Olanrewaju Smith International Trypanotolerance Centre Banjul The Gambia Natural resource management food security biofuels and sustainable agriculture Raise some questions amp discussion points ID: 933249
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Slide1
Natural resource management, food security, biofuels and sustainable agriculture
Olanrewaju Smith
International Trypanotolerance Centre, Banjul The Gambia
Slide2Natural resource management, food security, biofuels and sustainable agriculture
Raise some questions & discussion points
Are
there lessons to be learnt with regards to
their
current
situation in Africa
Can these be used to improve their impact on sustainable development or green economy
Slide3Food security
Is Africa food secure?
No access
at all times to the food needed for a healthy and productive
life
Not
protected from the risks of malnutrition, chronic or acute hunger and starvation, and famine.
Slide4Food security
800 million people (including 200 million children) considered malnourished
190 million i.e. about 35% live in SSA
.
27 % of children under 5 were reported underweight in
1990
22% in 2009. A minimal progress
Rise in prevalence in some countries
Slide5Food security
Hunger
and malnutrition are consequences and indicators of
poverty
These statistics are reflected
in the slow progress
towards
meeting Millennium Development Goal
number 1
Eradicating
extreme poverty and hunger.
Slide6Food security
Target
number 1A
Reduce
by half, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1.25 a day
Proportion
decreased slightly from 58% in 1990 to 52.5% in 2008,
A
number of countries may not reach the target of 29% by 2015
Slide7Food security
Trend
is not more encouraging with regards to target number
1C
Reduce by half
the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
A slight decline from
25.3 in 1990 to
21.7%
in
2010 (Global Hunger index)
Based on this trend, it is projected some countries will miss the target
Slide8Food security
Question: Do we have a clue as to what to do to rectify this situation?
Yes we do.
2 illustrative examples for lesson learning.
What
needs to be done to improve the performance of the
sector
and
consequently the food
security status in Africa
Slide9Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
A 2-year EU funded
project in Burundi
Implemented by FAO & the Government
Goal
:
Boost production and improve food security of at least 7,000 rice-growing households in
2 provinces following
the 2008 food price crisis
.
Slide10Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
Priority Intervention
Areas
a
) Improve water resources infrastructure and water use efficiency for
agriculture
Activity
: Rehabilitate drainage and canal networks in the project sites.
Outputs
: 3,500 ha of land were irrigated
Slide11Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
Outcome
:
Increased
rice production and income for
10,000 vulnerable local people
particularly during the dry season when money-making opportunities are usually limited.
Slide12Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
b) Improve farmers’ access to quality inputs
Activities
:
Fertilizer and certified quality rice, vegetables
, ground nuts and soya
beans were provided for diversification.
Cattle provided for tillage
Storage
facilities
built
Slide13Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
Outputs
: Diversified
and increased food production
Outcome
: More variety of foods produced including protein source to improve
nutrition
Reduced product spoilage, increased income
Slide14Food security
The
fire fighter
approach
c) Strengthen the production capacity of farmers’
groups
Activity
: Training of farmers groups in improved farming
techniques
Outputs and outcomes
Enhanced farmers competence and productivity.
Slide15Food security
The longer term project based approach.
AGRA INITIAITVE
Goal:
Transform
African agriculture from a subsistence to a business venture
Produces efficiently, generates
income and wealth for producers.
Slide16Food security
The longer term project based approach.
AGRA INITIAITVE
Goal:
Transform
African agriculture from a subsistence to a business venture
Produces efficiently, generates
income and wealth for producers.
Slide17Food security
The longer term project based approach.
Beneficiaries: Small scale producers
Premise: Access to a variety of inputs must be guaranteed, to successfully transform them to business oriented producers.
Access to
affordable
finance
(credit)
Slide18Food security
The longer term project based approach.
In
association with partners, it provides loan guarantees to reduce risks of lending by
banks
Banks then
gives low-interest loans
to
smallholder
farmers
To
agro-dealers, to small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses that support small-scale agriculture.
Slide19Food security
The longer term project based approach.
Tanzania (2008)
US$2.1 million loan guarantee fund established by AGRA/ Financial Sector Deepening Trust
Secured a US$10 million line of credit from the National Microfinance Bank (NMB)
NMB then lends to agro-dealers at interest rates of 18% (46%
typical)
More
than US$1.5 million in loans to
agro-dealers by 2009.
Slide20Food security
The longer term project based approach.
Kenya
(2008).
AGRA/IFAD provided US$2.5 million each as a loan guarantee
Leveraged US$50 million from Equity Bank.
By May 2009, the program had loaned US$9.8 million to 20,408 beneficiaries.
Of which 19,931 were small-scale farmers; 337 are large-scale; and 140 were agribusinesses.
Slide21Food security
The longer term project based approach.
For the future:
AGRA intends
to mobilize US$4 billion in affordable loans for Africa’s smallholder farmers and the businesses that serve them.
Slide22Lesson learning
Improve low soil fertility (75
% of African soils are
depleted)
Intractable land
issues: access
and/or ownership especially for
women must be addressed (Land grab phenomenon)
Limited access to good quality seeds of
local
staple
crops
Replace anachronistic rain-fed with year round agriculture
Slide23Lesson learning
Support
to farmers in various forms.
Infrastructural
:
feeder roads to move
products to markets
Access
to
available and appropriate
technology
through a
vibrant and competent extension
Or to new ones via
well-funded research institutions.
Slide24Lesson learning
Access to credit, fertilizers and other inputs
Direct
policy
support
and in particular, subsidies (smart ones if you wish)
And affirmative
action for women farmers.
Slide25Lesson learning
Not new ideas
Currently
being carried out in a stop and go project or crisis management manner
Need to become
“business as usual affairs, the normal way
Slide26Lesson learning
Implemented in a sustained and sustainable manner
For the long haul
With or without projects and funding from outside
Slide27Lesson learning
The good news:
Through CAADP African countries are gearing up to support the agriculture
sector
They have to stay
the course
Burrow
, beg or steal the resources required for the implementation of the various
compacts
They are too important to
leave
their
implementation to the funds and good will of partners.
Slide28Sustainable Agriculture
What is sustainable Agriculture (SA)
As many opinions as there are commentators
Brundtland
Panel
SA system manages essential resources so as to satisfy the needs of all people presently dependent on it, without compromising the needs of future generations.
Slide29Sustainable Agriculture
ICSU reviewed several publications and concluded
“it
is unhelpful to propose any particular production systems as sustainable in all ecologies, locations and societies. No specific system is suitable and sustainable in all
circumstances”
Slide30Sustainable Agriculture
SA is not low input agriculture in which no chemical inputs are used.
This
approach
cannot
restore or maintain level of soil fertility required to feed an ever increasing African population
.
Slide31Sustainable Agriculture
Agriculture
cannot be considered sustainable if the quantity and quality of its products are inadequate to sustain the healthy survival of all who are dependent on it.
(
Hulse
2007)
SA is a dynamic process that evolves to meet present needs
.
Fallow/shifting cultivation
Slide32Sustainable Agriculture
The
need to conserve biodiversity, arable land and water resources is undeniable, but no known crop or livestock production system is sustainable in all places and for all
people (
Hulse
2007)
No
one size fits
all
Slide33Sustainable Agriculture
Africa
therefore needs to continue to develop and use appropriate agricultural systems whose production and productivity levels consistently
meet
the needs of a growing and diversified population.