SANE Views

Vol.7 No.31, 14 September 2007

Food crisis and food prices. Practical solutions for the furure.

This article was written and submitted to SANE Views by Jacques Fremy, Senior training engineer and project advisor.

1. Continued food crisis and rising food prices are becoming a growing concern, and rightly so, from all customers in the cities. Only now, will they finally start to better understand the nightmares of the poorest of the poor and the concept of food security and food safety because their own health and budgets are becoming more severely affected by the day.

2. For 20 years, I have observed that the total disregard for Public Agricultural Education, Extension and Research services in Africa (except under WB ASI for Sub Saharan Africa from 1987 to 1998) would lead to major consequences for food security, food safety and food prices especially in a context of vast population migrations and more unreliable rain & water sources linked to global warming impact.

3. I have often said that "good farmers are becoming endangered species" which should soon be carefully protected by all Governments.

4. All food customers will discover at their own expense that all farmers are in fact their "best friends" whether they are small subsistence farmers or big commercial farmers. Indeed, all these farmers will be badly needed in the future, and especially those well-qualified farmers who will be practicing more environmental friendly, less risky and safer farming practices.

5. Poor families in rural and peri-urban areas will also need to learn how to grow their own vegetables, fruits and herbs on small organic plots with access to a little bit of harvested and/or municipal water in order to sustain their own families and communities thanks to more affordable and safer food products.

6. Food consumers and producers will have to become much stronger partners in the future in order to reduce the huge gaps between prices from the farm gates to the consumers' plates. New alliances and strong linkages between sources of knowledge and skills will have to be formed for the consolidation of institutional capacities in agricultural education, extension and research, which are highly critical for increased adoption of relevant agricultural practices and for better management of natural resources.

7. Development thinkers and practitioners will soon have to move beyond and behind the "tired concept" of "willing seller & willing buyer" simply because every country in the world will struggle to find and to preserve the "rare species" of "willing farmers" able and capable to deal effectively to such vital food challenges.

8. Without 3 balanced meals a day no African woman will be a healthy mother, no child will learn well in school, no adult will have enough energy and a good immune system to produce more and to grow well into a better future.

9. Concentrating efforts both for "first class primary education and professional vocational training systems" and for "strong public agricultural education, extension and research services" will for ever remain a prerequisite for any successful scenario for economic and social development strategy to really be sustainable in any country on the planet.

10. Practical solutions, to be implemented sooner than later in order to tackle food challenges of the future, can be found in my position paper: "a real Green Revolution is not an option for Africa". Interested readers can join me at: Jfremy@iafrica.com.