AGRA

Here’s how the United Nations should harness science and technology to improve nutrition and safeguard the environment.

The world’s food system is in disarray. One in ten people is undernourished. One in four is overweight. More than one-third of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. Food supplies are disrupted by heatwaves, floods, droughts and wars. The number of people going hungry in 2020 was 15% higher than in 2019, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts¹.

Our planetary habitat suffers, too. The food sector emits about 30% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Expanding cropland, pastures and tree plantations drive two-thirds of the loss in forests (5.5 million hectares per year), mostly in the tropics². Poor farming practices degrade soils, pollute and deplete water supplies and lower biodiversity.

As these interlinkages become clear, approaches to food are shifting — away from production, consumption and value chains towards safety, networks and complexity. Recent crises around global warming and COVID-19 have compounded concerns. Policymakers have taken note.Counting the hidden $12-trillion cost of a broken food system

In September, the United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, will convene a Food Systems Summit. This is only the sixth UN summit on food since 1943, and the first with heads of states in the UN General Assembly. A group of leading scientists, known as the Scientific Group, has been tasked with ensuring that the science underpinning the 2021 summit is robust, broad and independent. We, the authors, are this group’s chair and vice-chairs. Although such approaches are familiar in areas such as climate change and biodiversity, this marks the first time that scientists have been explicitly brought in to multilateral discussions around food (see Nature 595, 332; 2021).

The global food system needs a revamp — in policies and institutions as well as on social, business and technology fronts³. Science is one lens for making sure that changes are integrated and collectively deliver better outcomes. But the task is challenging. Food spans many disciplines — not least agriculture, health, climate science, artificial intelligence and digital science, political science and economics. The indirect, adverse effects of policies on climate change, biodiversity loss and health need to be factored in to the true costs of food; these are estimated to be about twice the current market value of food consumption globally⁴. A range of voices is crucial. The Scientific Group is engaging with hundreds of experts across civil society, including Indigenous peoples, producer and youth organizations and the private sectors.

Here we highlight the key roles that scientists should take to accelerate the transformation to healthier, more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems. These seven priorities reflect the Scientific Group’s evidence base, comprising more than 50 reports and briefs (see go.nature.com/3dtoazu).

Seven priorities

Science-driven advances are needed to address the following challenges.

End hunger and improve diets. Scientists need to identify optimal conditions and opportunities for investments to make healthy and nutritious foods more available, affordable and accessible. Measures that jointly improve more than one of these are most effective. For example, increased irrigation on small farms in Tanzania and Ethiopia has enhanced productivity, dietary diversity and farmers’ incomes⁵.

Three big game-changers are: enhancing research and development in agriculture and food to increase productivity in a sustainable way; slashing food waste and losses; and adding income and nutrition components to social-protection programmes. Research priorities to cut waste include scaling up solar energy and battery storage technologies to make food processing and preservation more affordable. New forms of packaging using recycled materials, coatings of nanomaterials and even edible films would keep foods fresh for longer. School feeding programmes, together with incentives to keep children in education (such as take-home rations for parents) have seen success in Mali, for example, where they increased school enrolment by 10 percentage points⁶. Under COVID-19 lockdowns, these types of programme became even more relevant.Europe’s Green Deal offshores environmental damage to other nations

Researchers also need to study behavioural barriers to healthy eating, such as snacking under stress. They should develop policy guidelines for educational food labels, and model the impacts of putting taxes and regulations on unhealthy foods (such as sugar and trans-fats). The health properties of fortified foods and cultivated meats must also be established.

De-risk food systems. The more global, dynamic and complex food systems become, the more open they are to new risks. Scientists need to improve how they understand, monitor, analyse and communicate such vulnerabilities. For example, droughts, the expansion of biofuels and financial speculation after the sudden imposition of trade barriers led to food price hikes in 2008⁷. The COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts have shaken food value chains across Africa this year, driving up food prices. Successful initiatives exist, combining on-the-ground observations of food systems and nutrition with forecasting. These include FEWS NET (https://fews.net) and the joint analyses from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme on early warnings of food insecurity⁸.

