Of all the debates in the agriculture sector, the most crucial is the one on food security , and the means to achieve it. Should we be satisfied with the fact that at the global level, there is enough ‘food reserve’ to feed the world – and therefore the focus should be on ‘food aid’ and logistics – the ability to move large volumes of grain to food deficit areas ? Should regions , especially those which have not yet achiebved critical food security reserves support plantaion crops and commecial floriculture over and above traditional food crops which also contibute to livelihoods in this sector. Should the demands of the Amsterdam flower auction markets take priority over shorgum and tapoica crop of Uganda Rwanda and Burindi ? Should Africa be putting large tracts of land to plantation crops as these generate revenues for the government , or should the focus be on ensuring that’ basic foods’ should get the priority in terms of research and extension activities.
Unfortunately, the debate on the above issues is often cast as a debate between those who support a liberal economic regime, and those who are in the favour of state intervention in an impiortant sector of economy – for in most countries, agriculture contiues to eb a domiannt sector – both in terms of GDP contibution, and certainly in so far as employment is concerned. The dominant themesong of the multilaterals and the larger producers led by the US is that if agriculture production can be organised effciently in any part of the globe, it should eb shipped and supplied to whereever it makes economic sense to do so, irrespective of the implaictaions on ecology , equity and livelihoods. Thus several regiosn in Africa which ciould have produced maize for local consumption are forced out of the maize economy because importd miaze is cheaper in urban centres which have the ‘appetite’ for the same. What is true of maize in east Africa , is , by implaication true of milk and diary products , wheat and rice in other parts of the world. The same is true even within a nation state, but where the political soverign can intervene to to moderate prices, the issue can be resolved within.
During this columnist’s visit to Africa lastweek, it was pointed out that even though east Africa as a region could produce enough maize for itself, the cheaper imports from US had virtually forced the fatrmers to go back to planataion crops like sugarcane and cotton – which by their very nature cannot usher rural prosperity unless the processing and marketyign sector is in the hands of the producers co-oeprative. Given the entrenched nature of the existing estabklishments in these sectors, it is doubtful if a vibrant co-oepratuve sector can actually emerge as a viable competion .