The widely-read magazine African Business devoted its December 2006 issue to efforts by the African Union to launch a "green revolution" for Africa. This was the subject of an AU summit held in Nigeria in June 2006. The stated purpose was to principally find ways to dramatically increase the access to fertilizer of African farmers.
African Business focuses on some of the technocrats driving the effort, who are usually in the background in deference to the political players. The proponents talk about the initiative in glowing terms, citing the experience of Asia in using the same general agricultural paradigm to dramatically increase productivity and to achieve food self-sufficiency.
The articles in African Business do not make any pretense of discussing the pros and cons of the effort as expounded by organizations on either side of the debate about the best means of increasing agricultural productivity in Africa. There has been impassioned debate about this since the AU meeting, but the magazine takes the stance that it is a given that trying to emulate the Asian model in Africa is beyond debate.
This is unfortunate, as the magazine's readers would have benefited more from a feature exploring all sides of the debate. NGOs and others promoting organic or sustainable agriculture have argued that despite the short-term benefits of the green revolution in Asia, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there are many downsides to it. They argue that Africa is best advised to seek a different model of increasing productivity.
Their detractors argue that Africa's immediate food needs are too massive and urgent for the continent to rule out the adoption of methodologies that could could bring about quick change in the situation. Sustainable farming methodologies are often dismissed as simplistic and only addressing the limitations of small-holder farmers, but having little overall relevance or importance to African economies.
Both sides take a fundamentalist approach to their arguments and often engage in polemics rather than discussion. Rather than enlightening interested onlookers to the debate and policy makers, the passionate charges of either side often leave more confusion and heat than light.
African Agriculture will often present the points of view of both and any side of the discussion, with the aim of contributing to making the debate and the choices clearer.
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