Sustainable Agriculture

(AfricaFiles)--In Africa the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007 rose to 5,5 per cent with a general improvement of the balance of trade in many countries. In spite of that, in sub-Saharan Africa one person out of three still lives in a state of hunger and the social development index (SDI) remains among the lowest in the world. How to explain the contradiction?

African agriculture produces prevalently for export, catering for the foreign consumers more than for the local communities and it is burdened with long supply and distribution chains. Shifting arable lands from subsistence crops (rice, millet, manioc…) to cash crops for the international market (cocoa, cotton, fresh fruits…), African countries are forced to import, especially from China and EU, most of the food stuff needed for the local market at the expense of the local economy.

The system of the monoculture for export harms the economies of the African countries, burdened with the rising prices of imported food products. The growing of the Chinese demands, the use of maize for the production of bio diesel and animal fodder, the speculations on a bullish market by the financial institutions that look at the agricultural products as safe assets, have created a tremendous increase in prices of grain. The first result is the return to the cultivation of wheat and maize for export to the detriment of all other crops. The ones who work in the sector may gain from the price increase of their products; however, the long chain of distribution hardly allows the gains to reach the producer, but everybody loses for the erosion of the salaries, buying expensive imported food staff.

The economy based on export is weakened by the large increase of energy prices, due mainly to the Chinese demand and to the speculations in the stock exchange. The increase affects the price of transport, of pesticides, and chemical fertilisers, causing the oil non producing countries of sub-Sahara a loss calculated to be superior to the benefits reaped with the cancellation of the international debt and the financial aid received during the last four years.

There is no way the sub-Saharan countries could gain security of food supply unless they eliminate their dependence from the international markets and escape the trap of monoculture. The initiatives to shorten the chain of distribution, and to have it managed by the producers, will acquire a relevant role for the local development. The work and the expertise of millions of small producers, the backbones of the African agriculture, are the main resources to invest in. Setting shorter distribution chains, reducing the distance between the producers and the consumers, together with the development of the local markets, could be the way to the long term development of the African countries.

Shortening the distribution chain reduces the dependence of these countries from the financial burden of the international market. It helps to stabilise the prices on a level, which is convenient to the producers and to offer steady supplies to the local market. It leads to the model of economy that favours the consumer who can count on the increase in his salary made possible by the increase in production.

The short chain of distribution favours the bio-agriculture, with the reduced dependence on expensive pesticides, and with the better conservation of the soil, securing food supplies and good soil management. Successful examples are the cases of the Tamil region (Burkina Faso) and of Tigray (Ethiopia) where the return to the traditional agriculture and the use of compost made of decomposed local organic substances substituting chemical fertilisers, guarantee a return even in periods of heavy drought.

However, the transition from the present export oriented system to the creation of a local market catering for local needs, can only be done gradually. It involves government initiatives to re-convert cultivations to subsistence crops in view of guaranteeing food self-sufficiency, setting transformation industries that favour the marketing of greater value added goods. It demands the establishment and the expansion of village associations and of cooperatives among the farmers to make them more competitive in the market without losing their own specific traits. Finally, it would be of great help offering small farmers formation and assistance to improve on their techniques of production.

The resources needed for the transitional phase could come from the international financial market that sponsors projects of diversification of the cultivations, and from the local financial institutions. Better use could be made of the huge dollar reserves that in the sub-Saharan countries - said to be around 137 billion - which, if left untouched have their value eroded by the devaluation of the dollar. African oil exporting countries could take advantage of the present increase in the price of oil and establish special funds for the re-conversion of production for the home markets.

A further way could be investing in political and economic regional programmes that, in the long run, may guarantee self-subsistence. A starting point could be the already existing economic and monetary forms of cooperation in West Africa with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and in Central Africa with the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) to foster cooperation and integration among homogeneous countries, financing social and economic programmes on a large scale.

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