1. Agricultural policies and their impact on food security in Africa Food Security Seminar Africa University 22 March 2013 Evelyn Garwe Chairperson

2. Setting the context Definitions Current State of food security in Africa Factors driving food insecurity Agricultural Policies Justification Regional policy agreements Policy options & players Conclusion Presentation Outline

3. Throughout world history, increases in agric sector productivity have contributed greatly to economic growth and food security Sadly, in most countries of SSA, agric productivity is low due to a multiplicity of factors e.g. poor soil fertility, lack of agric inputs, land degradation, climate change etc. Agriculture’s contribution to Africa’s GDP has remained at 20-30% as investments and research have declined. Setting the context

4. Stagnant productivity growth in SSA agriculture

5. And yet agric is the largest sector in many African countries accounting for 60−80% of employment & 10-40 % of the export earnings (FAO 2006; IMF 2006). Therefore, good agric policies & the follow-up strategies & programmes are critical in improving the agric sector & hence ensuring FS & sustainable development in Africa Setting the context

6. Policy - a guiding principle leading to a desired course of action (programs) that is pursued by a government Agric policies are govt decisions that influence for example: the level & stability of input & output prices, public investments affecting agric production, costs & revenues & allocation of resources Agric policies need to be implemented through a cross-sectoral approach involving various government ministries, including: Agriculture, Trade, Environment, Health, Finance & Education to enhance their effectiveness. Definition: Agric policy

7.  Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe & nutritious food to meet their dietary needs & food preferences for an active & healthy life. (FAO, 2001) Analytical framework: availability, access, utilisation & stability. Definition: Food Security

8. DIMENSIONS OF FOOD SECURITY FOOD SECURITY AVAILABILITY production distribution exchange ACCESS income food aid STABILITY supplies access UTILISATION nutrient content food safety human health

9. Prevalence of food insecurity

11. Undernourishment affects about a third of Africa’s population; However, there are sub-regional variations - North Africa has very low proportion of the population suffering chronic hunger; situation is very serious in varying degrees in the other four regions of the continent – West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa; Africa spends $25 - $50 billion annually on food imports; (funds needed elsewhere) Implication – Africa may fail to achieve MDG’s by the target date (2015). Current state of food security in Africa

12. Contribution of Hunger Reduction towards Achieving the MDGs

13.  Under capitalization of agriculture Only 7% (1.6% in SSA) of land is under irrigation versus 40% in Asia (target 14%) 4% of available water resources used for irrigation Low use of fertilizer averaging 8kg/ha of fertilizer use in SSA, representing only 9% of world average; 500 million ha are moderately or severely degraded 40% of Africans live on fragile land  Low agric productivity & poor performance Land productivity & labour productivity is 50% & 60% that of Asia and Latin America respectively Cereal yields are 40% of world averages Factors driving food insecurity

14.  Urbanization and population growth High population growth - population has more than doubled from 335 - 751 million btwn 1975 & 2005 Urban population growing at an annual rate of 5% fuelled by poverty-induced rural-urban migration;  Climate change African agriculture critically dependent on rain. But climate change is resulting in falling precipitation and increased climate variability; Climate change gives rise to vector and water-borne diseases exacerbating health status Increased rate of desertification  Conflict & civil strife Factors driving food insecurity

15.  Result? Increasing land stress & unsustainable development.  Global food prices rise caused by: Reduction of production & stocks from major exporting countries due to bad weather; Rapid increase in oil prices and inputs into agriculture; Increased demand by strong growth in China and India, and indeed Africa; Export prohibitions in traditional food exporting countries. Increased demand for biofuels Factors driving food insecurity

16. Increased demand for food crops for renewable energy production. Direct use of food crops for biofuels - In 2009, the share of global crop production devoted to biofuel production was 20% for sugar cane & 9% for oilseeds & coarse grains Land for food crops used for biodiesel production eg jatropha Emerging challenges

17. Proportion of Maize production used for Biofuels in the US, 1995–2010 Source: Data from Earth Policy Institute (2011).

