In this issue of the Farm CEO newspaper, I feature 3 interesting articles about latest development in Africa’s farm business industry from high profile website publishers namely: The Harvard Business Review, The Guardian and Real Agriculture Dot Com.
Topics covered include changes Digital Technology is making in Africa’s Farming, Africa’s farmers’ dependence on government, and the need for Africa’s Farmers to get investment if they are to Feed Africa.
1. How Digital Technology Is Changing Farming in Africa [Harvard Biz Review]
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, and to feed that number of people, global food production will need to grow by 70%. For Africa, which is projected to be home to about 2 billion people by then, farm productivity must accelerate at a faster rate than the global average to avoid continued mass hunger.
The food challenges in Africa are multipronged:
2. For Africa’s farmers it’s government, not big business, that is key [The Guardian]
frica’s agriculture sector is on the up. After decades of stagnation, the continent’s farms have registered sustained growth in productivity every year since 2005. That’s good news for the 520 million Africans dependent on farming for their livelihoods, and the millions more who rely on them for their food.
But African farmers still produce far less food per hectare than the world average. Yields for cereal farmers in South Africa, home to one of the continent’s most productive agriculture sectors, are less than half those of their UK counterparts. In central African states such as Niger and Eritrea, they are less than a 10th.
One of the key differences between the UK and Africa is the role of the private sector.
3. Africa’s Farmers Need Investment to Feed Africa [Real Agriculture]
Globally, the big question in food production – the one that reverberates in any discussion about the future – is who will feed the increasingly hungry world, and how.
Most of the focus is on Africa, and the growing population there.
So the question goes: Who will feed Africa?
Well, after spending two weeks with some 150 agricultural journalists from nearly 60 countries at a well-organized, informative conference visiting South Africa farms and agri-businesses, meeting progressive farmers and seeing the enormous potential that is starting to be realized, one thing is clear to me: to a major extent, Africa will feed Africa.