African governments have been urged to invest in
infrastructure that will help drive increased private investment and
production in agricultural sector.
NEPAD
The
CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim
Assane Mayaki made the statement this week during the 12th Comprehensive
Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP)
that was held in Accra, Ghana
“Often resulting in public goods that benefit a broad base of economic activity, investments in irrigation, transport and market infrastructure in particular are critical to improving economic returns and productivity in agricultural sector” said Mayaki
He said owing to the rural and dispersed nature of agricultural production, where banks and formal financial institutions often lack a presence, mobile technology provides a convenient and low-cost distribution channel to reach farmers and agro-enterprises with electronic payments and information products, as well as savings, credit, and insurance products, among others.
It can also help to transfer targeted financial support for small farmers and agribusiness, he said.
Researchers have noted that the rapid population increase and high rates of urbanization have exacerbated the need to increase local production through increased productivity.
They say local growth and development will come about not only from production but from aggregation, transport and value addition, and that the volumes required to meet the growing food requirements cannot be met by imports alone because the existing infrastructure is already challenged.
The large number of widely-dispersed smallholder farmers who are poorly organized make it hard to deliver services and productivity-improving technologies on the input side.
According to researchers, the costs of aggregating small quantities of surplus production from these widely dispersed smallholder farmers is logistically challenging and that the high costs of transport often make locally-produced grain more expensive than the imported one.
Another problem for smallholder farmers is the lack of access to productivity enhancing technologies such as quality seeds of superior varieties, mineral fertilizers, and crop protection products, they say.
According to H. E. Mrs Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union's Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, developing and improving rural infrastructure and agriculture is important for rural development and trade. Infrastructure has increased intra-African trade from 11 to 16 per cent in the past few years.
She said the only way to sustainably deliver on African agricultural commitments is to mobilize our own continental human and financial resources. “We need to build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda since investment in agriculture makes good,” she said.
Poor infrastructure in Africa is often listed as one of the major challenges to agricultural growth and development for the continent.
Less than 50 per cent of the rural population live close to adequate roads, which poses difficulty for farmers transporting inputs and produce. This coupled with poor storage facilities in the continent, she said.
Professor Calestous Juma, Dean of Harvard Kennedy School of Investments, suggests that one way to enhance infrastructure in the continent is to “support small scale farmers by viewing them as entrepreneurs, not just producers.”
He says infrastructure can provide an opportunity for developing countries to meet demands for food and offer smallholder farmers a chance to make a healthy living from agriculture.
“Farmers should be granted similar credit services as entrepreneurs in urban areas to enable them to build proper storage facilities and infrastructure that will enable them to access markets and develop a credible business,” he says.
Sufficient roads between farms, towns and cities are particularly important in enabling farmers to transform farming into a business.
Roads can link farmers to vital inputs such as seeds and fertilizers while at the same time offer them access to competitive markets where they have the opportunity to sell produce for a better price than may be available at a local level.
“Often resulting in public goods that benefit a broad base of economic activity, investments in irrigation, transport and market infrastructure in particular are critical to improving economic returns and productivity in agricultural sector” said Mayaki
He said owing to the rural and dispersed nature of agricultural production, where banks and formal financial institutions often lack a presence, mobile technology provides a convenient and low-cost distribution channel to reach farmers and agro-enterprises with electronic payments and information products, as well as savings, credit, and insurance products, among others.
It can also help to transfer targeted financial support for small farmers and agribusiness, he said.
Researchers have noted that the rapid population increase and high rates of urbanization have exacerbated the need to increase local production through increased productivity.
They say local growth and development will come about not only from production but from aggregation, transport and value addition, and that the volumes required to meet the growing food requirements cannot be met by imports alone because the existing infrastructure is already challenged.
The large number of widely-dispersed smallholder farmers who are poorly organized make it hard to deliver services and productivity-improving technologies on the input side.
According to researchers, the costs of aggregating small quantities of surplus production from these widely dispersed smallholder farmers is logistically challenging and that the high costs of transport often make locally-produced grain more expensive than the imported one.
Another problem for smallholder farmers is the lack of access to productivity enhancing technologies such as quality seeds of superior varieties, mineral fertilizers, and crop protection products, they say.
According to H. E. Mrs Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union's Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, developing and improving rural infrastructure and agriculture is important for rural development and trade. Infrastructure has increased intra-African trade from 11 to 16 per cent in the past few years.
She said the only way to sustainably deliver on African agricultural commitments is to mobilize our own continental human and financial resources. “We need to build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda since investment in agriculture makes good,” she said.
Poor infrastructure in Africa is often listed as one of the major challenges to agricultural growth and development for the continent.
Less than 50 per cent of the rural population live close to adequate roads, which poses difficulty for farmers transporting inputs and produce. This coupled with poor storage facilities in the continent, she said.
Professor Calestous Juma, Dean of Harvard Kennedy School of Investments, suggests that one way to enhance infrastructure in the continent is to “support small scale farmers by viewing them as entrepreneurs, not just producers.”
He says infrastructure can provide an opportunity for developing countries to meet demands for food and offer smallholder farmers a chance to make a healthy living from agriculture.
“Farmers should be granted similar credit services as entrepreneurs in urban areas to enable them to build proper storage facilities and infrastructure that will enable them to access markets and develop a credible business,” he says.
Sufficient roads between farms, towns and cities are particularly important in enabling farmers to transform farming into a business.
Roads can link farmers to vital inputs such as seeds and fertilizers while at the same time offer them access to competitive markets where they have the opportunity to sell produce for a better price than may be available at a local level.
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