Whilst looking further into the question of land grabs, agriculture and water, I stumbled upon this video about a Green Revolution in Africa, a movement that I mentioned in an earlier post.
It's produced by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) - they are an African organisation (and I think the fact that they themselves are African is important) who typically focus on issues such as arms control and criminal justice. But it was interesting to see them include research carried out into food - showing just how important a topic this is considered.
The video provides some interesting figures (I'm sure there are plenty of caveats and rebuttals but it still gets you thinking!) and ultimately decides on a development-focused plan for the future. Whether water is or is not given as much significance as food in their modelling is also quite telling; I haven't yet had the chance to look into this myself.
Regardless of what you think about their vision, ISS Africa is a major NGO, founded, and always on the ground, in Africa. Their opinion is influential, and their approach to development is likely to affect water management strategies.
Definitely food for thought!
Hi Baljeet, found this to be a really interesting video on the potential of a green revolution in Africa. Personally, how big of a contributing factor do you believe agriculture will be in the future development of Africa?
ReplyDeleteHey Rhona
DeleteThanks for the question – I’ll try answer it as best I can!
I believe, at least in the short-medium term, there’ll continue to be new technologies and investment enabling/forcing agricultural change in Africa. The agricultural sector will continue moving towards a spectrum from smallholder, traditional farms to large-scale, intensive operations: with the balance shifting more towards the intensive side. So I think it will be a relatively heterogeneous sector that plays a big role as a source of jobs, a focus of politics and helping to determine Africa’s position in the world. Agriculture will see jobs created and it will see wealth generated.
But, I think we should take note of agriculture’s place in the wider global economy. In the most developed nations in the world agriculture typically does not play a major part, and is often very reliant on subsidies and protectionist policies (it contributes 1% to the USA’s GDP, and see the EU’s CAP). Economies based largely on agriculture are the staple of developing countries. If we wish to see agriculture be part of positive, equitable and sustainable development it would need to change, as the video in my post suggests. Allowing agriculture to grow in the way it currently does, relying on a sector that is so vulnerable to environmental variability, will realistically only sustain sub-par living standards for the masses. It will likely contribute significantly to the overall economic growth of Africa; but agriculture’s current outlook will contribute only to a slow and unequal idea of “development”.
Who do you think are the most important 'influencers' that can make this 'African Green Revolution for Development' happen?
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria
DeleteAs things stand, the "African Green Revolution" part is receiving support from lots of different areas. It is claimed to be "farmer centred" (although not necessarily led), and has "partners" including governments, NGOs, NGOs set up by very wealthy people, farmers, private companies etc. The list is extensive and I recommend checking out this page for more (https://agra.org/our-partners/).
In terms of "influence", despite it being farmer centred, I think the strongest influencers will be the NGOs that have the connections and slick delivery to attract lots of attention and get the ball rolling. The IGOs like the World Bank who also come with connections and a degree of authority. And the governments that ultimately have the final say on whether anything is or is not allowed to take place. A Green Revolution is such a large undertaking and requires so much support, that I don't see how farmers, who already are not massively wealthy, could make this revolution happen.
In regards to making this revolution about Development, I'm not very sure who the most important influencers would be. I've been struggling throughout my blog to actually decide on a realistic idea of development, and influencers for development will depend very much on exactly what that path is. I think this is also the place where "the people" start to play a bigger part. Technological developments and irrigation schemes etc. can all be set up without massive support from farmers. But if you want a government that is focused on development, that sees every opportunity as a means of making things better for the country, then you need to have the people applying that pressure on the government. Development on the water, food, education, rights fronts will all require development and maturity of a country's democracy.
I hope that answers the question... let me know if you need me to clarify anything :)
Hey you might find this interesting
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Resources/Grantee-Profiles/Grantee-Profile-Alliance-for-a-Green-Revolution-in-Africa-AGRA
Its a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - on this note, do you think a green revolution in Africa would be a top-down, large-scale, industrial affair or is it possible focusing on small-scale agriculture?
Hi Jake
DeleteThanks for the link! I've looked into the AGRA before (was hoping to do a post on that at some point!!).
Well the AGRA's vision has always had a focus on helping small-scale agriculture. They don't seem to want to replace the farmers, but rather help them better utilise the land.
I don't think though that top-down and large-scale has to necessarily be separate from small-scale agriculture. The implementation of the Green Revolution will almost certainly be top-down. Even if you attempt to work with farmers to change things, the contracts for the machinery, any necessary changes to laws, subsidies, minimum pricing, crop development - all this will be coming from the top. And the momentum to make it happen is already coming from the top. It will be coming from big NGOs, big businesses, governments etc. And I don't think that makes it, by definition, a bad thing. I also think in order to be a revolution it must inherently be on a large scale. And whilst the Green Revolution may not necessitate industrial farming, and I don't think it's trying to advocate that, it will result in an intensification.
I also think we should be cautious with thinking that if it is small-scale it will be okay. There have been problems around the world with intense, relatively small-scale agriculture still causing serious problems with water management, soil quality, and the personal finances of thousands of farmers. I'm actually planning on doing a post in the coming weeks on that so stay tuned!