Partnering forfood SecurityRenu Modi

Senior Lecturer at the centre for african Studies, university of Mumbai

the food and agriculture organisation’s global foodPrice index soared to itshighest-ever level in february

2011, in both real and nominal terms.this dramatic rise was driven mostly byhigher prices of cereals, meat and dairyproducts.

in the african continent, the prices ofcoarse grains have been steadily on therise. the world population, estimated at6.8 billion in 2009, is projected toincrease exponentially to about ninebillion in 2050. africa’s population,which has just exceeded one billion, isgrowing by about 24 million per year,and will double by 2050. this rapidgrowth of population, coupled withdiminishing food production, has raisedconcerns that need to be addressedurgently. at the maiden india-africaforum Summit in new delhi in 2008,agriculture was identified as a prioritysector of collaboration between the tworegions. With the population clockticking away, the intertwined areas of

food security and agriculture are set tobe at the heart of future summits and thebroader india-africa partnership.

about 65 percent of the population ofSub-Saharan africa lives in rural areas asdoes the bulk of the labour force. for example, in tanzania, the agriculturalsector provides livelihoods to more than80 percent of the population and is theanchor of the economy. farmers areengaged in predominantly small-holdersubsistence production, marked by lowoutput. rudimentary production toolsand agricultural technologies,vulnerability to drought conditions,declining soil fertility and climate change,poor access to inputs and capital haveled to low productivity per acreage.

the continent is also subject to externalshocks such as the debilitating globaleconomic meltdown of 2008 and a surgein the price of staple foods such ascereals, meat and dairy products. for lowincome and highly import-dependentcountries, particularly for those with

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africa’s population, which has just exceeded 1 billion, is growing by about 24 million peryear, and will double by 2050. this rapidgrowth, coupled with diminishing foodproduction, has raised concerns that need to beaddressed urgently. at the maiden india-africaforum Summit in new delhi in 2008,agriculture was identified as a priority sectorfor bilateral collaboration

(Top) Cameroon’s President Paul Biya driving the first tractor assembled at the production facility set up by Sonalika Tractors, an Indian company.

(Right) A woman smiles as she checks maize crops on a small-scalefarm in Chinhamora, about 50 km north of Harare. Zimbabwe islargely an agriculture-based economy.

(Overleaf ) A farm in South Africa.

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limited foreign exchange availability, theimport of food at high costs is not aviable option. any escalation in pricesleads to the erosion of purchasing power,which in turn affects food security andnutrition levels, not to mention access toschool and health services. theavailability of food is, therefore, of urgentconcern to the african continent.

according to the fao, “food securityexists when all people, at all times, havephysical, social and economic access tosufficient, safe and nutritious food thatmeets their dietary needs and foodpreferences for an active and healthy life.”the concept of food security came intopublic discourse soon after World War iiand resulted in the establishment of aspecialised un agency, the fao, whichfocused on the production of adequateamounts of food to deal with hunger. Bythe 1980s, noble Laureate amartya Sen,in his seminal work Poverty and famine:an essay on entitlement and deprivation(1981), pointed out that “starvation is thecharacteristic of some people not havingenough food to eat. it is not thecharacteristic of there not being enoughfood to eat.” in other words, heemphasised the aspect of entitlement ofindividuals and households to food. as aresult, the demand side aspect of foodsecurity entered the lexicon of policyplanners at the local and national levels.

the continent of africa, though beset bythe problem of food insecurity, has greatpotential for agricultural transformation.Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika,then chairperson of the african union(au), pointed out at the official openingsession of the conference of africanMinisters of agriculture (caMa) on in

october 2010 that although only 10percent of the arable land is currentlyunder cultivation in the continent, it hasthe potential to become the food basketof the world. the comprehensive africanagriculture development Programme(caadP), under the aegis of the newPartnership for africa’s development(nePad), has identified the agriculturesector as an “engine of growth” and apotential “sustainable solution to hungerand poverty in africa”.

