Seeding growth: Unlocking Africa's agricultural potential

Africa's agricultural sector has long been touted as a key driver of economic growth, food security, and sustainable development on the continent. However, despite its immense potential, the sector continues to face a myriad of challenges that hinder its progress. In a recent interview with CNBC Africa, Fati N’Zi Hassane, the Africa Director for Oxfam, delved into the innovative solutions, policy shifts, and partnerships needed to unlock the sector's full potential and pave the way for a brighter future for African agriculture. One of the key issues highlighted during the interview was the financing gaps that plague African countries, preventing them from investing adequately in agriculture. According to Hassane, international financial institutions often impose unfair interest rates on African countries, leading to high levels of debt that stifle investment in key sectors like agriculture. She emphasized the importance of addressing these systemic issues, such as lowering the cost of capital and improving debt relief, to free up resources for government investment in agriculture and other inequality-busting sectors. Moreover, she underscored the need for African governments to honor their commitment to allocate at least 10% of their annual budget to agriculture, ensuring that the funds are directed towards initiatives that benefit smallholder farmers and marginalized groups like women. Hassane also stressed the importance of a gender-responsive approach to agriculture, citing the barriers that women farmers face, including land dispossession, lack of access to credit, and limited subsidies. She commended the new African Union CADEP strategy for prioritizing gender equality in agriculture and urged governments to take concrete steps to empower women in the sector. In discussing Africa's agricultural value chain, Hassane highlighted the need to optimize the chain for efficiency and competitiveness while ensuring that policies do not disproportionately favor corporate monopolies. She emphasized the importance of fair pricing for smallholder farmers in industries like cocoa, tea, and coffee, as well as investments in local processing and storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses. Additionally, she called for greater participation of women across the value chain, addressing the barriers they face in transportation, decision-making, and market access. Hassane also touched upon the importance of balancing the needs of smallholder farmers with commercial interests, advocating for policy shifts that empower local producers and ensure food security and sovereignty. She pointed to the new CADEP framework as an opportunity to transform Africa's food system and empower smallholder farmers, with a focus on three key policy measures: oversight from non-state actors and parliamentarians, improved measurement of progress on gender equality, and a focus on climate resilience through innovative practices and financing. Finally, Hassane addressed the urgent need to make Africa's agriculture resilient to climate change, highlighting the impacts of the crisis on small-scale farmers and vulnerable communities. She called for innovative practices, financing mechanisms, and technology solutions to help smallholder farmers adapt to a changing climate and sustain their livelihoods in the face of increasing challenges. Overall, the interview shed light on the complex challenges facing Africa's agricultural sector and the critical role that policy shifts, partnerships, and innovative solutions play in unlocking its full potential and driving sustainable development on the continent.