"Eco-imperialists" impeding African agricultural productivity progress

by Josephat Juma

President John Agyekum Kufuor recently blamed western education for the high unemployment rate in Ghana, especially among the youth who form the majority of the population. The western education system, he said, made the youth think that agriculture is a preserve of the rural folk. He called for the readjustment of the nation's psychology and orientation towards agriculture so as to restore the sector to its dignity and profitability.

Food security was guaranteed until the traditional set up was disrupted by colonial invasion, plunging the continent into a food impasse. Over 40 years down the line, Africans are still grappling with institutions inherited from colonialists such as the production of specific crops for export, with little progress made to get high level production and consumption.

Food security in Africa will be attained if the farmer, government, agribusiness, finance bodies, think tanks and NGOs reexamine their mindset. In Kenya for example, it is commonly held that agriculture is for the uneducated, jobless, retirees and people with nothing else to do. It is not uncommon to find university graduates with degrees in agriculture looking for alternative jobs. The youth equate the sector with farming, but make no connection to its technical or research intensive aspects. They perceive it to be hard physical labour because of machinery breakage, weather uncertainties and price variances. Genetics, engineering, financial management or international commodity markets are not considered.

Farmers should adopt certified seeds and exit the farm-saved seed mentality. The certified seed which is perceived to be expensive can perform over ten times better than the farm-saved seeds. There is need for farmers to quit straitjacket thinking and consider the long term. Since certified seeds are packaged in specific quantities that farmers may not require or be able to purchase, they could go round this by forming a group, each farmer declaring how much of the seed he wants, pooling the money together, ordering the seed in bulk and subsequently subdividing it according to established demand.

The global increase in agricultural output is attributable to improved agricultural technologies, the use of fertilizer and pesticides being key. Increased output has made food cheaper than it was four decades ago and freed part of the farming labour into other service industries. In developing countries, over 90 per cent of the population (40 per cent of the people on the planet) depend on agriculture for their livelihood, while only 7 per cent of the people in the rich nations do so.

The sector involves spending a lot with little yield to show. While one farmer in the US produces an output that is able to feed 10 more people and sell the surplus, an African farmer's output is barely sufficient to sustain himself. In addition, African farmers spend backbreaking days; weeding their farms and exposing themselves to the vagaries of the weather. When improved technologies that saw the developed countries reach food security are introduced to farmers in the third world countries, eco-imperialists raise an outcry.

Take the case of Paraquat. This is a non volatile and non carcinogenic chemical that is used for systemic killing of foliage, sparing the farmer energy, time and extra labour. Paraquat successfully exterminates weeds in a farm. It does not leach into groundwater and degrades into substances that are not a risk to the soil or plant life. Paraquat's safety has been validated by the World Health Organization through its International Program on Chemical Safety, and independently validated by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Africa cannot afford the luxury of Pesticide Action Network's debate against technologies that will make the continent feed her people and make many to join the middle class. The fact that people "commit suicide using this chemical" does not warrant its ban. How many people commit suicide using prescription drugs and kitchen knives? Have they been banned? The wearer of the shoe knows where it pinches. Pesticide Action Network should allow Africa to be food secure first, then Africa will be in a better position to have a round table discussion on imagined threats.

It is time for Africa to readjust its psychology away from people who want it to stagnate and choose for itself what will work for it. The government must take an active role as referee by facilitating good infrastructure, competition and more participation by many players to ensure high food productivity. Farmers should be given more options in the seed market. In an open economy, free trade induces competition and provides impetus to develop newer technologies, better methods and cheaper products.


The African Executive