The African Agriculture Transformation Agenda: A socio-economic imperative for Enhancing and Sustaining Africa's Growth. Dr Yemi Akinbamijo

1. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
The African Agriculture
Transformation Agenda: A socio-economic
imperative for Enhancing and Sustaining Africa's
Growth
DrYemi Akinbamijo
Executive Director
Keynote presentation at
the inaugural CCARDESA
General Assembly,
Gaborone, Botswana;
6-7 May 2014

2. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa 2
1. Background
– Why African agriculture must be transformed?
2. Africa’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (AATA)
3. Strengthening CCARDESA’s contribution to realization
of the AATA
4. FARA
5. Concluding Remarks
Outline

3. • The foundation for transformation has
been laid
• Need for an African narrative of the
continent
Africa before
1984 2000
and now

4. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa 4
SSA GDP growth rates (1980-2013)
Compiled with data from IMF World Economic Outlook Database 2014

5. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa 5
0
25
50
75
100
1981 1990 1999 2008
East Asia and Pacific South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa
Percentage of population living on less than
$1.25 per day (1981-2008)
Percentage of population living on less than
$1.25 per day in 2010
Poverty reduction
12.5
5.5
2.4
31.0
48.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
East Asia &
Pacific
LAC MENA South Asia SSA Prepared from
World Bank Data

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1. Sustaining a high growth rate over the
long term
2. Ensuring that high growth translates into
high poverty reduction (inclusive growth)
3. Ensuring that high growth is
environmentally sustainable
Africa’s economic growth challenges

7. • Wide scope for growth
– Bridging the productivity gap
• Offers the highest poverty reducing potential
– (2- 4 times compared to other sectors)
• Scope for intensification: to
reduce land degradation
Pivotal role of Agriculture in Africa
Source:
De Janvry and Sadoulet, 2010

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5/6/2014 8Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
Pivotal role of Agriculture
“Everything can wait but agriculture
cannot wait!”
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian Statesman and First Prime Minister
Historically, with few exceptions, no country has been
able to sustain a rapid transition out of poverty without
raising productivity in its agricultural sector

9. Multiple functions of Agriculture
Environmental
stewardship
Bioenergy
Nutrition &
Health
Food Security
Climate change Income

10. Food security in Africa
“… without food security, sustained improvements in human
development will remain an unattainable goal”
Africa Human Development Report 2012
Progress has been
made but Africa lags
behind rest of the
world in food security
indicators
• ¼of population is
undernourished
• Per-capita food
production is falling

11. “Challenges will always
abound; overcoming them is
the real challenge”
Yemi Akinbamijo
The real challenge

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• The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
Development Programme (CAADP): An
initiative of the African Union and NEPAD
The African Agriculture Transformation Agenda
• A framework for revitalising agriculture as the
driver for Africa’s structural transformation
• Represents a fundamental shift toward African
ownership and leadership of its development
agenda
• Emphasis of the new CAADP phase (2013-
2023) is on results and impact

13. The pathway to transformation
Wealth creation; Improved Food and Nutrition Security;
Resilience
Sustained inclusive agriculture growth
(Agribusiness & Entrepreneurship; jobs, poverty reduction; national & regional
agric markets & trade; Africa’s share in global agriculture trade)
1
Increased
agriculture
production
and
productivity
2
Increased value-
addition and access
to better
functioning
markets and trade
3
Food and
nutrition
security for all
4
Resilience to
climate change
and other risks
5
Public-private
engagement
and
investment
financing

14. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa 14
1
2
4
3
5
1960 19801970 1990 20082000
Year
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
South East Asia
Rest of the World
East Asia
Cereal Grain Average Yield by Region (mT/Ha)• Harnessing science , technology and
innovation – implementing the
Science Agenda
• Improved Land & Water management
• Improved access to inputs & financial
services
• TARGET: double agriculture total
factor productivity (TFP) by 2025
1. Improving production and productivity …1/5

15. • Improving productivity and competitiveness is one of
the raison d'être for STI
• Africa lags behind in both the generation and adoption
of science outputs for enhancing productivity
Science, technology & innovation are
essential to increasing productivity
Region No. variety releases,
1965-1998
Share area to modern
varieties, 1998
Share area to modern
varieties, 2010
LAC 3,146 0.51
Asia 2,229 0.83
MENA 715 0.56
SS Africa 1,157 0.23 0.35
All 7,246 0.65
Source: Renkow and Byerlee, 2010

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Science Outputs
Countries re-sized according to scientific output

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• Africa has ceded control of its STI agenda for
agriculture to external partners—strategically
untenable
• This is now being addressed by ensuring full
ownership and leadership of the Science Agenda
• Test of African ownership and leadership lies in
African financing of the agenda’s implementation
1. Improving production and productivity …2/5

18. 10
100
1,000
10,000
100 1,000 10,000 100,000
Agricultural output per worker (log scale)
Agriculturaloutputperhectareofland(logscale)
Australia &
New
Zealand
N America
W Europe
Japan &
S Korea
Former USSR
W Asia &
N Africa
Latin
America
SSA
ChinaS Asia
South Africa
E Europe
SE Asia
1000 ha/worker
100 ha/worker
10 ha/worker
1 ha/worker0.1 ha/worker
1. Improving production and productivity …3/5
• Doubling TFP will entail devoting special attention to:
 labour productivity, non-land physical capital & biotechnology

