultural inputs, value addition and make technology affordable; this will drive cottage industries to enable intensification,” he says. This is especially relevant when you consider rapid population growth, shrinking land resources, and climate change. “Enabling smallholder farmers to grow more food and sell in formal markets for a fair price would be a game changer in the agricultural productivity in the continent,” adds Awiti.
If empowered, smallholder farmers can contribute immensely to food security in Africa. But more efforts and sound policies are needed to unleash the smallholder farmers’ full production potential to contribute to and benefit Africa’s socio-economic growth. There is a growing need to develop robust policies and strategies that will connect the smallholders to markets. In fact, the biggest challenge that smallholder farmers in Africa face is access to markets.
As the magnitude and impact of food crises in the continent continues to take shape—aggravated by the over exploitation of natural resources and climate change—more and more support should be given to smallholder farmers.
At the unveiling of a new partnership titled Partnership for Inclusive Transformation in Africa, designed to improve food security for 30 million smallholder farm households in at least 11 African countries by 2021, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, then president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, urged governments and other stakeholders to invest in smallholders, especially the youth, to increase food production in the continent. “It is important to invest in modern technologies and give the youth and women more resources to venture into productive agriculture,” said Kalibata.
It is a matter of urgency that Africa’s governments intensify their efforts to increase the resilience, financing, access to markets, and capacity of smallholder farmers to engage in agriculture and improve food production in the continent. This requires proper formulation of agricultural policies that focus on the youth and women as the primary producers and that capacity builds the entire value chain to produce more and gain more, says Kalibata.
The world is focusing on Africa to ensure that food security becomes a reality. Empowering the continent’s smallholder farmers with inputs, improved farm technologies and practices, adequate training, access to ready markets and financial support, among others, is the surest way out of food insecurity.
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Empowering Smallholder Farmers Key to Food Security in Africa
Malagasi Farmer. Photo via Adobe Stock.
August 27, 2021
Africa has a lot of untapped agricultural potential that can feed the continent and spur socio-economic growth. African policymakers must empower struggling smallholder farmers, comprised largely of women and a youthful population, explains Raphael Obonyo.
A
frica has a lot of untapped agricultural potential that can feed the continent and spur socio-economic growth right from the bottom of the pyramid. The key to this lies in the mass of struggling smallholder farmers, comprised largely of women and a youthful population that governments and policy makers in Africa have left to their own devices.
Recent assessments by the African Development Bank (AfDB) reveal that there is an increase in the severity of food insecurity in Africa, and urgent interventions are required in the continent. Across the continent, hunger poses an even greater risk than COVID-19. The number of people living with hunger increased from 214 million to 246 million between 2015 and 2020.
According to AfDB, Africa spends about $35 billion annually on food imports and the figure is projected to rise to $110 billion by 2025. In its 2016-2025 strategy for agricultural transformation in Africa, the AfDB reports that to achieve the goal of a food-secure continent governments need to empower smallholder farmers, women, and youth.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of AfDB, said in a recent interview that Africa should be a global powerhouse in food and agriculture because 65% of the cultivatable arable land left in the world is in Africa.
“If you take a look at Thailand’s smallholder farmers, they produce the bulk of the rice we eat globally. Smallholders in India are the ones that produce rice and some of the pulses we eat globally. That tells me there is nothing wrong with smallholder farmers,” said Adesina.
“What we must do is make sure that smallholder farmers are provided with the support systems that they need. They need access to finance, information, markets, the best technologies in the world (including mechanization), and rural infrastructure to transform the rural economy.”
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)Food and Agriculture’s study; Smallholders, Food Security, and the Environment, smallholders manage over 80% of the world’s estimated 500 million small farms and provide over 80% of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world, contributing significantly to poverty reduction and food security.
Some experts agree that small-scale farmers, women, and youth in Africa can play a key role in ending food insecurity in the continent, if supported and included in the agriculture value chain.
Dr. Alex Awiti, a policy and development expert, explains that inadequate sound policies and strategies that support smallholder farmers are to blame for the food production crisis in Africa.
“Improving agricultural productivity is a complex public policy problem—it is influenced by a number of complex socioeconomic and political factors,” said Awiti.
Some of the factors—such as the use of inappropriate technology or inaccessible farm inputs—which are more often attributed to low agricultural productivity are symptoms of other deep structural problems in policy formulation.
Low agricultural productivity in Africa is further compounded by quality of inputs and technology. For example, “fertilizer use in smallholder farms in Africa is about 13-20 kilograms per hectare. This is about a tenth of the global average,” says Awiti. Besides, most of the smallholder farmers in Africa do not use high yielding fertilizers and seed varieties.
Another concern is that African governments focus on large-scale commercial farms on the premise that they are more efficient compared to the smallholder farmers who run the existing agricultural sector. Denying the existing local agriculture models opportunities for growth and attention only exacerbates the food productivity shortages and fails to improve the value addition chain.
