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Africa's rapid economic transformation

By
Thomas Jayne
,
Adesoji Adelaja
/
Michigan State University
,
Richard Mkandawire
/
Alliance for African Partnership

Thirty years ago, Africa was synonymous with war, famine and poverty. That narrative is clearly outdated. The living standards of Africans are rising remarkably fast, also thanks to the country’s agricultural growth and the development of rural-urban value chains. Our authors are convinced that improving education and entrepreneurship will ensure that the region’s progress is irreversible even as it confronts COVID-19.

 

Participants of a training at the Digital Transformation Center Kigali, Rwanda. © Mali Lazell, GIZ
Participants of a training at the Digital Transformation Center Kigali, Rwanda. © Mali Lazell, GIZ

By Alliance for African Partnership

All contributions

By Michigan State University

All contributions

This article first appeared in Rural21 Vol. 54 No. 2/2020 on: Employment for rural Africa and is part of a media cooperation between weltohnehunger.org and Rural 21.

 

In the 1980s, most Africans lived in rural areas that were socially and economically isolated from the rest of the world, had no more than primary school education, and were mostly engaged in semi-subsistence farming. Poverty and malnutrition were rampant and life expectancy was under 50. It is almost mind-boggling how rapidly Africa’s conditions have changed. Today, 48 per cent of Africans have a secondary school education, and 10 per cent of college-aged Africans are attending universities. Poverty rates have declined significantly since 2000. The share of people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) living on less than 1.90 US dollars (USD) a day declined from 58 per cent in 2000 to 41 per cent in 2015. Over the same period, the proportion of Africans making more than 5.50 USD per day rose from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, as recent World Bank figures suggest. Most Africans are now engaged in off-farm employment that provides considerably higher living standards than farming (Tschirley et al., 2015; Yeboah and Jayne, 2018).

 

For the majority of the region’s population, living standards have clearly risen. Girls have experienced remarkable improvements in primary and secondary education. Women have become considerably more active in labour markets and are gaining greater influence over household resources in many areas (Oduro and Doss, 2018). Nutritional indicators also show gradual but clear improvement (Masters et al., 2018). Of all regions, SSA gained the most in average life expectancy, which is now 64 years. Governance has improved, albeit unevenly across countries.

 

Agriculture and agrifood systems are powering Africa’s transformation

Agricultural growth enabled SSA’s labour force to gradually diversify into off-farm employment. Since 2000, sub-Saharan Africa has achieved the highest rate of agricultural growth of any region throughout the world. According to the World Bank Developing Indicators, SSA experienced an annual inflation-adjusted increase of 4.6 per cent in agricultural growth between 2000 and 2018, roughly double that of the prior three decades. When agriculture grows, its extensive forward and backward linkages with agri-value chains and non-farm sectors expand employment and income growth more broadly. Since 2000, SSA has been the world’s second-fastest growing regional economy, exceeded only by Asia. The region’s per capita GDP increased during this period by almost 35 per cent in real terms, doubling in some countries (Barrett et al., 2017). These trends have fuelled employment opportunities in off-farm stages of the agrifood system, and especially in non-farm sectors, creating more diversified regional economies.

 

The next generation of African billionaires will be farmers.

 

Africa’s agricultural growth has been catalysed by a growing class of commercialised, entrepreneurial and relatively well educated African farmers (Jayne et al., 2019). Parts of sub-Saharan Africa are witnessing profound changes in farm size distributions. “Medium-scale” farm landholdings of five to 100 hectares now account for 30 per cent or more of national area under cultivation in many African countries, and this share is rising in countries with substantial unutilised land (Jayne et al., 2016). Over roughly a decade starting in the early 2000s, the value share of national marketed crop output accounted for by medium-scale farms rose in Zambia from 23 per cent to 42 per cent, in Tanzania from 17 per cent to 36 per cent, and in Nigeria from 7 per cent to 18 per cent (see Figure on page 16). Of the additional value of national crop output during this period in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, medium-scale farms accounted for at least 45 per cent of growth in each country (Jayne et al., 2019). Perhaps ironically, the amount of land acquired by this category of African farmers since 2000 far exceeds the amount of land acquired by foreign investors (Jayne et al., 2014a). This might be considered a surprising development, but in retrospect, perhaps it should not have been. The dramatic rise in global food prices after 2007 initiated major foreign investment in African farmland. Why shouldn’t African investors have done the same?

 

Agricultural growth has also synergistically coevolved with the rapid development of value chains that link farmers to Africa’s growing urban areas. The wealthiest African today built his fortune on the back of agriculture by pioneering large-scale production in sugar, flour, beverages and other food products. No wonder the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akin Adesina, recently predicted that the next generation of African billionaires will be farmers. Powered by rapid population growth, rising incomes and urbanisation, the size of Africa’s agrifood systems by 2030 will reach 1 trillion USD. Not surprisingly, small and medium-scale enterprises in agrifood systems are an important part of the region’s development. And unlike in prior decades, it is educated, savvy and capitalised Africans who are leading the charge.

 

How sustainable?

At the same time, the pace of transformation has been highly uneven across the region. Valid questions arise regarding whether the transformation narrative will falter, whether it has been sustained by primary commodity price booms, and whether transformation is occurring without industrialisation or poverty reduction. Indeed, some countries’ performance may justify these concerns, while many others do not, highlighting the widely varying pace of transformation in the region.

