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19 November 2009

Food Security Now at Center of Global Development Agenda

African and Angolan agriculture reviewed at Angola forum

A teacher from a school in Kangala, Angola, north of the port city Lobito, dishes out food to children and teachers at the school.

By Charles W. Corey
Staff Writer

Washington — The issue of food security can now be found at the center of the global community’s development agenda in the wake of recent food and fuel crises caused by spiking prices. According to a USAID official, the current situation shows that inattention to agriculture has consequences for stability and the economic development process worldwide.

Jeff Hill, the agriculture team leader for the Africa Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), discussed food security November 17 in remarks before a one-day forum: “The New Angola: Forging a Strategic Partnership.” Hill spoke on a panel at the Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, exploring agriculture in Africa and Angola. Julie Howard, an agricultural economist who is executive director at the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, and Panzo Domingos, director of the Institute of Agronomic Research at Angola’s ministry of agriculture, also spoke at the forum.

Hill cited the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative, agreed to at the July Group of 8 (G8) summit, where world leaders committed to address food security through increased attention to agriculture. The initiative commits $20 billion over three years for long-term farming investment.

He said the United States is using the five principles agreed to at L’Aquila to shape its food security strategy and tackle the issue in a comprehensive manner, in recognition that solving agricultural problems worldwide will involve modernizing agriculture and taking a broad approach to food security.

At the G8 meeting held in L’Aquila, Italy, in July 2009, the participants endorsed a joint statement that expressed their commitment to “take decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty through improving food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture” and to work together to 1) support country-led processes, 2) ensure a comprehensive approach to food security, 3) strategically coordinate assistance, 4) support a strong role for multilateral institutions and 5) sustain a robust commitment of financial resources, including $20 billion in resources pledged at the G8 Summit.

Hill identified three important components of the U.S. food security strategy: increased attention to sustainable agriculture, transportation, financing, and the entire agricultural “value chain” from production to consumption; a focus on and recognition of the importance of nutrition and the prevention of undernutrition; and a recognition of the important role that humanitarian assistance plays in the effort to achieve food security and the need to maximize the impact of that assistance.

“So taking a comprehensive approach means … recognizing the different dimensions of this issue,” including agriculture, nutrition and humanitarian assistance, Hill said.

Hill praised the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program, which is being designed, led and coordinated by African leaders. He said the United States wants to support this “unique process,” which presents a strategy for the continent rather than 53 separate strategies.

Such a unified approach, he said, helps in the identification of strategic targets needed to generate progress in the agricultural sector. Hill said such an approach is “clearly picking up momentum.”

In separate remarks, agricultural economist Howard focused on agriculture in Angola. Before its independence in 1975, she said, Angola was largely self-sufficient agriculturally. She made four key points:

First, in the debate as to whether large farms should be revitalized or small farms should be developed in Angola, Howard expressed her preference for small farms, even while acknowledging that both are important. “Only through a rise in agricultural productivity can significant reductions in poverty be achieved,” she said. She added that developing viable rural communities through small farms can play a key role in promoting political reconciliation in Angola, which endured a long civil war.

Second, she said Angola should develop its agricultural sector even though it has a vibrant oil and gas sector. She said it is particularly important to help protect the country’s economy from wild fluctuations and distortions in the oil and gas sectors. “Natural resources are finite,” so economic diversification through development of the agricultural sector is critical to the long-term economic health of the nation, she said.

Third, Howard stressed the need for strategic investment in key infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and training and education for a new generation of agricultural scientists and development analysts who can recommend development policy actions that are based on clear and unbiased research.

Fourth, Howard recommended that agricultural scientists and economists survey the prospects for each possible crop — such as coffee and tea — before it is planted to assess the long-term economic viability of that commodity and to clearly demonstrate that it will be beneficial to the country to invest long-term in growing it.

In his remarks, Panzo Domingos from Angola’s ministry of agriculture reminded the audience that Angola, with 53 million hectares of forest, has tremendous natural resources that can be developed.

Domingos, whose remarks were interpreted in English as he spoke in Portuguese, said the development of Angola’s agricultural resources will help it prosper in the coming years as it enjoys an environment of peace and stability. He said his country needs technical assistance, and especially help with agricultural research, extension services (focused support for farmers) and expanded infrastructure.