African governments seem to be unaware that such large-scale commercial farms focus on industrial production at the expense of smallholder producers and are highly destructive and largely to blame for the agricultural productivity gap in Africa. Invariably, private sector investments tend to target international export markets with little commitment to local food and nutritional security goals.
Since they grow their own, such investments do not in any way boost the earnings of the local smallholder farmer, creating a cycle of poverty when clusters of farmers in remote rural villages cannot even afford to purchase farm inputs. This makes agriculture in Africa appear detestable, even to the youth, making its future look grim even when research shows that agribusiness is the future of the continent given that 50% of the region is arable land.
The agricultural sector in Africa continues to face numerous constraints that include diminishing farming land, over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture, poor soil fertility, fake fertilizer inputs in the market, low quality seeds, variability of crop prices, and an under developed credit market. “Less than 10% of Africa’s land is under irrigation and most of the production is exposed to the vagaries of weather and climate,” says Awiti.
Add to the litany of roadblocks the lack of agricultural inputs, bad technology and poor agricultural practices like the over-use of nitrogen fertilizers, which acidifies the soils and affects crop production. When inappropriately addressed and compounded together they lead to crop failure and poor yields.
Declining government support in agriculture, especially to smallholder farmers in African countries has had tremendous effect; a matter that needs to be addressed.
For example, in Ghana, absence of accessible storage and warehousing facilities means that farmers have to travel to long distance markets. With poor infrastructure in the rural areas, transportation costs are high. This makes farming a very costly undertaking that drains their resources. “Many smallholder farmers in Ghana farm on poor and degraded soils. Lack access to affordable and appropriate inputs including quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides,” says Kofi Yeboah, a knowledge mobilization strategist from Ghana.
In South Africa, smallholder farmers do not have adequate access to research and extension services, and often lack information about pricing. Combined with their lack of negotiation skills, it is hard for them to achieve optimal prices for their output.
“Small-scale farmers and the youth face the challenges of not receiving necessary funding and support from government and financial institutions. This is in part due to high risks associated with framing, and government's slow pace of land reform/redistribution,” says Mabine Seabe, a young farmer and youth leader in South Africa.
Mr. Mabine points out that youth and small-scale farmers struggle to access markets that will purchase their goods—large-scale and commercial farmers dominate the markets. “Ultimately, I would like to see commercial farmers partnering with and mentoring small-scale and youth farmers. The success of small-scale farmers is imperative in achieving food security” he adds.
Africa’s Progress Panel, believes that Africa can close the productivity gap in the agriculture value chain if smallholder farmers are supported to make use of the latest agronomic practices in combination with appropriately adapted seeds and fertilizers to boost their crop yield. However, to get there, African governments must support smallholders and give them incentives that would increase their productivity in order to generate surpluses to sell.
Similarly, Awiti notes that smallholder farmers are the future of agricultural development in Africa. “If governments prioritize the provision of agricultural inputs, value addition and make technology affordable; this will drive cottage industries to enable intensification,” he says. This is especially relevant when you consider rapid population growth, shrinking land resources, and climate change. “Enabling smallholder farmers to grow more food and sell in formal markets for a fair price would be a game changer in the agricultural productivity in the continent,” adds Awiti.
If empowered, smallholder farmers can contribute immensely to food security in Africa. But more efforts and sound policies are needed to unleash the smallholder farmers’ full production potential to contribute to and benefit Africa’s socio-economic growth. There is a growing need to develop robust policies and strategies that will connect the smallholders to markets. In fact, the biggest challenge that smallholder farmers in Africa face is access to markets.
As the magnitude and impact of food crises in the continent continues to take shape—aggravated by the over exploitation of natural resources and climate change—more and more support should be given to smallholder farmers.
At the unveiling of a new partnership titled Partnership for Inclusive Transformation in Africa, designed to improve food security for 30 million smallholder farm households in at least 11 African countries by 2021, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, then president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, urged governments and other stakeholders to invest in smallholders, especially the youth, to increase food production in the continent. “It is important to invest in modern technologies and give the youth and women more resources to venture into productive agriculture,” said Kalibata.
It is a matter of urgency that Africa’s governments intensify their efforts to increase the resilience, financing, access to markets, and capacity of smallholder farmers to engage in agriculture and improve food production in the continent. This requires proper formulation of agricultural policies that focus on the youth and women as the primary producers and that capacity builds the entire value chain to produce more and gain more, says Kalibata.
The world is focusing on Africa to ensure that food security becomes a reality. Empowering the continent’s smallholder farmers with inputs, improved farm technologies and practices, adequate training, access to ready markets and financial support, among others, is the surest way out of food insecurity.