according to fao (2008), only 14 percent of africa’s 184 millionhectares of arable land is undercultivation and 21 million hectares are ina state of “accelerated degradation”. inorder to realise the potential of its land,africa has an option to look outward,forge partnerships and seek investmentsto overcome severe problems of under-capitalisation. the agriculture sector canget an immense impetus through foreigndirect investment based on partnershipand mutual reciprocity and thus helpcreate “land as assets”. indianinvestments can address the critical gapsin the basic support infrastructure suchas rural electrification, roads andwaterways, irrigation facilities,technological upgradation and capacitybuilding. the indian model of combiningdemocracy with development inspiresconfidence and attracts several africancountries.

at the 2008 india-africa forum Summit,the President of tanzania and formerchairperson of the au, Jakaya MrishoKikwete, voiced africa’s concern for foodsecurity and urged india to invest incapacity building in this crucial sector. “ifwe are able to increase productivity in

the agriculture sector can get an immenseimpetus through foreign direct investmentsbased on partnership and mutual reciprocityand thus create “land as assets”. indianinvestments can address the critical gaps inthe basic support infrastructure such as ruralelectrification, roads, waterways, irrigationfacilities, technological upgradation andcapacity-building

(Top) A textile factory in Chad that runs on machinery provided by an Indian company.

(Right) Technicians inspecting plant species at a laboratory at Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

(Left) Irrigation sprinklers in operation at a vegetable farm in Philippi, Cape Town,

South Africa. About 80 percent of the vegetables of Cape Town grow in this region.

(Top) Technicians from Jain Irrigation, an Indiancompany, working with Nigerian farmers

at a borewell in a rice field in Lagos State ofNigeria. Rice is the staple diet of Nigeria.

(Top) A woman at the Indian-owned Karuturi Flower Farms inspecting roses

at one of the greenhouses in Holleta, the largest rose farm in Ethiopia.

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african agriculture, africa would not onlybe able to feed itself, but will have hugesurpluses to sell to the world. india hasthe technology and the skills, which, ifmade available to africa, will certainlyhelp it implement the african greenrevolution,” he said.

the countries of africa are diverse andasymmetrical in terms of size, locationand the benefits or limitations of theirgeographic positioning, infrastructure,political framework, development,growth rates, levels of income andhuman development index. therefore,one cannot paint the vast continent witha single stroke. But the general trend istowards a greater degree ofdemocratisation and an attempt at bettereconomic governance in many countries.economic growth in Sub-Saharan africais projected to increase from 1.8 percentin 2009 to 4.9 percent in 2010. amongdeveloping regions, Sub-Saharan africa’sgrowth rates will be the third-fastest (i.e. after india and china) and ahead of europe, central asia, Latin america,north africa and the Middle east. itprovides the right climate for attractingglobal investments, of which indian companies are an essential part.

the indian private sector is the main vehicle through which investments inagriculture are being made. Manybusiness enterprises such as Jainirrigation, Karuturi global Ltd. (KgL),Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. (KBL), Mahindraand Mahindra (M&M), ruchi Soya andrenuka Sugars have established theirpresence in several countries inagriculture and related sectors. inaddition, several new players such as yesBank and McLeod russel are making

forays into the agriculture sector in thecontinent.

KBL provides pumping systems andsolutions or what it calls `triple a’technologies -- technologies that areadaptable, appropriate and affordable.this can help address the need forirrigation in several countries acrossafrica. the popularity of the KBL pumpcan be gauged by the fact that everypump in egypt is called a Kirloskar! KBL’sinvestment in Senegal is a success storythat needs to be shared and replicated.the use of KBL water pumps has resultedin the enhancement of the total acreageunder cultivation and Senegal can nowmeet 40 percent of its rice demandlocally, as compared to 19 percent priorto the implementation of the projectabout five years ago. in 2008, Senegalhad its first-ever dry season harvest,garnering 60,000 tonnes of paddy. theproduction numbers are impressive —from 100,000 tonnes in 2006 to itsquadrupling in about two years. till Junein the 2009-10 season, the countryproduced 546,000 tonnes of rice, with atarget to increase it to 750,000 tonnesby 2015. the West african country isnow on its way from being a net importerof rice to a next exporter in the seconddecade of the 21st century.

