Obama Ghana visit

Rome, 10 July 2009 - Until the food and economic crises hit last year, Africa was posting average economic growth rates of more than 5 per cent annually, giving renewed hope that poverty and hunger would, in time, be eradicated.

But this progress came to a halt in 2008. Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to be just 1.5 per cent in 2009, well below the rate of population growth. It is against this backdrop that US President Barack Obama is visiting Ghana to discuss development challenges with African leaders.

As an African, born in Nigeria and head of a United Nations rural development agency – the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) -- I am heartened by the priority President Obama is giving to African development, and hopeful that his visit will be backed by a greater commitment to agricultural development from the United States.

The challenge of development in Africa is enormous. Three hundred and eighty million women, children and men in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $1.25 a day. Many are malnourished or hungry.

In order for development to be effective in Africa and lift people out of poverty and ensure food security, it must be underpinned by a sustained effort to develop Africa’s agriculture. Supporting agriculture is one of the best investments any African country can make. Agriculture has been an engine of economic growth and social development over the centuries and Africa cannot be an exception.

This was recognised in 2003, when the member countries of the African Union meeting in Maputo pledged to increase spending on agriculture to at least 10 per cent of national budgets. But so far, the continent as a whole has not met this target. The eight countries that have met their commitments should be congratulated, and should inspire others to follow suit.

Investment in agriculture in Africa must focus on creating a dynamic smallholder sector. Most African countries are still predominately rural with smallholder farms responsible for as much as 80 per cent of agricultural production. When smallholder farmers are at the heart of agricultural growth, the impact on a country’s economy and food security can be dramatic.

The impact of such investment on the lives of rural women, children and men is also enormous. I have seen the extraordinary changes that can come about when poor farmers are given the means to improve their lives. When I headed the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), we developed new rice varieties – known as NERICA – that combined the hardiness of native African rice species and the high productivity of Asian rice. As a result, many poor farmers in Africa were able to more than double their yields. With the right investment in agricultural research, new varieties of other food staples can also be developed.

At IFAD, nearly 50 per cent of our funding goes to Africa, placing us among the top three multilateral institutions investing in agriculture on the continent. We have seen, time and time again, the potential of smallholder agriculture come to fruition through the projects and programmes we support. In Uganda, for example, an IFAD-funded project supported smallholder producers of palm and oil seeds and linked them with an agro-processor who has now invested more than US$40 million in a processing plant.

The result is a true win-win partnership, with farmers having a secure market at a good price and the agro-processor having a reliable source of good quality seeds.

Africa has enormous potential for agricultural growth.

According to some estimates the amount of arable land available in sub-Saharan Africa could be increased four to fivefold with judicious use of irrigation and fertilizer. But this potential will remain unrealized unless African countries put in place the right policies to support agriculture.

More broadly, African countries need to put their own political and economic houses in order.

It is essential that African countries continue to deepen the foundations for democracy and ensure political stability that is so critical for economic growth. It is also crucial that they continue to improve their systems of governance so that their people can become the entrepreneurs of the 21st century.

And as important as foreign aid is to support Africa’s development, nations themselves will ultimately have to take the responsibility for their own development. Indeed, I know of no nation, no people, whose development sprang solely from external support. Every tree, every plant, must be fully rooted in its own soil to flourish. Change cannot be imposed from outside, it must be cultivated from within.

Media Advisory: MA/08/09

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes, and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 340 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).