AGRA President sets out decisive actions for world food security, says ‘fine words do not produce food’

President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Jane Karuku, has set out three core decisive actions to be taken in order to drive forward world food security and feed future generations.   

These areas, she says, include building new, innovative public-private partnerships; ensuring international donors and African policymakers keep and fund their commitments; and listening to what farmers really want and need. 

Jane Karuku recently joined former U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Quinn at the World Food Prize Symposium in the United States to discuss the need for public-private partnerships and new commitments to fund agricultural development.

According to her, much of the progress in reducing global hunger announced by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization can be attributed to improvements in African agriculture.

“Globally, however, approximately 870 million people still suffer from hunger and chronic malnutrition.  So while we have made important headway, we cannot afford to lose momentum”, she added. 

She has observed the need to work creatively across sectors to rapidly expand African agricultural yields and improve global economic growth.

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, stated the AGRA President.

“Together with our financial partners, we have made a total of $17 million US dollars available to three commercial banks, which leveraged access to about $160 million US dollars 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”, Jane said. 

She noted that the most successful partnerships are those in which everyone has put money on the table and is tangibly invested in a shared outcome.

“Whether we are working with private-sector agribusinesses, small farmers, governments, or international NGOs, we know that in order to succeed, we must share skills and resources to move African agriculture forward”.

 

In addition to building equitable partnerships, Jane Karuku said African governments and international donors must be held accountable to keep and fund their commitments.

“When the funds reach our fields, we must ensure they are invested across the full agricultural value chain – from better seeds and soils, to improved markets, more affordable financing and smarter policies.  We need to ensure balanced growth to transform subsistence farming into a viable commercial enterprise that will drive economic growth”, she demanded.

The AGRA President firmly believes that African farmers can lead the way to a stronger global economy, hence the need to listen to the voices of African farmers by delivering solutions that address the challenges and opportunities they face every day in the fields and marketplace. 

“At AGRA, we know that farmers are battling climate change.  Therefore the action we take should be focused on long-term sustainability.  AGRA and its partners promote “climate smart” agriculture. Rebuilding soil health and enabling Africa's smallholders to grow more on less land will reduce the pressure to clear and cultivate forests and savannahs, thus helping conserve biodiversity and the environment” emphasized Jane Karuku.

Whilst calling for application of global best practices to dramatically increase yields, Jane said it is most important to demonstrate to young people that there is a strong financial future in farming.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh