"Business has a major role to play in releasing Africa’s agricultural potential" by Dr John Purchase
Growing concerns over rising food prices brings in to sharper focus both the threat and the opportunity facing Africa. Against this backdrop, the key question is how can Africa ensure food security for the poor, whilst capitalising on this significant opportunity to stimulate and strengthen the agricultural sector?
Accelerating growth in agriculture is critical not only to making progress towards MDG 1, but also to sustained growth and industrial diversification in the wider African economy. It is estimated that agriculture accounts for around 75 per cent of employment, 40 per cent of exports and 35 per cent of GDP across the continent and it is clear that there is significant potential for the sector to compete more effectively at a global level. At the same time, in both rural and urban areas, poor people, particularly women, depend directly on agriculture for their livelihoods and food security.
Policy makers are currently wrestling with the many complex issues associated with developing Africa’s agricultural sector. A wide range of well documented obstacles and bottlenecks – climatic problems, huge agro diversity, lack of irrigation, decline in rural infrastructure, poor links between local markets to the global economy, coupled to an unfair global trading regime - all conspire to repress Africa’s agricultural potential.
What is not disputed is that Africa’s agriculture sector needs to become more competitive and efficient. The message I want to send is that the private sector has an important role to play in revitalising Africa’s agricultural base. By delivering sustainable solutions and contributing core business skills and expertise, business can contribute in four key areas:
First, business can play an important role in helping to strengthen the agricultural infrastructure. In addition to improving the physical infrastructure, key priorities must include “softer” constraints like improving customs regimes to facilitate greater cross-border trade.
Second, business can contribute knowledge and know-how to enable the agricultural sector to operate more efficiently by introducing core business disciplines to make markets work more effectively.
Third, innovation is the life blood of business and we need to introduce greater levels of innovation in to the sector to enable our farmers to be more competitive. We welcome the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund as an important step forward in this area.
Finally, we can provide the capital investment required to transform Africa’s agricultural sector. However, in many parts of the continent, an overly complex regulatory environment and insecurity of land tenure continue to discourage investment and undermine livelihoods. We need to create an enabling investment climate for agriculture and the Investment Climate Facility is doing important work here to facilitate this.
The truth is that everyone has a role to play to release Africa’s agricultural potential. Business is ready, willing and able to play its part.
Dr John Purchase is CEO of the Agriculture Business Chamber and Chairman, NEPAD Business Foundation Agriculture Sector
Accelerating growth in agriculture is critical not only to making progress towards MDG 1, but also to sustained growth and industrial diversification in the wider African economy. It is estimated that agriculture accounts for around 75 per cent of employment, 40 per cent of exports and 35 per cent of GDP across the continent and it is clear that there is significant potential for the sector to compete more effectively at a global level. At the same time, in both rural and urban areas, poor people, particularly women, depend directly on agriculture for their livelihoods and food security.
Policy makers are currently wrestling with the many complex issues associated with developing Africa’s agricultural sector. A wide range of well documented obstacles and bottlenecks – climatic problems, huge agro diversity, lack of irrigation, decline in rural infrastructure, poor links between local markets to the global economy, coupled to an unfair global trading regime - all conspire to repress Africa’s agricultural potential.
What is not disputed is that Africa’s agriculture sector needs to become more competitive and efficient. The message I want to send is that the private sector has an important role to play in revitalising Africa’s agricultural base. By delivering sustainable solutions and contributing core business skills and expertise, business can contribute in four key areas:
First, business can play an important role in helping to strengthen the agricultural infrastructure. In addition to improving the physical infrastructure, key priorities must include “softer” constraints like improving customs regimes to facilitate greater cross-border trade.
Second, business can contribute knowledge and know-how to enable the agricultural sector to operate more efficiently by introducing core business disciplines to make markets work more effectively.
Third, innovation is the life blood of business and we need to introduce greater levels of innovation in to the sector to enable our farmers to be more competitive. We welcome the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund as an important step forward in this area.
Finally, we can provide the capital investment required to transform Africa’s agricultural sector. However, in many parts of the continent, an overly complex regulatory environment and insecurity of land tenure continue to discourage investment and undermine livelihoods. We need to create an enabling investment climate for agriculture and the Investment Climate Facility is doing important work here to facilitate this.
The truth is that everyone has a role to play to release Africa’s agricultural potential. Business is ready, willing and able to play its part.
Dr John Purchase is CEO of the Agriculture Business Chamber and Chairman, NEPAD Business Foundation Agriculture Sector
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