Policies and economic solutions are needed. For example, new insurance products aided by remote sensing and weather forecasts would provide cover for lost crops and livestock. Solar-powered irrigation systems would reduce risk from drought. Smartphone apps would provide farmers with information on local crop pests, weather risks and market opportunities; these are already used in Kenya, Senegal, India and Bangladesh⁹. Payment schemes are needed to encourage farmers to manage and capture carbon in soils and trees, and to trade it.

Protect equality and rights. Poverty and inequalities associated with gender, ethnicity and age restrict many people’s access to healthy foods. Socio-economic researchers need to suggest inclusive ways to transform the more than 400 million smallholder farms worldwide. They must identify pathways out of inequitable and unfair arrangements over land, credit and labour, and empower the rights of women and youth. For example, if female-headed households in southern Ethiopia had the same resources as male-headed ones, their productivity in maize (corn) would increase by more than 40%, to match that of the latter¹⁰.

Protecting the land rights of smallholders, women and Indigenous peoples is paramount. Technology can ensure transparency and efficiency. For example, using blockchain ledgers of ownership rights to allocate land could be an opportunity in Ghana¹¹. At the trans-national scale, the Land Matrix Initiative collects and shares data on big land acquisitions and investments in low- and middle-income countries; it covers deals in almost 100 nations worldwide. Similar solutions are needed to protect the land rights of Indigenous peoples¹². Also required are efforts to build local research capacity, educational programmes around food and farming, and training and financing opportunities in rural areas.

Boost bioscience. Researchers need to find ways to restore soil health and improve the efficiency of cropping, crop breeding and recarbonizing the soil and biosphere. Linkages among all Earth systems must be considered together — known as a One Health approach (see go.nature.com/3jy7ekh).Five priorities for a sustainable ocean economy

Alternative sources of healthy protein need to be advanced, such as plant-based and insect-derived proteins, including for animal feed. Plant-breeding techniques that capture nitrogen from the air, to reduce the need for fertilizers and increase nutrients, should be investigated. Genetic engineering and biotechnology should be applied to increase the productivity, quality and resistance of crops to pests and drought. Recent examples include banana varieties that are resistant to Fusarium wilt fungal diseases, and pest-resistant Bt aubergines. To widen access to bioscience technologies, intellectual-property rights, skills and data sharing should be addressed.

Protect resources. Tools are needed to help people to manage soils, land and water sustainably. For example, hand-held digital devices and remote sensing can track concentrations of soil carbon and other nutrients. Artificial-intelligence systems and drones allow farmers to spot areas that need irrigation, fertilization and protection from pests. Soil microbes can be harnessed to improve soil structure, carbon storage and yields. Researchers need to adapt and scale up such technologies.

Biodiversity and genetic bases need to be protected. Seed varieties must be preserved, and their phenotypes and genotypes explored in the contexts of climate change and nutrition. Traditional food and forest systems, including those of Indigenous peoples, need to be better understood and supported in national agricultural research systems. Cooperation for mutual benefit should be explored, as has been done for climate adaptation in US Indigenous areas¹³.Averting hunger in sub-Saharan Africa requires data and synthesis

Sustain aquatic foods. Most of the focus on food so far has been on soil-based agriculture. Fish, shellfish and aquatic plants such as seaweed have much to offer nutritionally and environmentally. Aquatic foods need to be better integrated into the understanding of food systems¹⁴. Researchers should look for ways to increase nutritional diversity in aquatic foods and sequester carbon in marine and freshwater environments.

Ecological-science perspectives and global cooperation and institutions are needed to make harvesting of oceans, coastal waters and freshwater resources sustainable and protect biodiversity. The sustainability of fish-feeding systems needs attention; for example, by exploring the use of insect rearing, oil-rich modified legumes and micro-algae as fish feed.

Harness digital technology. Robots, sensors and artificial intelligence are increasingly used on farms: to harvest crops and milk cows, for example. Sensors can monitor the origin and quality of ingredients and products along the food-processing chain to reduce losses and guarantee food safety. But most farmers and producers still don’t have access. To spread the benefits, devices need to become cheaper and easier to purchase and use. Rental services similar to Uber for farm machinery should be developed, as has been done with tractors in India. Rural electricity supplies will have to be expanded, along with IT training and education.

