Arena Africana 3:

This land is your land.....An African Rainbow Evolution and the future of small-holder farming

Date: Wednesday 7 December
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: De Balie, Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, Amsterdam
Reservations: 020-5535100

Africa is the only continent where per capita food production declined over the past decades despite the fact that a vast majority of the African population is involved in some way in agriculture. The bottom line of ‘Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture’ a recent UN-report commissioned by the secretary general of the UN Kofi Anan, is that, to solve the African hunger problem, a series of  Rainbow Evolutions, rather than one single Green Revolution, should occur. This technology- and science-driven transformation of African farming should make agricultural practices more productive and sustainable, so that crops are able to compete not only on internal and regional markets but also on the global level.

However, what kind of revolution for African agriculture do we envisage? Will it be concerned with livelihoods and food security or mainly with production for export? And how will a series of rainbow revolutions be different, better perhaps, from the controversial green revolution which has transformed the Indian and Chinese rural productions systems and communities, indeed raising yields thanks to technological inputs, but by no means securing the economic emancipation of the rural poor? Some have argued that it is unlikely that a Rainbow Evolution, no more than a Green Revolution, will have a major impact on the income of small farmers in remote rural areas.

Any transformation leading to sustainable and competing production levels and products will require structural reforms and will have a deep impact on the lives of smallholder farmers. It is imperative that farmers themselves are involved in the decision-making process that will shape these reforms. Important questions are whether biotechnology can be a potential solution for agriculture in high risk areas, what will be the impact of more intensive farming on the environment, and are there any possibilities for organic farming in certain regions.

A large part of the African poor, who are the main targets of the Millennium Development Goals, inhabit marginal semi-arid and sub-humid areas with extremely diverse conditions for agriculture. These areas lack infrastructure rendering the provision of inputs and the marketing of products rather difficult. What kind of green revolution technologies fit into their livelihoods? Will the large commercial agricultural and horticultural enterprises – like those that are currently proliferating in Uganda –offer more employment and livelihood security than small-scale farming provides at present? Are there any alternatives outside the agricultural sector, e.g. in modern sectors in urban areas? How to generate sufficient employment for a new generation of youth? Half of the African population is younger than 15 years. How to protect the interests of disadvantaged groups like women, pastoralists, and fishers, and how to ensure access to land and water on an equitable basis?

New technology, like GM-crops, does not mean automatically that better access is gained for African products on Northern markets. Western countries are themselves struggling with new and more stringent regulations for food products derived from biotechnology and the concerned crops may not pass the food-safety certification procedures in force in the North. African farmers will not only need to keep up with these regulations, but will also need to develop their own institutions to provide the necessary certifications.

As a consequence, it may be more realistic to focus on the transformation of African agriculture for domestic and regional markets? What changes are really necessary for a sustainable production level to compete on this level, both for farmers operating in areas which are remote, and other which are better connected to markets and other farms?

And lastly, what is the position of Western donors in this? Agricultural and rural development have been abandoned as priority sectors in favor of sectors like education and health care where more immediate and visible (to the Western taxpayer) results can be produced. Is African agriculture able to cater for itself by getting the prices at the right level and the technologies in the right places or does it need our support?

Chairperson: Han van Dijk
African Studies Centre, Leiden & Wageningen University and Research Centre

Keynote speaker 1: Ms. Mercy Karanja
Development Policy Coordinator for the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP). Former director of Kenya National Farmers Union. Mercy Karanja has had more than 20 years experience in agriculture and rural development. She served for 16 years in the Ministry of Agriculture, leaving at the level of assistant director in 1998 to join the. In her current position she is involved in all aspects of farm policy, including trade and the place of biotechnology in agriculture.
Keynote speaker 2: Mr Mamadou Cissokho
Farmer and Honorary President of the Conseil National de Concertation et de Coopération Ruraux (CNCR), based in Senegal. The Council serves as an umbrella organization bringing together agricultural workers, livestock breeders, fishermen and members of organizations for rural women on a national and international level. Mr. Cissokho is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and maintains his farming activities in Senegal.

Referent: Michael Mortimore
Geographer who taught and researched at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria between 1962 and 1979, and was Professor of Geography at Bayero University, Kano from 1979 to 1986. Subsequently he carried out research studies as a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Geography, Cambridge University, the Overseas Development Institute and as an Honorary Fellow of the Centre of West African Studies, University of Birmingham. His research and publications have focused on environmental management by smallholders in the drylands of Africa.
Referent: Rudy Rabbinge
Professor on food-security issues at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and Dean of WUR Graduate Schools. Co-chair of the Inter-Academy Panel that produced the report ‘Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture’ commissioned by Kofi Annan. Prof Rabbinge is a candidate for the position of Chair of the FAO Council, to be elected on November 25. 
Referent: André de Jager
Researcher at Landbouw Economisch Instituut, Wageningen. Co-author of ‘Pro-poor Horticulture in East-Africa and South-East Asia: The Horticultural Sector in Uganda’.