Sep
22
Can Zimbabwe become Africa’s breadbasket?
September 22, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tremendous breakthroughs have been made over the last few years in improving crop yields. However, as these innovative new technologies are often slow to be implemented by African farmers, agricultural productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa lags behind many other regions in the world.
Speaking at the Economist Conference in Johannesburg last week, Carlman Moyo, Managing Director for DuPont Sub-Saharan Africa, said that studies show this is mostly as a result of lack of credit, limited access to information and insufficient incentives associated with farm tenure arrangements.
“Innovative technologies that help farmers adapt to changing environmental conditions remains a key factor in increasing agricultural productivity, conserving natural resources and addressing the potential impacts of climate change in the next few years. This is vital as agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is currently well below that required to achieve food security and reach stated targets on poverty reduction.”
Moyo says this is particularly relevant for Zimbabwe, once known as the bread basket of Africa. “There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to improve food security in Zimbabwe and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, providing farmers access to the latest agricultural technology is one way to help dramatically improve the agricultural output of the country.”
Through the 1980’s, Zimbabwe was a net exporter of food. The economy exported approximately 500,000 tons of maize in 1980 and also enjoyed a record maize crop of 2.15 million tons in 1981 – about one million tons of which was available for export. However, today the country has a deficit of 500,000 tonnes of maize.
According to Moyo, Zimbabwe has a very good climate to support agricultural development and has the added advantage that it has supported wide-scale commercial farming in the past. “Commercial farming is not a new culture to Zimbabwe. There may be small scale farmers now but it is just a case of reviving the industry.”
Signs of economic recovery in Zimbabwe, and a changing political landscape, are optimistic indications for potential investors. Moyo believes Zimbabwe’s agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors give it the edge over its copper-rich neighbour, Zambia – in terms of an agricultural investment destination in Sub-Saharan Africa.
He says DuPont has recently been involved in some notable successes with local farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, with regards to the adoption of new technologies.
For example, small-scale local farmers in Ethiopia increased their yield by over 300% (from 500kg/ha to over 2000kg/ha), following the decision in 1996 to implement a new technology that saw open pollination seeds converted into Pioneer hybrid seeds.
Moyo says this shows what can be done when governments and players in the agri-science industry work closely with the local farming community. “Innovative public-private partnerships can work wonders to help improve food availability, enrich livelihoods and further develop farming businesses.”
He also believes that the role of the Government is often underestimated.
“By expediting the registration of new agricultural technologies, the farming community will have earlier access to safer and more advanced products. This, coupled with training programmes aimed at educating farmers in the application of the new technologies can make a significant impact on improving the growing food crisis in the region.”
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