First steps

The 2021 Food Systems Summit is a great opportunity to end hunger by 2030 and set in train a sustainable food system. Previous summits have delivered change: creating the FAO (after 1943); strengthening the global food-research partnership CGIAR and founding the International Food Policy Research Institute (after 1974); accelerating the human right to food (2002); and establishing monitoring systems to warn of food-price crises (2009).Without food, there can be no exit from the pandemic

The breadth of the 2021 agenda could be a hindrance, however, to achieving its goals. To avoid failure, delegates should focus. They should prioritize establishing a guiding framework — for transforming diverse national and local food systems, as well as global networks, with the challenges of trade, finance, climate, innovation and governance.

Debates will be fierce. Food is a contentious topic. Disagreements abound over goals, pathways and speed of change, and the roles of science and technology, the private sector and the UN. For example, some see agroecology as the only acceptable way of farming; some view biotechnology and gene editing as dangers; others see opportunities. The Scientific Group has aimed to offer a scientific basis to this diversity of perspectives.

Actions and targets

Once plans are agreed, the UN Food Systems Summit will need to move to implementation. Here are our suggestions.Nature-based solutions can help cool the planet — if we act now

First, boost finance. On the research front, we propose that governments allocate to food research at least 1% of the proportion of their nations’ gross domestic product that relates to food systems. Many countries spend only half of that. Least-developed countries should be given aid to reach a similar level. To end hunger for the poorest, we propose the establishment of a special fund. This would be supported by development-aid donors and bonds backed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Research and modelling would be required on implementation and impacts.

Second, increase scientific capacity. The special fund could be used to strengthen research capacity in low- and middle-income countries, and expand research collaborations between the public and private sectors, and among farmers, start-up firms in food value chains and science communities. Sharing research infrastructure and data between the global south and global north would be a good start.

Third, strengthen science–policy interfaces. In stark contrast to many other fields, agriculture, food security and nutrition do not have an international agreement or convention to consolidate actions. We call on the UN Food Systems Summit and UN member states to explore an intergovernmental treaty or framework convention on food systems, analogous to the conventions on climate, biodiversity and desertification agreed on in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The framework will need to include a strong independent scientific body that provides policy advice in the follow-up to the summit. We recommend that all science organizations and academies with food-relevant research be included in a preparatory process.

Bringing the tools of science to the table will help to transform the global food system to end hunger and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

That Africa has the potential to feed itself has been discussed and debated and there is agreement around that. With our population growing at the pace that it is, the demand for food is ever increasing. This has led to a high food import bill. According to the African Development Bank, in 2015 this import bill was approximately $35.4 billion and is expected to grow to $110 billion by 2025. We are heading to the end of 2021 so that’s closer to being about 3 years away. We need to figure out how to increase food production, and figure out how to move food more efficiently from one country to another and from one region of the continent to another. This would help us better manage crises’ around unexpected shocks and keep the continent food secure and move towards this idea that Africa can feed itself.

For us to get there though there are a number of issues we need to work out. This includes the need to address the barriers to trade. The biggest challenge food trade in Africa faces is from non-tariff barriers, more specifically, issues around standards and regulations. Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary measures are critical for ensuring access to safe and nutritious food although their implementation is fraught with difficulties. These standards and measures vary from country to country. Policy reforms to harmonize the different national frameworks would go a long way in easing cross border trade.  The challenges around standards and regulations are made even more difficult by lack of access to adequate and efficient testing and inspection. Not to mention the costs of these tests and meeting the required minimum standards. Some solutions to these challenges being explored by FCDO-funded AGRA’s Regional Food Trade and Resilience programme include the use of Mutual Recognition Agreements and technical assistance support to supply chain operators to adopt good practices.

