Brussels, 11/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Making agriculture in Africa an instrument to combat hunger, as well as a vector for prosperity for the rural communities and sustainable growth in Africa, and a means of increasing business opportunities for the Europe-Africa partnership - that is a challenge that can now be raised. This was the view of those taking part at the workshop entitled “European Agribusiness in Africa: opportunities and challenges”, held in Brussels on 10 April, at the initiative of the directorate general for agriculture at the European Commission in collaboration with DG Europaid.
To achieve the above, it will be necessary to create public/private partnerships, both financial and technical, to increase the productivity of small farms in Africa, to reinforce farming organisations and to integrate them into strategic partnerships that promote research, technology and innovation in the food chain and allow local, regional and international demand to be met, while providing added value for staple products - an essential precondition for the agri-food business. One of the participants said it was at this price that African agriculture could be made “sexy and profitable”, for sustainable production and sharing know-how with all channels.
A broad range of African and European representatives (governments, the private sector, civil society, academic circles, think-tanks) met to assess the potential of cooperation between the EU and Africa for developing the agri-food business in Africa in order to enhance food security and ensure good living conditions in the rural communities throughout the African continent.
“Agriculture in Africa accounts for 65% of total employment and 32% of GDP. Increasing investments in agriculture - starting with support to small farmer and other domestic investors - stimulate increased production and can potentially create wealth for smallholders and rural communities. As such, it is key to fighting food insecurity. Moreover, it makes good business sense”, said Andris Piebalgs, European Development Commissioner, as the workshop closed.
In Piebalg's view, “developing a viable and vibrant agriculture sector in Africa is a development challenge. However, it is also a significant market opportunity for consumers - especially small and family farmers, who are the largest private investors in African agriculture. For African agribusinesses to make the most of the opportunities in the agri-food sector there needs to be a sustainable shift from subsistence agriculture to a productive agricultural industry that allows farmers to take part in the market economy”.
Furthermore, although the European Agenda for Change, which is the framework for EU development policy after 2015, makes agricultural development based on small farming a priority and an engine for inclusive and sustainable development, that is because, as the commissioner said, “we are convinced that inclusive growth based on agriculture is crucial for alleviating poverty and for creating wealth”. Piebalgs pointed out that the EU is making a financial contribution to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme run by the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the African Union.
Convinced that the prospects for real public-private cooperation for building a sustainable and resistant agriculture in Africa are good, the commissioner said that cooperation with the private sector is promising, as can be seen by aid provided by the EU to Malawi in the context of the programme for diversifying farm income so that the country can be a producer and exporter rather than an importer. (AN/transl.jl)