Rewriting Africa’s Agricultural Narrative

Albert Kanga's plantain farm on the outskirts of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPSBy Friday PhiriABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire, Jul 18 2016 (IPS)Albert Kanga Azaguie no longer considers himself a smallholder farmer. By learning and monitoring the supply and demand value chains of one of the country’s staple crops, plantain (similar to bananas), Kanga ventured into off-season production to sell his produce at relatively higher prices.“I am now a big farmer. The logic is simple: I deal in off-season plantain. When there is almost nothing on the market, mine is ready and therefore sells at a higher price,” says Kanga, who owns a 15 Ha plantain farm 30 kilometres from Abidjan, the Ivorian capital.Harvesting 12 tonnes on average per hectare, Kanga is one of a few farmers re-writing the African story on agriculture, defying the common tale of a poor, hungry and food-insecure region with more than 232 million undernourished people – approximately one in four.Albert Kanga on his plantain farm. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPSWith an estimated food import bill valued at 35.4 billion dollars in 2015, experts consider this scenario ironic because of Africa’s potential, boasting 60 percent of the world’s unused arable land, and where 60 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture, accounting for roughly a third of the continent’s GDP.The question is why? Several reasons emerge which include structural challenges rooted in poor infrastructure, governance and weak...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - July 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Friday Phiri Tags: Advancing Deserts Africa Aid Climate Change Development & Aid Economy & Trade Energy Environment Featured Food & Agriculture Gender Green Economy Headlines Health Inequity Labour Natural Resources Population Poverty & S Source Type: news