|
May 22, 2007
by Michael Malakata,
SciDev.Net
In the face of impending climate change, many fear that Africa ―
already the world's poorest continent ― will be hit hardest in
its ability to produce food.
Success in preventing food shortages in Africa will be achieved
only if farmers maintain a wealth of seed diversity that can
cope with ever-changing rainfall patterns.
In recognition of this, new initiatives are emerging that will
hopefully bring about a green revolution, and ensure food
security in Africa.
Starting from seeds
Seed banks have been identified as part of the solution. They
preserve seed diversity, and can provide the raw genetic
material to develop improved plant varieties.
In April this year, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the
United Nations Foundation announced a joint initiative to
safeguard 21 of the world's most critical foods crops by
preserving their seeds.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ― whose five year plan
aims to provide African farmers with improved and adaptable crop
varieties ― has emerged as a major source of funding for the
initiative, putting forward US$37.5 million in grants.
The initiative will cover many 'orphan' crops ― important to the
poor but largely neglected in modern plant breeding ― such as
sorghum, millet, yam, cassava and cowpea.
The initiative will also fund a comprehensive global information
system that will allow plant breeders everywhere to search gene
banks worldwide ― including existing banks in Ethiopia, Rwanda
and the southern Africa region ― for traits needed to combat new
diseases and cope with climate change.
"The initiative will secure at-risk collections [of important
food crops] in poor countries and document their astonishing
diversity, making it available to meet the food needs of the
poor," said Cary Fowler, executive director of Global Crop
Diversity Trust.
Bumper crops
Current initiatives are not just about saving current crops ―
there are also plans to improve them.
A new partnership between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
and the Rockefeller Foundation has allocated US$150 million to
improving seeds ― including cassava, millet and sorghum ―
through conventional breeding to increase their yields and make
them suitable for Africa's unpredictable rainfall patterns.
This work will decrease farmers' dependence on hybrid maize
seeds, which need sufficient rainfall to grow and already do not
yield enough maize.
The partnership is working with policymakers in African
governments, nongovernmental organisations, African centres of
excellence and donors to bring about a green revolution.
At the Rockefeller Foundation meeting on biotechnology, breeding
and seed systems for African crops on 26 March this year,
Venancio Massingue, Mozambican minister of science and
technology said, "Seed breeding is key to the modernisation of
our economies through agriculture, and to providing jobs both in
rural and urban areas."
 |
|
Sorting seeds at a seedbank
in Ethiopia
Credit: Cary Fowler/Global
Crop Diversity Trust |
"This is why science improves the
lives of people."
Drought tolerant crop varieties are already starting to emerge.
Mick Mwala, head of the University of Zambia's crop sciences
department, says they have already come up with new wheat
varieties that are drought tolerant.
One of the partnership's two initiatives, the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa, will help breed improved seeds and
distribute fertilisers to improve soil health in Africa, as well
as supporting projects to improve water resources and the
distribution of farm produce to the market.
The second initiative, the Programme for Africa's Seeds System,
will help distribute these improved seeds and adaptable crop
varieties to smallholders.
Chemical controversy
Scientists involved in the initiatives believe that improving
seeds to resist drought and using fertiliser are the most
effective ways of ensuring a good harvest.
But this approach has caused a stand off with Africa-based
nongovernmental organisations who claim that Western countries
are pushing for a corporate-controlled, chemical system of
agriculture in Africa.
In a signed statement, several nongovernmental organisations ―
such as Ethiopia's Africa Biodiversity Network, Uganda's Centre
for Development Initiative, the Kenya Organic Agriculture
Network and Kenya Genetically Modified Organisms Concerned ―
attending this year's African Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya (25
January), rejected the Gates-Rockefeller initiative.
They called the initiative a "new foreign system that will
encourage Africa's land and water to be privatised for growing
inappropriate crops for export, biofuels and carbon sinks,
instead of food for African people".
But Roy Steiner, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's senior
programmes officer, told SciDev.Net that the foundation's focus
is to bring about a sustainable green revolution through seed
breeding and improvement in Africa.
"We need to find ways to interact with small scale farmers. It
is a long road but we have to make progress. The possibility is
there and the potential is there," he said.
People power
Another obstacle to the success of these initiatives is the
scarcity of qualified African scientists to create these new
seed varieties.
Africa faces problems with funds ― to train enough scientists,
and to provide them with attractive salaries and contracts.
Brain drain is also decreasing the size of the science community
― many qualified scientists have already migrated to greener
pastures.
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in
Agriculture (RUFORUM) is trying to address this problem.
The organisation ― made up of 12 eastern and southern African
universities, led by Zimbabwe's African University and Kenya's
Kenyatta University ― will launch an initiative in August this
year to provide postgraduate programmes in agriculture-related
fields such as aquaculture and fisheries, agricultural resource
economics, food science and nutrition and dryland resource
management.
 |
|
Ethiopian National Genebank
Credit: Cary Fowler/Global
Crop Diversity Trust |
They hope to secure financial
resources to support more scientists to masters and docterate
degree level. Those scientists graduating under
RUFORUM-sponsored programmes will be given jobs in research
institutions, boosting research capacity.
The development is part of current efforts by African higher
learning institutions to build capacity for Africa within
Africa.
RUFORUM regional coordinator, Adipala Ekwamu, said the 12
African universities are collaborating to accelerate
agricultural research and biotechnology development in Africa.
Up until now, RUFORUM had been supporting training in
agriculture-related fields only to a masters degree level.
"We need a new institutional framework to make universities more
responsive to emerging challenges in the region and to respond
to those challenges in a national and regional development
paradigm," said Ekwamu.
The success of RUFORUM's initiative, however, still depends on
how much African policymakers support the organisation
financially, he said.
"We are not asking for gigantic funding but a little that will
keep our programmes moving. Sixty per cent of our scientists in
the region will soon retire and so we need funding to continue
training more," Ekwamu said.
Seeking support
So far ministers from Malawi and Mozambique have publicly said
they are in support of science and technology as the only means
to improve people's lives.
Massingue said his government has set aside over US$30 million
for seed and fertiliser distribution, and will work side by side
with RUFORUM to increase the amount of research and training for
scientists.
Kainja Kaluluma, Malawian Minister of Women and Child
Development, said science and technology is "our engine in
national development and the Malawian government will support
scientists" and that the government would give increased support
to research, technology and training.
In an era where economies are driven by scientific and
technological developments, no single country in African can
ignore science and still expect to thrive.
The continent of Africa has the basics ― land and water ― to
produce enough food for its people. Combined with initiatives to
train scientists, develop seeds and improve farmer's access to
this technology ― with support from African policymakers ― the
battle against hunger in Africa could be won. |
|