The right polices will ultimately be what makes increased intra-African food trade a reality. We need governments on the continent to create and/or reform policies that enable the private sector to operate in a conducive environment. They are the players on the ground growing and trading the food. They need support from government to increase how much food they are producing and how much and how far they can trade. The lack of clear and predictable policies discourages the private sector from making investments that could support the increase of regional food trade. As we look to how to create policy predictability and coherence, our time is now to work with and push our governments on policy reform. To engage with the private sector to better understand their challenges and to create spaces for them to dialogue with each other on finding solutions to addressing these challenges.

The 2021 AGRF Summit is coming up next week from September 7 – 10, 2021. The Food Trade Coalition for Africa through the Regional Food Trade Platform of the AGRF, is hosting a session that will have two panels. The first panel will be on, “Breaking Barriers for Stronger Food and Nutrition Security in Africa”, and the second on, “Building Strong Food Systems through Inclusive Data Sharing”. These panels are bringing the public sector, the donor community, international organizations working in trade, multilateral development banks, the AfCFTA Secretariat and farmer’s and trader’s organizations to the same virtual table. These are all key stakeholders in food trade in Africa. If we want to increase intra African trade, these kinds of engagements are critical.

Through these dialogues, we hope to hear commitments from government on how they aim to tackle these barriers to trade. As the decision makers in their respective countries, they are critical to pushing for policies that ease the burden of the private sector and making it possible for them to grow their agribusinesses. We hope to hear from the private sector organizations on what support they are looking for from government. The African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat will also be at the table. We are hoping to hear from them how they are navigating these challenges and what support they need to tackle them to successfully implement this continental trade area. The donor community will also be present, hopefully we hear from them how they will support and facilitate all these stakeholders working to increase food trade in Africa.

Register and join us for the 2021 AGRF Summit .The Regional Food Trade Platform will take place on September 10 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

The second part of a three-part web series on sustainable farming brought together over 300 participants from around the world to discuss issues around experiences and approaches that have been tested by different development partners in the area of agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture, sustainable intensification and sustainable farming.

Moderated by Aggie Konde, the VP of Program Innovation and Delivery at AGRA, the session’s theme was “Sustainable Farming: Transforming Africa’s Landscapes and Livelihoods”.

The keynote speech was made by Dr. Tilahun Amede, AGRA’s Head of Resilience, Climate & Soil Fertility, who brought out the urgency for players in Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture sector to focus on resilience and adaptation and highlighted key approaches tested at farm and landscape scales in various parts of Africa.

In his presentation, Dr. Amede cited decreasing water budgets, recurrent risks of drought, reducing primary productivity and increasing food insecurity as the key trends, which calls for an urgent action in the creation of resilient agricultural and food systems.

“We are facing an increasing risk of climate change and now have an urgent need for adaptation, mitigation and resilience. We also cannot maintain the yield gains we had in past decades without adequate resource management,” he said.

“On the other hand, evidence shows that the improved management of agricultural landscapes could play multiple roles of carbon sequestration, enhancing productivity and profitability,” he added.

Dr. Gete Zeleke, the Director of the Water and Land Resource Center at the Addis Ababa University, highlighted experiences from the Ethiopian highlands showing how sustainable agricultural practices could transform unproductive land into one yielding major outputs and ecosystem services.

Notably, Dr. Zeleke showed how the use of Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) could lead to a reduction of soil erosion, extension of the base flow of streams during the dry season, increase of biomass, better land productivity and the general improvement of people’s lives.

On which point Dr. Zeleke showed how IWM technologies changed barren crop-less land in rural Ethiopia into a lush-green asset, for high yields of food and fodder crops, all in just three years.

“Converting barren homesteads into high-productive agroforestry areas, increased household income and encouraged farmers to keep the land management structures sustainable,” he said.

Dr. Hezron Mogaka, a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension at Kenya’s University of Embu, noted that the adoption of agricultural technologies like IWM, would drive a complete food system transformation, and resilience to climate change but only if implemented at a larger scale.

Underscoring experiences from East Africa, Dr. Mogaka outlined the five outcomes of a desirable and sustainable agricultural systems as: Enhancing national productivity; boosting private sector participation; opening up new premium markets; the provision of incentives and for the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies, and reducing the risks of shocks to negative growth.

To achieve the aforementioned outcomes, Dr. Mogaka fronted an integrated agricultural transformation approach that includes investments in soil health management, soil moisture management, social capital development, weather-based advisories and market-oriented production and value addition.

Dr. Moumini Savadogo, the Executive Director of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) reiterated the importance of science and research in the development of resilient agricultural structures.

“A science-led and evidence-based approach towards smart policies, innovations and practices is important for devising options for climate change adaption, mitigation and resilience to harness the core-benefits of smart actions,” he said.

Other panelist, Charles Karangwa, the Africa Lead for Forests, Landscapes and Livelihoods Programme for Africa at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), focused on the interconnection between government and private sector in securing nature-based assets.

He particularly lauded the AFR100 project, a Pan-African, country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land across Africa into restoration by 2030. The AFR100 initiative has already secured the commitment of 31 African governments to restore 128 million hectares of land through USD1bn in development finance and a USD481mn private sector commitment.

To drive the objectives of such partnerships as AFR100 forward, Nico Janssen, the Programme Manager of Agricultural Livelihoods at the IKEA Foundation, proposed investments in research, finance and policy in regenerative agriculture by governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“Governments should provide incentives to mainstream nature-positive agriculture, while financial institutions must integrate nature-related considerations into their investments. This is as the civil society continues its critical role of raising awareness towards a support for farmers who practice regenerative agriculture,” he said.

Dr. Dave Watson, a Livelihoods Adviser at the UK’s Department for International Development gave a big-picture overview of global food situation noting that “our food systems is failing us” by threatening food and nutrition security, social justice and natural resources. He, however, noted that the situation could be salvaged by prioritizing action that leads to increase in yields, grassroots autonomy and a reduction of the ‘food print’ on the environment.

“For Africa,” he said, “the key drivers of change are its increasing population growth, increased urbanization, climate change and the financialization of the food system.”

Concluding the webinar, Tom Owino, a lecturer in the Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soil lecturer at Kenya’s Egerton University, said that the development of resilient food systems requires the participation of all stakeholders in developing of programs that promote innovation and sustainable growth.

Ms Aggie Konde emphasized the engagement of AGRA in facilitating market incentives and in creating a platform to bring our experiences together and reach out to our millions of small scale farmers in Africa with integrated resources management solutions.

“Farmers appreciate good seed. Every farmer at the beginning of every season takes time to find a good seed. And when that seed is an improved variety that increases yield and improves their lives, that goes a long way.”

These were the words of AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata during a webinar organized by Agrilinks under the theme Effective Pathways to Africa’s Agricultural Transformation.

Agrilinks is an online platform by the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, where agriculture, food security and development professionals connect, share and learn. 

The webinar held on Wednesday August 4, 2021 was structured to define the investments needed for a vibrant and functional agriculture and food system that can deliver sufficient food, agriculture inputs, products and services to provide better incomes for farmers and others, and increased nutrition and food security for everyone in Africa.

The conversation revolved around the involvement of different stakeholders in building the systems need for driving an inclusive agricultural transformation across the continent.

Notably, the webinar highlighted the important role of policies that encourage private sector participation in agricultural transformation, with notable examples from successes in Rwanda.

François Nsengiyumva, the CEO of Kilimo General Business Limited, a seed company in Rwanda credited the transformation of the seed industry in the East African country to the development of policies and an environment that favored local production and consumption.

“Between 2007 and 2019, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) used to import 100 percent of hybrid maize, wheat and soybean seed from Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. However, after the GoR established a seed policy that emphasized the role of the private sector in seed development, all of Rwanda’s seed needs for the three crops are covered by local production,” he said.

“It is important to note that AGRA and its partners played a catalytic role in enacting the policy into law,” he added.

More emphasis was placed on private-public partnerships by highlighting the critical achievements in the digitization of the GoR’s Subsidy programs, through technology developed as a partnership between the Rwanda Agricultural Board and technology firm BK TecHouse.

The platform, christened Smart Nkunganire, was launched in 2017 and has already registered 1.3 million farmers, who are now connected with 1,300 agrodealers and 32 agro-input suppliers focussing on 15 crops.