18. Ranking of productivity drivers in Asia

19. Public policies affecting agric have persisted because governments are rational & cannot leave the food security of their constituents to the impersonal forces of the marketplace. These policies include: The provision of public goods, such as roads & rural infrastructure. Pesticide & animal health regulations Agric policies: Justification

20. Interventions in markets for inputs & outputs: price & trade policies; marketing policies; input subsidies (e.g. for seeds, fertiliser & working capital credit) are justified as a means of stabilizing prices at levels that will guarantee consumers with a stable and affordable supply of food. Soil conservation, irrigation and water quality programs are means of protecting the agricultural resources necessary for sustainable production. Agricultural policies

21. Changes to institutions (setting up or eliminating marketing boards, land reforms, financial sector reforms, property rights and legal framework). Govt subsidies for development of technologies that enhance agric productivity are justified as means of making food less costly and more available to more people. Agricultural policies

22. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) – the economic programme of the African Union (AU), officially established in 2001 after member countries recognised both the importance of agriculture for development & food security & the weaknesses of member countries’ agric policies. NEPAD developed a special initiative, namely the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) which was adopted by AU in 2003 to improve agric policies & accelerate agric & rural development in Africa. Regional policies

23. In July 2003 in Maputo, African leaders made a commitment to increase public investment in agric to a minimum of 10% of their national budgets by 2011 They agreed to raise agric productivity by at least 6% 8 African countries have exceeded the 10% target for funding 11 have met the 6% target 19 have achieved growth of 3-6% Regional policies

24. 1.Broad participation in – and thus ownership of – the development of policies and strategies; 2.Better harmonisation of these policies and strategies and stronger efforts to embed them in regional and pan-African agendas; 3.Evidence-based policymaking, including peer learning and review; 4.Building partnerships to enhance private and public investment. NEPAD initiatives geared to improving policymaking

25. Agriculture-led growth to reach MDGs Target goal of 6% sector growth rate Increased public investment (10% budget share) Four main pillars to guide investment Policy efficiency, peer review, accountability Exploitation of regional complementarities Inclusiveness: farmers, agribusiness, civil society CAADP MAIN FEATURES & PRINCIPLES

26. The Regional Strategic Analysis & Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) is an Africa-wide network of regional nodes supporting the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) & the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) & the Africa-based centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), to facilitate the implementation of AU/NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). ReSAKSS

27. ReSAKSS nodes offer high-quality analyses to improve policymaking, track progress, document success, & derive lessons for the implementation of CAADP ReSAKSS is jointly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) & the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The nodes are implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) & the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in collaboration with regional & national partners. ReSAKSS

28. The establishment of NEPAD as well as regional organisations, most prominently the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), is the most important attempt of African nations to join forces in order to be able to shape their own policy space and to influence their fate in the world. A U Consolidated approach

29. Pursue an integrated approach to sustainable agriculture based on the nexus between environment, economic and institutions; Vigorously implement the NEPAD CAADP prog with focus on technology, infrastructure, institutions and policy (TIIP); Implement the Outcome of the Abuja Fertilizer Summit and increase agricultural productivity through application of knowledge and technology; Institutional reforms particularly security of tenure of land to empower the rural poor; Integrate climate change concerns in agricultural production and investment policies. Policy option I Sustainable agriculture

30. Design and implement priority energy access scale-up mechanisms; Modernize and increase overall national energy capacity to provide affordable energy; Integrate energy in poverty reduction strategies and programmes linking energy, agriculture and food security; Invest in rural feeder roads to enhance markets formation; Upgrade infrastructure that permits access to ports, logistical hubs that increase competitiveness; Develop sustainable uses of water and scale up integrated water resources management. Policy option II Energy and Infrastructure

31. World Bank should intensify its efforts to expand its portfolio of lending to agriculture which had decreased from 39% in the 1970s to below 10% in 2000; Official Development Assistance (ODA) from non-traditional sources (India, China, etc) should give priority to food security; Development cooperation should support R&D in African agriculture Policy option III Development Cooperation

32. African agricultural system extremely fragmented but reducing food insecurity and promoting sustainable development is a regional public good. Hence regional action is required. The NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) provides a good framework for regional action; South-south cooperation promoting knowledge sharing and peer-learning on food security and sustainable development – an important under-utilized resource Policy Option IV - Regional Integration & South-south cooperation

33. Creation of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division to assist African countries address the structural challenges to food security and sustainable development Support to the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Union Commission and its NEPAD/CAADP in articulating investments around the systematic development of value chains of selected strategic food commodities within regional integration-nine such commodities were adopted at the Abuja AU/NEPAD Food Security Summit, 2006; Collaboration with FAO and UNIDO to assist African countries and RECs to implement through public- private partnerships technology, infrastructure, institution and policy (TIIP) requirements of selected strategic commodities The Role of ECA

34. Agricultural policies have the potential to improve agric production thereby ensuring food security National agric policy need to be implemented through a cross-sectoral approach involving various government ministries Food security is a global public good therefore regional and global integration is an essential tool for addressing the food insecurity problem & promoting sustainable production Conluding Remarks