‘[OTHERWISE] THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ESCAPE THE CYCLE OF POVERTY’

– Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation in the Netherlands, Michael Hailu, stressing the importance of smallholder farmers in Africa accessing expanded market opportunities by prioritising food safety, following the recent release of the African Food Safety Index

With the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that an average of 91 million Africans fall ill and 137 000 die annually as a result of foodborne diseases, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has welcomed the recent launch of the African Food Safety Index.

According to a statement issued by the Netherlands-based Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, the index would “provide the evidence necessary for African countries to prioritise food safety, reduce food-borne illnesses, and improve trade and income”. The centre would be partnering with the African Union Commission and the WHO to implement the index.

The statement added that in addition to health concerns, food safety had become an important precondition for countries to access global food markets.

“If smallholder farmers cannot connect to expanded market opportunities, including exports, they will never be able to escape the cycle of poverty,” the centre’s director, Michael Hailu, said.

The index would track food safety levels and countries’ efforts to meet food safety across all 55 African Union member states. This was expected to have a domino effect on the countries’ prioritisation of food safety and policy implementation.

DAFF spokesperson Steve Galane said that for the index to be effective and relevant, cooperation with both DAFF and the Department of Health would be necessary. It was expected that the index would ultimately enable Africa to deal with foodborne illnesses and thus advance trade in both agricultural and other processed food products, he said. – Lloyd Phillips