Africa doesn’t need “organic” agriculture. Instead, modern, productive farming methods must be made available so that people can feed themselves.
In 1968, when the world’s population was less than 4 billion, Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, making dire predictions of a Malthusian disaster. Indeed, many believed that we just would not be able to feed a growing population, and that mass famine would become commonplace. Looking back from the early years of the 21st Century, this seems difficult to believe. There are now more than 6 billion people on the planet, most of whom are better fed than ever, and most food commodities are at historically low prices.
The main reason for this is the so-called green revolution of the 1960s and ‘70s. Scientists bred dwarf varieties of wheat and rice which were capable of much higher yields, and introduced adapted varieties widely in the South. The result? Malnutrition in developing countries generally now affects 18% of the population: still far too high a figure, but actually very significant progress considering the large population increases in recent decades. The remaining food security problems in Asia and Latin America are more due to sheer grinding poverty than lack of food in these regions.
But in the meantime, from a very similar starting position half a century ago, the great majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a greater food security problem than ever: in 2004, 33% of the population was under-nourished. Granted, many countries have experienced terrible civil strife in that period, and others are still ruled by kleptocrats who have little regard for the needs of their populations. Even so, there are still major problems in simply growing enough food for the region’s population.
And a key reason for this is that there has just been too little attention paid to African farming. The green revolution largely passed the continent by: wheat and rice are not generally staple crops here. Typical African crops – sweet potato, banana, cassava, millet – are essentially “orphan” crops, which few agricultural scientists in the industrialised world took an active interest in.
Of course, there are dedicated groups of people working to improve people’s ability to grow their own food, whether in the voluntary sector or research institutes. And private industry also makes its contribution, usually via technology donations or waiving of intellectual property rights.
Despite this, many groups involved in the development area, particularly from the voluntary sector, seem intent on imposing their own ideas on the world’s poorest, rather than encouraging them to make their own choices of all possible technologies. The world view of organisations such as Oxfam or CAFOD is implicitly anti-corporate and anti-progress. This is not to say that they don’t do good work – I would be among the first to recognise the dedicated effort put in by many staff and volunteers to cope with emergencies, for example – but the “aid industry” has become increasingly political.
At the same time, it has become increasingly politically correct. The goal seems to be for the rural population of Africa to live in a state of self-sufficiency on organic farms, at one with Nature and local wildlife. They don’t realise that people want to choose their own future, not have one imposed on them by foreign do-gooders, motivated by what others have called the “arrogance of affluence”. Left with their own devices, but with a helping hand where necessary, nations (excluding the few remaining hunter-gatherers) have followed the same trajectory.
From a starting point where most of the population exists by means of subsistence agriculture, with associated food insecurity, the growth of urban economies has led to an exodus from the land. The remaining farmers have become more efficient, feeding themselves and producing surpluses for sale. In most industrialised societies, farmers now make up a small minority of the population, and agriculture accounts for a few percent of total GDP. The rapidly-developing countries of Asia are well down this path. Why should we expect African countries to follow a different route?
Fortunately, not everyone takes this point of view. There are many who are helping African countries to build their capacity in agricultural technologies rather than rely on the industrialised world. There are others who provide useful training to ensure appropriate technologies are used safely and effectively. But what poor countries – Africa in particular at present – need is the ability to choose and develop their own technologies to feed themselves. Only then will the continent be free to decide its own future.
Of course, this isn’t the whole answer. Drought, lack of infrastructure and poor governance can still be major obstacles to long-term food security. But giving people the choice of the best available tools is surely a big step forward. The privileged elites of Europe cannot deny that to African farmers.
* Livermore of Ascham Associates contributes this from Whittlesford, Cambridge, United Kingdom