Will The African Leadership Provide Solutions to the Crisis?

Will The African Food Crisis Redefine Leadership?

Africa’s climatic, geographical, and size endowment related to its population densities are unequally matched except for Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Vast areas of land except for conflict-ridden areas where vast mineral resources are among the main cause of war, have yet to be exploited for agricultural production. The suitable weather for continuous annual crop production which can be easily enabled with the exploitation of the hydro-resources remains a pipe dream. In some areas, the rain season is always a disaster due to resulting in flooding while the dry season comes with its fair share of excessive temperatures and the ever-baking sun.

Most of the countries having gained independence in the mid-’60s are still food insecure. The world food program continues to import vast quantities of grains into the continent following various food insecurity episodes. ?Although endowed with numerous water bodies from freshwater lakes, and numerous rivers, and surrounded by oceans and seas, the continent haven’t at any one time become a grain exporter. Some of the famous rivers traverse vast areas like the Nile (Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda), Shebelle (Ethiopia, Somalia), Tana (Kenya), Ruvuma (Tanzania), Zambezi (Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique), Limpopo (South Africa), Congo (DR Congo), Niger Logon and Chari (Cameroun / Chad), (Niger, Nigeria), Volta (Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Cote D’Ivore), Senegal (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal) among others.

Despite all this benevolent marvel from the universe, the African Union and the African development bank have never used the African scientific and academic potential to look at the very simple achievable goal of having several cascades across these rivers to generate electricity and store enough water to enable irrigation akin to the Colorado cascades in the USA. Investment bonds akin to the stock exchange should prove return on investment. Numerous trips by African leaders to Israel to look at the marvel of desalination and growing crops in the desert has always ended as a leisure trips. The entourage normally the rank and file sometimes accompanied by their girlfriends has not been translated into the academia and the increasingly disillusioned scientific community. Most of the copy-paste scientists leading government institutions (possibly with fake certificates), wait for the end of the month to earn a salary with little contribution to science. This is an opportune time to give pensions to some of the old guards and let new brains permeate decision-making and develop new innovative ideas.

Investment Opportunity

If the African Development Bank (AFDB), had its strategic think tank properly aligned, my advice would be as follows. Mobilize, the African diaspora with remittances and make special bonds for the development of the water catchment system so that all the major water basin areas possess at least 5- 8 mega-dams that can sustain water for irrigation during the dry periods. Develop internal capacity (reduce brain drain) to have engineers, agronomists, plant breeders, and industrial processors who can ensure that most of the produce is stored with some form of processing. The idea that processing is foreign must perish. There is no cassava in Russia, yet Russia exports billions of vodka from potatoes to Africa. Africa has vast areas with the potential to grow cassava and sorghum and reduce these import inequalities with science. With climate change, the dynamics of the weather patterns are unbelievable. My quick thoughts are that if the western countries can mobilize the kind of funds (with interest) to mitigate the crisis in Ukraine, what incentives can such similar money (including China and Russia), be mobilized for to increase food security in Africa?

AFCTA (Africa Free Continental Trade Area)

The AFCTA presents a unique opportunity (duties and taxes waiver) where the possibility of having some of the water pumping technology production is in one country, production of the drip technology, in another, drones and other smart technologies in another and the chain continues. ?The AFCTA provides an opportunity when structured professionalism greater than the Marshall plan provided by the USA after the Second World War that has increased the possibilities in Europe beyond the belief of the founders exist.

The question today is, will the present African leaders see beyond their luxury trips to far-off capitals where investment, technology, and leadership have provided visions beyond the imaginations of the many visitors trooping these places. Few examples of UAE, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan should make the African decision-makers aware that they have failed a generation. The question today is are they still waiting to fail another generation? It’s time for the African community in Africa and the diaspora to demand accountability. Let us not just have busy bodies as leaders, let us have visionaries who can lead even where they will not step a foot.