Global food security requires public-private partnerships

By Jane Karuku

At the recent World Food Prize Symposium in the US, I shared an important truth: Africa’s farmers are not needy victims. They have something to offer the world – a vast and verdant supply of arable land. Like us, the rest of the world needs to eat.

To ensure long-term food security, we need to invest in new public-private partnerships across the continent. We know the most successful partnerships are those in which everyone has made a tangible investment in the outcome.

As conversations on how to feed the future gather momentum – at the recent meeting in the US, the African Green Revolution Forum in Tanzania and the Camp David G8 Summit – it has become clear we need to focus on combining government resources with private sector expertise to rapidly expand agricultural yields and improve global economic growth.

We understand that most of what has to be done can only happen in partnership with others – those who share our vision of a more productive and profitable agricultural sector.

And even more, we need to become very proactive in seeking to partner with governments at all levels; with international development organisations; with national, regional and international NGOs and civil society; and certainly not least, with private sector companies, both large and small, national and international.

We have seen the power of this model. For example, Agra has been working to establish small risk-sharing loans with several commercial banks in order to leverage more affordable credit for farmers and agribusinesses.

Together with our partners, we have made $17 million available to three commercial banks, which leveraged access to about $160 million in credit to farmers and African businesspeople on the ground. Our efforts demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach, which is now being taken up on a much larger scale by several African governments.

In Africa, we truly believe the private sector can do more. Large African multinationals are emerging in areas such as telecoms and financial services.

Private international capital flows to Africa are increasing. Remittances, foreign direct investment and even portfolio investment flows to Africa are growing, albeit from a low base. As a result of this growth, the private sector has a critical role to play in ensuring growth in the agricultural sector, a proven driver of economic development and prosperity.

In conclusion, the most effective means of achieving massive, transformational change within the agricultural sector and, subsequently, a country’s economic development is through an influx of significant resources across the entire agricultural value chain in high potential production areas.

While there have been numerous initiatives launched  to improve agriculture and increase production, what is missing are coherent, co-ordinated value chain strategies and investment plans to stimulate change quickly and on a large scale.

Maputo Declaration

The most successful partnerships are those in which everyone has put money on the table and is tangibly invested in a shared outcome. While working with private-sector agribusinesses, small farmers, governments, or NGOs, we must share skills and resources to move African agriculture forward.

The strongest alliances begin and end on an equal footing.

In addition to building equitable partnerships, we must hold African governments and international donors accountable to keep and fund their commitments. For far too long, we have seen leaders pledge without paying. Agra is calling on leaders in Kenya to make the pledge set forth in the Maputo Declaration nearly 10 years ago to invest 10 per cent of its national budget in agriculture.

We must also continue to listen to the voices of farmers  across Africa. We must deliver solutions that address the challenges and opportunities they face every day in the fields and marketplace.

One of the challenges confronting smallholder farmers is climate change. Agra and its partners are promoting “climate smart” agriculture. Rebuilding soil health and enabling smallholders to grow more on less land will reduce the pressure to clear and cultivate forests and savannahs, thus helping conserve the environment.

Farmers are looking to us to transform the business of agriculture on the continent. We must improve access to financing so they can take their operations to scale; apply global best practices to dramatically increase yields; and demonstrate to our young people that there is a strong financial future in farming.

To reduce hunger, malnutrition, and ensure a strong global economy, we need action-oriented partnerships, keep and fund our commitments and maintain a focus on farmers to build a more food-secure future for all. 

Writer is president of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.

http://www.agra-alliance.org/