19. 1. Improving production and productivity …4/5
“We will have to phase out the hand hoe if we are to attract the
youth into agriculture.” “… the right place for the hand-hoe
should be the museum.”
HE Tumusiime Rhoda Peace,
AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture
• Improving labour
productivity

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• Taking advantage of the possibilities
offered by Biotechnology
– A rational debate needed that considers
the problem, all possible solutions
including biotech in all forms, and their
associated benefits and risks)
1. Improving production and productivity …5/5

21. • Potential market for agric and
agribusiness projected to reach
US$1 trillion by 2030
• Food import bill (2010-2012)
averaged US$69.5B/pa and is
growing at 15% pa
TARGET: increase share of intra-
Africa trade to at least 50% of total
agri-food trade by 2025
2. Increased value-addition and access to
better functioning markets and trade
Most of Africa:
Agribusiness
accounts for 38%
Global:
Agribusiness
accounts for 78%
of value added in
the value chain

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Target:
End hunger and ensure food and nutritional security
for all Africa’s citizens on a self-reliant (food
sovereignty) basis by 2025
Through
Policy and social
protection interventions
3. Food and nutrition security for all

23. Targets:
• Climate change adaptation is
strongly integrated in agric.
investment plans
• Functional resilience
mechanisms strengthened
4. Resilience to climate change and other risks
Through
Enhancing access by smallholders to finance
and technology for climate adaptation and
management of other risks
Projected changes in LGP: 2000-2050
Source: Thornton et al. (2006)
Mapping Climate Vulnerability and
Poverty in Africa, ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya

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• Mobilisation of domestic
investments (public and private)
into agriculture and agribusiness
• Improve investments in terms
of:
– Volume (amount)
– Quality (targeted for best returns)
– Stability
– Source (public, private, external)
Public-private engagement and
investment financing

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• Guiding a lion versus herding cats out of a forest
CCARDESA & the Agric. Transformation Agenda
• CCARDESA offers a platform & mechanism for collective action
of the SADC 15 countries to implement the Science Agenda
• Implementation at country level

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• CCARDESA is mandated to support countries to
prepare / update their science for agriculture
strategies and action plans, through CAADP process
• Collective action in the implementation of STI within
Southern Africa:
– Regional STI visioning / strategy
– Regional programmes
– Centres of excellence,
– Regional mobility of human resources
CCARDESA & the Agric. Transformation Agenda

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• It is essential that CCARDESA MTOP is aligned to
Science Agenda and supports CCARDESA constituents
to realise targets of the transformation agenda
• Consider these areas for strengthening in the
CCARDESA MTOP
– Visioning (strategic analysis + foresight)
– Operationalization of the Science Agenda
– Promoting and catalysing value-addition
– Advocacy for improved investments (volume, quality, stability, source)
CCARDESA & the Agric. Transformation Agenda

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Rationale
Created in 2002 to meet the demand for collective
action in agriculture science, technology & innovation
at continental level
Purpose:
To contribute to generating high broad-based and
sustainable agricultural growth in Africa by improving
productivity, competitiveness and market access
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa

29. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa 29
Architecture of African ARD institutions
Global
Continental
Sub-Regional
National
African Union
Commission
RECs
National
Governments
GFAR
FARA
SROs
NARS
Scale Political organs ARD institution

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SROs are the building blocks of FARA
NASRO
ASARECA
CORAF/WECARD
CCARDESA

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FARA’s Strategic Priorities (2014-2018)
Visioning Africa’s
agricultural
Transformation
Integrating
capacities for
change
Enabling the
environment for
implementation
Cross cutting
• Climate Change
• Gender
• Youth
• Nutrition
• Bioenergy

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• FARA’s push for establishment of CCARDESA
– Driven by recognition that Africa’s ARD architecture was
incomplete & weak without a functional SRO in southern
Africa
• Until recently the FARA-CCARDESA relationship was
focussed on institutional strengthening of CCARDESA
FARA and CCARDESA …1/3

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As CCARDESA matures, its
relationships with partners will
inevitably change
FARA and CCARDESA …2/3

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FARA engagement with CCARDESA is
expected to evolve to include:
– Joint initiatives (conception, formulation and
implementation) in line with subsidiarity principle
– Joint visioning and planning
– Joint advocacy of STI and resource mobilisation
FARA and CCARDESA …3/3

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1. Starting point: What kind of agriculture does
Southern Africa want to have in the next 10, 20, 30
years?
2. The real challenge is to undertake the necessary
actions to achieve this vision
3. STI is necessary but not sufficient to realise the
desired transformation. Need to link with other
drivers, especially policy
Concluding Remarks …1/2

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4. Good governance of institutions mandated to deliver
results contributing to the transformation is essential
5. “Let us STOP the blah, blah and start the do do”
6. Appreciate all stakeholders and development
partners that have contributed to CCARDESA’s
evolution
Concluding Remarks …2/2

37. Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
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