Additionally, the role of partnerships between the governments, research community and development partners was highlighted for its success in the development of Ghana’s aflatoxin control policy.

“Before the policy, aflatoxin control activities were poorly coordinated. So we approached AGRA to fund the development of a national policy that spells out what each stakeholder needs to do and the funding sources that we can tap into,” said Dr. Rose Omari is a Senior Research Scientist at Ghana’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-STEPRI).

As confirmed by Dr. Omari, the draft aflatoxin policy is now undergoing cabinet approval, even as it has attained the endorsement of four ministries following the enactment of technical regulations by the country’s parliament.

In relation to aflatoxin control, Kwame Boateng, the founder and CEO of Sahel Grains Ltd spoke of the gains made by encouraging private businesses to pursue high food safety standards for traditional African foods.

“As a result of the focus on food safety, Sahel Grains’ Faast Mmori [a brand of maize dough] is FDA [Food and Drug Authority] and GSA [Ghana Standards Authority] approved, and is now available in many of the leading supermarkets in Ghana,” he said.

Concluding the webinar, moderator Carol Jenkins, Office Director for the Center for Agriculture-Led Growth in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (RFS), asked the speakers to list their priority areas  in leading Africa’s agricultural transformation.

“I would work on strengthening the ability of institutions to deliver – by equipping them to mobilize resources and developing systems,” Dr. Kalibata said.

Nsengiyumva said he would focus on financing, noting that, “as a businessman, finance that is affordable will help me to deliver improved seed to the market.”

Meanwhile, citing his experience in Rwanda, Patrice Hakizimana, the Agriculture and Rural Development Specialist at USAID/Rwanda pointed out a skills gap in the local seed production, adding that partnerships with organizations like AGRA can help transform the quality of production to quickly reach markets outside the country. 

Quincewood Group Limited is a technology company founded by entrepreneur Fatma Fernandes in Tanzania. The business is focused on the agricultural sector, developing innovations that aim to improve the livelihoods of farmers and even the playing field across the journey from farmer to table. The products developed are done with sustainability in mind. It’s latest innovation, eHakiki, is positively impacting thousands of lives in Tanzania’s largest economic sector, agriculture. Its main aim is to ensure that smallholder farmer’s incomes are protected.

eHakiki does this by using technology to reimagine agriculture in Tanzania. eHakiki is providing accessible, scalable solutions for smallholder farmers. It enables farmers to verify the authenticity of their inputs by revealing a scratch code on purchased packages and dialing a toll-free USSD number by normal mobile phone for immediate feedback. If the code is not genuine, farmers can return the product for a refund; and the service compiles geographic and other data on counterfeit products for communication to government stakeholders.

Managing an efficient and dependable verification system is complex, particularly in contexts like Tanzania, where 40%-50% of farm inputs are adulterated and population density is uneven across wide areas. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) needed to see evidence that Quincewood’s e-verification worked efficiently, effectively and at scale before paying for the service. Quincewood was not alone in the market, but as a Tanzanian company, we knew the market and stakeholders well. AGRA with the support of Mastercard Foundation provided grants complemented by Quincewood’s own investment to demonstrate the viability of the e-verification system. The universal availability of the system, in which non-smartphone users can access the service through a method that is similar to the mobile money short codes and mobile airtime voucher system that they are already used to. This platform was launched in August 2020 to be used across Tanzania by all farmers purchasing inputs in the country and was officially coined as T-Hakiki.

Speaking about the aspirations for this impact driven technology and verification platform, Quincewood founder, Fatma Fernandes, said: “We would like to reach 2,000,000 farmers by 2022. We want this product to be seen as the de-facto solution across a myriad of industries that are plagued by counterfeit goods, that have the potential to put millions of Tanzanians at risk to their health. The biggest industries being the pharmaceutical and beverage industries. We would also like to take this solution across Africa – especially East Africa by 2022.”

