Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops. Vol. 1

166 Chris A. Shisanya
1.2. Food security challenges in sub-Saharan Africa: the role of agricultural
1.2. research and development
The Green Revolution helped Asia and Latin America to achieve self-sufficiency
in food production (Chrispeels, 2000) and is a clear manifestation of the role of
agricultural research and development in providing solutions to food insecurity
problems. Unfortunately, sub-Saharan Africa missed the Green revolution and crop
productivity per unit area are of land is the lowest in the world. For example, the
production of sweet potato, a staple crop, is 6 t ha –1 compared to the global average
of 14 t ha –1 while the average of maize is 1.7 t ha –1 compared to a world average
of > 3.5 t ha –1 . Besides, for sub-Saharan Africa the solution is not a matter of
fixing the distribution problem to solve food insecurity. Purchasing power too is a
problem and most African countries cannot afford food export prices. In these
circumstances, there is need for improved agriculture to bridge this yield gap and
avoid food insecurity or dependence on foods imported from other countries.
There is urgent need for the development and use of agricultural biotechnology
in Africa to help counter famine, environmental degradation and poverty. Africa
must enthusiastically join the biotechnology revolution to probably compensate
for the bi-passed Green Revolution. African countries need to have a forward-looking
biotechnology policy. Biotechnology advances offer tremendous opportunities for
increasing yields, reducing pest damage, protecting the environment and improving
the nutritional value of many crops. The application of biotechnology to the problems
of the poor will not be straightforward and the models from developed countries
will probably not be applicable. Agriculture in developing countries does not need
to be ‘modernised’ although it needs to be improved and environmentally friendly.
The developing countries can skip the high input unsustainable phase through which
agriculture is now passing in the developed countries and proceed from the bottomup,
not from the top down. Crops have to be created that fit not only in the
agroecology of the poorest regions often characterised by marginal heterogeneous
environments, but must also in the social and economic systems. Agricultural
research has to start with studying farming systems (on-farm research), asking
farmers-men and women-what they want, allowing the farmers to make choices
between often conflicting objectives such as higher yields versus yield stability,
and examining the possibility of marketing the excess production. Will the crop
be used by women in their kitchen gardens or by men in their cash crop fields?
Aid workers have to begin by soliciting the help of the farmers to describe farming
practices and analyse these practices to pinpoint problem areas and opportunities.
Together, the aid workers and farmers have to generate a range of choices that
farmers could implement. The major objective of this approach is transfer of technology
to empower the farmer to improve production.
Increased investment in agricultural research and development is a must but
this should be backed by political stability, sound economic policies and invigorated
institutions tailored to geological realities. There are many aspects of providing
food for the poor that are well beyond the control of either laboratory scientists
or agricultural advisors in the field. Poor countries must realise that agriculture
can be an important engine of economic growth and therefore must invest more