Africa Guardian

Accelerating Beyond the Tipping Point
Summary of Opening Remarks by Mr. Kofi A. Annan, Chairman AGRA
African Green Revolution Forum, 27 September 2012, Arusha, Tanzania
Overview
In a global food system under rising pressure, Africa is the continent
most affected by sharp rises in food prices. Yet it is also the
continent, with its abundant land resources, where long-term solutions
to global food and nutrition security can be found.
Progress
At the 2010 Forum, Mr Annan said a “tipping point” had been reached in
the challenge of scaling up Africa’s Green Revolution. Much had been
achieved over the last two years, proving that investments in
agriculture work.
But there is no room for complacency. Momentum must be maintained with
action required on every front and by every partner.
Action needed
Developed countries and private sector organisations must keep
promises of increased support for Africa’s agriculture, despite the
uncertainty and fiscal challenges.
African governments must in turn, uphold their end of the bargain.
Agricultural investment must rise to at least the 10 per cent levels
of national budget pledged under the 2003 Maputo Declaration. The
right policies are also needed to increase public and private
investment.
Supporting small-holder farmers
Across the board, there must be an unwavering focus on improving the
productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers – most of whom
are women. We must support small-holder producers by:
ï‚· creating opportunities to enable them to move from subsistence
farming to running their farms as businesses;
ï‚· encouraging community cooperation to empower individual farmers;
ï‚· ensuring they are well organized and have access to seeds,
fertilizers, knowledge and markets so they can play their full role in
Africa’s agricultural transformation; and
ï‚· embracing new technologies to give younger generations greater
opportunity to play a larger role in the agricultural revolution.
Larger farms also have a critical role to play, particularly in
testing and disseminating new technologies and providing opportunities
for aggregating smallholder production for market.
Ensuring sustainability
Our ability to achieve food and nutrition security, both in Africa and
globally, depends on catalyzing a sustainable Green Revolution,
including:
 a “climate smart” transformation of African agriculture that
increases the productivity of land, labour, and capital invested in
farming, while strengthening the resilience of farmers to climate
change; and
ï‚· addressing large-scale land acquisitions that risk giving away
fertile arable land for other use such as the production of bio-fuels.
2
AGRA’s role
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) was set up six
years ago to help deliver these aspirations. Thanks to the efforts of
many people and partners, AGRA is now working in 17 sub-Saharan
countries.
ï‚· Farmers have received over 330 new crop varieties developed by AGRA grantees
ï‚· AGRA has reached more than one million smallholder farmers directly
through training on improved storage systems and better post-harvest
handling
The challenge
Africa needs to tackle the legacy of chronic underfunding in
agriculture, if it is to achieve food and nutrition security at home –
and help deliver it globally in the long-term. The challenge is to
realize a dream of a more prosperous and equitable future for all
Africans.