Facing the Elephant in the Room

With a population of about 1.4 billion, Africa is always in the headlines due to yearly food insecurity cases. In 2022, the World Bank reported that over?140 million Africans?faced acute food insecurity. I always wonder if African leaders are disappointed in their failure to transform their food systems or if they have plans to do so.

I think what has made the leaders so reluctant in their roles is the overdependence on food aid from international communities whenever a drought comes knocking on our doors. Instead of food aid, African governments should focus on providing farmers with drought-resistant seeds, affordable agricultural inputs, and training on climate-smart agriculture.

According to the African Development Bank, Africa holds?about 65% of the worlds uncultivated arable land.?What is stopping us from cultivating the land? Who owns the uncultivated land? What do the owners need to start farming on the land? These are some of the questions I ask myself, but we all know most of the land is owned by leaders who have left it unattended for years, and they have kept it for their future generations or real estate developments.

Many willing farmers own less than an acre, and some have no land to cultivate since they have divided their land for their kids to build homes for their families. This puts the whole family at risk of food insecurity, and those without other income sources have to rely on food aid.

Each African country has millions of educated, experienced citizens who can transform their countries. We have enough land to farm enough food to feed ourselves, store, and trade for financial gains. But we have become so comfortable knowing that the World Bank, IMF, WFP, FAO, and other organizations will assist us during a drought.

It’s high time for development partners and NGOs to focus more on initiatives promoting agricultural development in Africa instead of providing food aid. Africans should follow the ‘Teach me how to farm and eat for a lifetime’ instead of the ‘help me with food now, tomorrow will take care of itself.’

It hurts when I see people still queuing for food aid in Arid and Semi–Arid Lands (ASALs) parts of Kenya, with food packs branded USAID, UKAID, GoK, etc. Instead, I hope to see community/government irrigation schemes with huge banners inviting people for climate-smart agriculture training, which is possible in all African countries.

Development partners and governments should all collaborate and establish projects that will transform the world’s food systems if we want to achieve SDG2 – Ending Hunger by 2030. With over 140 million people facing acute hunger in Africa, 3.7 million in the Caribbean, and over 350 million in Asia and the Pacific, we are far from achieving SDG2. The sad truth!

Food aids are not a solution to food insecurity; it’s like taking a painkiller to relieve the headache from an illness. It’s high time to step up and face the Elephant in the Room, which, according to the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, is the global food crisis.

Want to be part of this agricultural revolution? Well, nothing should stop you. Climate-smart agriculture is the key to transforming the agricultural landscape, making it more resilient to climate change while still meeting our growing demand for food. By adopting innovative practices, we can reduce emissions, preserve precious water resources, and protect biodiversity.