... Three observations from WAAPP initiative in Côte d'Ivoire.
Africa relies on rain fed
agriculture to feed its people and millions of others around the world. Rain,
however, isn’t always the most reliable partner in this endeavour. Realisation
of agricultural transformation in Africa will need the continent to make some
changes.
The World Bank, the International
Water Management Institute and many others estimate rain fed agriculture
coverage in sub Sahara Africa to be greater than 95%. This places a great deal
of the continent’s food production at the mercy of temperamental rain and
the effects of climate change.
Earlier this month, I had the
opportunity to meet a farmer in Abidjan’s Azaguiè area who has broken his
reliance on rain to feed his family. Albert Kangah is the proprietor of the
Plantation Dougba, a plantain plantation dedicated to producing off-season
plantain.
During regular plantain season, farmers can realize prices of about
100CFA per unit but off season plantain prices rise to highs of 600CFA. By
planting 3 months after other farmers have planted and investing in irrigation
equipment, Albert exploits the price increase to generate higher than average
income from his farm. Albert’s story provides us with an example of the
possible positive impact of adopting irrigation on livelihoods and signals
the possibilities irrigation provides us in improving food and nutrition
security on the continent. This is what agricultural transformation is all
about.
Albert Kangah is a beneficiary of
the West Africa
Agriculture Productivity Program supported by the World Bank and
running in 13 West African countries. The West African Agricultural
Productivity Program (WAAPP) was designed to respond to the challenges of
improving agricultural productivity, an important part of any agriculture
policy and central to the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa
Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). It started in 2008 under
the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with
financial support from the World Bank (WB) and coordinated at sub-regional
level by CORAF/WECARD.
WAAPP aims to generate and
accelerate the adoption of improved technologies in key priority areas of
the agriculture sectors in participating countries. It also aims to provide
producers with technologies to enhance and improve the competitiveness of their
produce. The generation of technologies and innovations, including new crop
varieties, is done through participating national centers of specialization
hosted by the national agriculture research centers of the member states.
In Côte d’Ivoire, WAAPP’s national
center of specialization focuses on plantain with farmers like Albert
benefiting from the new better yielding, pest and drought resistant
varieties that become available. Thanks to the inventory of plantain on his
farm, he produces at least 12 tonnes a year. He says plantain changed his life.
It’s not hard to see why.
WAAPP is also investing in value
chain development for the priority commodities in participating countries. One
example is the adoption of technology from Senegal through which at least 15%
of the flour used in baking bread and pastries is corn or cassava flour.
Through an improved manufacturing process, the amount of wheat consumed would
reduce while improving the value of cassava and corn for producers through
increased demand and new use cases. Establishing partnerships with the Union of
Bakery Owners of Cote d’Ivoire has made it possible for the project to expand
from the pilot 10 bakeries using the composite flour in Abidjan to more than 50
in Abidjan and two other towns up country.
I made three observations from this
visit to WAAPP project sites:
- We need to ensure agriculture is a profitable business
for Africa’s farmers if it is to become a key driver for Africa’s
industrialization. Its profitability will draw young people to the farms
and help lower the average age of Africa’s farmers while propelling
efforts to reduce hunger, end poverty and reduce inequality on the
continent.
- Investment in research and development cannot be left
to happenstance. It must be deliberate and determined by the agricultural
transformation strategy in place at the national and regional level. Data
from the Agriculture Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI)
shows Cote d’Ivoire’s spending, in 2011 PPP US dollars, has reduced by 50%
between 1981 and 2011. During the same time the population more than
doubled but plantain production did not resulting in lower per capita
plantain production in 2011 than 30 years earlier. R&D on better
varieties and increased adoption of better technologies could have been
useful in avoiding this. They are now imperative to reversing the trend.
- Increased production without investment in value chains
development won’t deliver the added value to small holder farmers at the
point of origin. WAAPP’s effort to invest in new use cases for
cassava and corn flour could result in better prices and incentivize production
whilst improving the nutritional value of pastries in Ivorian society.
The work being done by WAAPP
partners provides valuable lessons for other regions in the continent
especially where value chains development, R&D and regional collaboration
on food and nutrition security is concerned. These are some of the elements
which are important for CAADP compacts if Africa’s quest for agricultural
transformation is to be realised.
*Muchiri Nyaggah, Executive Director, Local Development Research Institute (LDRI)
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
Pix: Ivoiren farmer, Mr. Albert Kangah speaking to visiting journalists recently.
