Kofi Annan, the father of green revolution in Africa
By Anthony Muchoki
Agriculture is the only sector in Africa capable of bringing the most inclusive forward economic transformation for a better continent.
According Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, transformation of African agriculture could improve the lives of millions of people across Africa.
Speaking at an APP-hosted side event at the Alliance for a Green Revolution Forum in Addis Ababa, he lamented that despite all efforts there was a neglect of sectors related to agriculture which have allowed inequality on the continent to accelerate.
“African economies may have grown rapidly, with average incomes rising by a third. But poverty and malnutrition is expanding too,” he noted.
He said it was a pity that Africa spends roughly US$35 billion a year on food imports. If the bigger part of that amount went to African farmers instead of foreign businesses it would go a long way in creating wealth for Africa.
It was a sordid reality that too many African farms are woefully underperforming and productivity levels are a fraction of their potential, he noted.
To change the situation farmers need more investment from governments, businesses, including multinationals. “Public-private partnerships is the key to Africa’s agricultural success,” he noted.
He called on unblocking the political obstacles that prevent farmers from thriving.
He challenged the African government that the promises that count are those that are implemented. Here he was alluding to 2003 Maputo Declaration for Agriculture which for years was largely ignored by government.
In the declaration African leaders had committed themselves to allocate at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture and the targets were renewed last year in Malabo Summit.