Jain irrigation, a leading provider of irrigation services and agricultural inputs, has attempted innovations in resource (water) conservation and in sharing the technology of drip irrigationin several countries in africa. it offersways of irrigating more land with lesswater (water saving); more yield with lesswater (food security) and more food production with less energy use (energy

(Top) Ethiopian workers at the Karuturi Farms in Holleta give final touches to theroses before they are packed for export.

(Left) Tunisian farmers harvest a wheat field. Wheat and barley are among some of the chief crops of Tunisia.

economic growth in Sub-Saharan africa isprojected to expand from 1.8 percent in 2009 to4.9 percent in 2010. among developing regions,Sub-Saharan africa, with the third-fastest growthrates in the world after india and china, providesthe right climate for attracting global investments

A cotton farm in Mali.

security). the company is an end-to-endsolution provider in agriculture — fromproduction to processing. they have alsoforayed into sunshine areas of alternativeenergy and are working towardsintroducing solar energy-based innovativepumping and irrigation systems. today, thecompany, which follows the maxim of“more crop per drop”, has a presence inover 15 countries.

Karuturi global, a company that ranksamong the top 25 agro transnationalcompanies of the world, has made heftyinvestments in the floriculture andagribusiness operations in ethiopia, Kenyaand india. KgL, the largest producer of cutroses in the world, aims to “harvest africa’spotential and thereby address global foodsecurity”. the company aims to cultivatefood crops; cereals (rice and maize), andfresh vegetables, in addition to cash crops for sale in ethiopia and the coMeSa region.

indian companies are also involved in ahost of cSr (corporate social responsib-ility) initiatives that enables them to reachout to the local populace and integrate withthe local community. for instance, Karuturihas ensured the conservation of theenvironment through the use of indigenous greenhouses, in-house powergeneration from biomass, rainwaterharvesting, environment-friendly fertilisersand chemicals.

the indian government has played apivotal role in spurring indian investmentsin agriculture and allied sectors throughthe eXiM Bank, a government of indiaenterprise, which implements lines ofcredit (Locs) to support investments

globally. of the 133 Locs extendedworldwide by india, 89 were allocated to47 countries in africa. the apex bank hasplayed an important role in promoting foodsecurity through the facilitation ofinvestments for the purchase ofagricultural equipments from india such astractors, harvesters, setting up of small-and medium-sized agro-processing plants,motor pumps, irrigation equipment, settingup of sugar industries and other agro-based SMes across the continent.

above all, india’s policy of engagementwith africa is based on requests by africancounterparts and is based on acomplementarity of interests. in thiscontext, it is important to stress that theindian government encourages privatebusiness initiatives in africa only on theinvitation of african governments andstaunchly maintains that the rules of thehost country be respected. the main thrustof india’s engagement consists of capacitybuilding and human resourcedevelopment. india has contributed tocapacity building initiatives as well. it isproviding 300 new scholarships especiallyin agricultural sciences through theafrican union commission to beimplemented by the department ofagriculture research and education(dare) and the indian council ofagricultural research (icar). Seventy-fivestudents (25 doctoral and 50 Master’s)will be enrolled each year for a period offour years. the icar will also provide two-to-four-week-long customised trainings inwater conservation and utilisation;production of seed, sapling and plantingmaterial; livestock production; fisheriesproduction; farm mechanisation; post-harvest processing and value-addition.

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the india-africa partnership, based on reciprocity,could become central to the combined quest forfood security and agricultural transformation thatnourishes and sustains billions in these two regions.the partnership could give a big boost to theafrican union’s vision of a dynamic and resurgentcontinent through sustainable land and watermanagement, improved rural infrastructure andmarket access, and increased food supply

(Top) A girl walks past a banner of the African Green RevolutionForum at the Accra international Conference Centre in Ghana, inSeptember 2010.

(Left) A rice farm in Senegal.

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this will provide a continuingengagement and the skills acquired areexpected to be ploughed back into theirhome countries.

the india-africa partnership, based onreciprocity, could therefore becomecentral to the combined quest for foodsecurity and agricultural transformationthat nourishes and sustains billions inthese two regions. the partnership couldgive a big boost to the au’s vision of adynamic and resurgent continent throughsustainable land and water management,improved rural infrastructure and marketaccess, and increased food supply. thesemeasures are going to be the cornerstonefor the long-term food security in thecontinent.