T-Hakiki which is powered by Quincewood’s eHakiki technology is the first-ever government-backed verification platform to be used nationwide and to be adopted by the regulator Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI). The e-verification system complements the government’s in-person inspection to decrease fraud, improve farm production, increase farmer income and reinforce trust in and sustainability of agro-input suppliers. Though only in its first year of formal operation, the platform T-Hakiki is poised to revolutionize farm input certification in Tanzania and potentially other African countries.

For further information, send an email to: info@quincewood.com or visit the company’s website and social media platforms:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

What you need to know:

• Farmers must stop one-crop cultivation systems and diversify.
• They need to keep animals, plant multi-purpose trees, store water, make and use compost and do rotational farming even on small pieces of land.

The criticality of the agricultural sector to the economic transformation of Africa and the East African region cannot be gainsaid. It is fitting that the region is participating in the food systems summit discussions that are being held as a prelude to the big UN Summit on the same in New York next month.

While discussions about foregrounding agricultural development, investing more in the agricultural value chain and ensuring that farming is done in a sustainable manner are not new, the unhappy fact is that the resolve to execute on commitments that have been made – like the 2014 Malabo agreement under which African governments agreed to commit at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture – are yet to be met almost two decades since.

During last Thursday’s Nation Leadership Forum, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President Agnes Kalibata was passionate that investments must be made in agriculture to ensure the systems that support agricultural transformation work efficiently.

The smallholder farmer, that most central cog in Africa’s agricultural wheel, must have access to improved inputs (seeds, fertilizers, extension services for improved agronomic practices and post-harvest management), access to inclusive finance and to markets.

All these can only exist sustainably within progressive and robust policy environments, which is where governments come in, with technical support from partners.

Shifts in farming practices

Discussants highlighted that increasingly, climate change and its impact (and mitigation) has become massively important. As Agriculture PS Hamadi Boga said and AGRA experts Nega Wubeneh and Tilahun Amede reiterated, climate change, in part negatively exacerbated by necessary agricultural practices, has triggered changes in weather patterns and caused drought conditions. Incidents of locusts and army worm invasions that ravage growing crops and reduce or completely undermine harvests are now rife.

This calls for shifts in farming practices. Farmers must stop one-crop cultivation systems and diversify. They need to keep animals, plant multi-purpose trees, store water, make and use compost and do rotational farming even on small pieces of land.

AGRA has, for example, been actively supporting promotion of crops such as beans, teff, soybeans, sorghum, cassava, etc. as a complement to the popular maize staple. Farmers can value add by growing trees on which they can keep beehives. Doing this will protect the trees. 

Prof Boga spoke to the successes that the government is having in ensuring there is food and that despite the pressure and unexpected crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, the food system has been resilient. This was achieved by ensuring that obstacles that hampered the free flow of food between borders are removed because food safety is a key factor in building resilience. 

Resilient food systems

Useful food is wholesome food, not contaminated food, to quote agricultural lobbyist Prof Ruth Oniango, who called for greater efforts to eliminate unnecessary tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

So, the issues being canvassed at the Nation Leadership Forum were not new. But they need constant repeating until the African smallholder farmer enjoys the full opportunities that their counterparts in other parts of the world are enjoying. They must increase yields from the land sizes that they are cultivating even as they seek to expand those sizes.

At the end of the forum the farmers passed a declaration that simply is a reminder to governments and partners to do the right thing. They are asking for a recasting of priorities to address the basic concerns of building resilient food systems that shift the attention of populations away from the preoccupation to survive to the very urgent challenge of growth and development.

Agri-business presents Africa with a truly low-hanging opportunity as agriculture and agribusiness are projected to be a US$ 1 trillion industry in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. This is huge and should be at the top of the agenda for economic transformation and development.

The farmers are also subtly reminding their governments that hungry citizens are dangerous citizens as they can be a source of insecurity. Governments would do well to listen. Just as they should to Dr Kalibata’s exhortation that now is the time to build back better by governments and development partners doubling down to ensure that Africa’s small-scale farmers enjoy equity to achieve better growth outcomes and ensure better lives and opportunities for women and youth.

The writer is a former Editor-in-Chief  of Nation Media Group and is now consulting. tom.mshindi@gmail.com, @tmshindi