Africa needs more contract farming schemes

So if there is the same organisation in outgrower schemes for food crops as there is in the brewing industry, we can begin to see a shift in Africa’s need to import.

AFRICA has been gradually turning into a net importer of food as countries continuously fail to produce enough to cover their consumption needs. Although agriculture remains a mainstay of many economies on the continent, a consistently growing population and a little diversifying agriculture sector have led to increased demand for food which cannot be met locally.

The continent is abundantly endowed with approximately 50 percent of the world’s uncultivated land, abundantly fertile soils and favourable climate.

Yet it still fails to feed itself, depending mostly on imports. Grains top the list of foods that Africa imports especially wheat, rice and maize.

However, due to the massive volumes that are traded on the global market every year, grains attract more traders and speculators resulting in price volatility. But this has not deterred African countries that continue to buy.

A Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-CS) meeting held last year revealed that Africa spends approximately $15 billion every year on grain imports.

SARD-CS co-ordinator, Dr Solomon Assefa said it was unfortunate that Africa was spending billions of dollars to import food when it had the potential to be self-sufficient.

“Africa has huge arable land but cannot meet its potential. About 49 percent of the population in the region is living on less than $1,20 per day. By addressing productivity we will ensure people have decent lives.

The $15 billion being spent by Africa for importing food can be spent on other developmental programmes,” he said.

Market watchers have said Africa cannot reach its full economic potential without food security.

They say the continent will remain poor as long as it continues to depend on other nations for food it can grow in its backyard. And how can Africa address

food self-sufficiency? To be able to do this, there is need for greater private sector participation in the agriculture sector. If the private sector can join hands with government to come up with outgrower schemes that will benefit both the farmers and the company, economies will automatically benefit from a reduced import bill.

And contract farming is nothing new. It has existed since time immemorial.

In ancient Greece, the practice was widespread, with specified percentages of particular crops being a means of paying tithes, rents and debts. China and the United States of America also had such practices at the turn of the century.

The concept has over the years been modified to benefit both the farmer and the contractor instead of favouring one partner.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the contract farming system should be seen as a partnership between agribusiness and farmers.

“To be successful it requires a longterm commitment from both parties. Exploitative arrangements by managers are likely to have only a limited duration and can jeopardise agribusiness investments.

Similarly, farmers need to consider that honouring contractual arrangements is likely to be to their long-term benefit,” FAO said in a 2014 report.

One such is the arrangement which has seen Dangote Group coming in to fund rice production in Nigeria.

Earlier this month, the Group announced that its subsidiary Dangote Rice will launch a multi-million naira rice outgrower scheme in Nigeria’s Sokoto state.

Dangote Rice projects when operational, are expected to generate a “significant number of jobs and increase income for smallholder farmers, all while diversifying Nigeria’s economy and reducing the nation’s food import bill”.

Official statistics in Nigeria show that rice demand stood at 6,3 million tonnes in 2015 but local production has been failing to satisfy that demand, only reaching 2,3 million tonnes.

The gap of about 4 million tonnes left by local production has been filled through rice imports. Nigeria, along with South Africa, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania and Angola are the continent’s top rice buyers contributing to an import bill of more than $3,5 billion every year.

But Africa has been growing rice for more than 3 500 years but due to the huge demand, local producers fail to meet demand.

So if more companies can invest in rice production, the continent can significantly reduce that import bill . — Zimpapers Syndication. Read the full article on www. herald.co.zw