 

To assert that Africa is rapidly developing is not to assert that life is rosy for everyone. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the poorest region of the world. But at least most key indicators of livelihoods have consistently moved in the right direction for several decades now. So, as Africans mobilise to tackle the region’s many sobering challenges, it is not constructive to hold on to the “doom and gloom narrative” from the 1980s and 1990s, especially when Africans themselves have never been more optimistic about the future and vibrancy of the region, as the latest Africa Youth Report states.

 

While these trends point to SSA’s remarkable development progress over the past several decades, one might question how sustainable they are. We believe that Africa’s long-term progress is irreversible for three interrelated reasons: an increasingly savvy and informed work force, driven by rising levels of education, the explosion of readily accessible information, and improving governance and political accountability.

 

A more entrepreneurial workforce and informed electorate

Rising levels of educational attainment is the main reason that Africa’s rise will be sustained. The percentage of Africans over 25 years of age who completed lower secondary school has climbed from 23 per cent in the 1980s to 43.7 per cent in 2017, and is over 75 per cent for both men and women in rapidly developing countries such as Ghana (World Bank, 2019). Student enrolment in tertiary education grew from 1 per cent in the 1970s to 10 per cent in 2014 (Darvas et al, 2017). Quality of education has declined over the past several decades as universities have strained to accommodate rapidly growing numbers of students. But in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, African countries’ average public expenditure per university student was 2,000 USD per year – more than twice as much as non-African developing countries  invested  in tertiary education. There is also growing diversity in the fields covered by these institutions, including greater focus on technical education and entrepreneurship. The pace of educational improvement in Africa is more rapid than any other region of the world has experienced. While decades behind the rest of the world, Africa is starting to catch up.

 

A more educated workforce means that decision-making in the private sector, which includes millions of micro-entrepreneurs, is becoming more effective and competitive in the global workplace, thereby contributing to economic growth. It also means more informed public policy-making. Rising education levels are driving Africans’ demands for better governance, too. In the early 1980s, we were struck by how most Africans looked to governments for protection, for employment, and for ensuring access to cheap food. They viewed markets with suspicion. They bought the narrative that governments were looking out for their welfare after decades of foreign colonial rule. As Africans have become more educated, they have become more politically astute and active. It is hard to fool or oppress educated people. Today, most young Africans demand greater accountability from their governments and view markets as their source of opportunity and livelihood. A recent study from Kenya found that wealthier and more educated people were more likely to support democracy and vote for the opposition. Today’s African youth are transforming the continent, not because they are young but because they are more educated, more entrepreneurial, more savvy, more technically skilled and better able to utilise global information than any other generation of Africans before them.

 

Young people in Ethiopia look for job offers in daily newspapers. © Thomas Imo, GIZ
Young people in Ethiopia look for job offers in daily newspapers. © Thomas Imo, GIZ

The digital divide is being narrowed

Especially when combined with a more educated workforce and electorate, the rapid rise of publicly accessible Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and phonebased information even in the most remote rural areas of Africa will almost certainly have profound pro-development impacts. A recent special section of "World Development" shows that information can indeed improve development outcomes when users perceive it as relevant, and when they have both the power and the incentives to act on that information. Rising education levels will therefore contribute to more effective utilisation of the rapidly expanding supply of information and its conversion into improved livelihoods.

 

A special issue of "Foreign Affairs" documents the rapid growth in Africans’ use of mobile banking and software-based provision of information and services. Former Netscape founder Marc Andreessen predicted recently that almost every African would own a smartphone by 2025; in anticipation, software providers are feverishly working to meet this growing market for digital services. As governments and businesses move deeper into the information age and digitise many of their processes, opportunities are rapidly emerging for the growing number of African information technology (IT) firms. With the rapid development of new communication technology, important aspects of the economy such as banking, payment systems, government revenue collection and online education are becoming increasingly digitised, especially in urban areas. The alarming digital divide that Africa faced three decades ago is gradually being narrowed.

 

Digital transformation has enabled Africans to connect with the global community in a manner that was not the case two decades ago.

 

In parallel to the transformational effect of digital technologies on business practices in developed countries, African farmers are gaining access to information that improves their decision-making and makes them more competitive. New digital technologies are slowly emerging for farm management practices, rural transport services, market price information, buyer opportunities, electricity payments, input purchases and social welfare benefits transfer. Digital technologies hold great potential to reduce, if not overcome, the historical link between remoteness and poverty, and even to redefine what remoteness means. Digital transformation has also enabled Africans to connect with the global community in a manner that was not the case two decades ago. Millions of Africans now have access to global news and know-how in ways that would not have been possible decades ago.

 

Governance improving

Governance conditions are clearly improving for the region as a whole. Conditions for any given country may improve or decline in the short run, but the long-term trend is unmistakable. In the 1980s, most African governments were repressive. Coups d’etat were common. African big men ruled by iron fist and imposed horrible policies on their people. Free presses were rare. This situation describes only a few of SSA’s 45 countries today. Macro-economic management has improved dramatically in the post-structural adjustment period. Gone are the days of Idi Amin forcing finance ministers to print money; today, most Ministries of Finance are run by professionals who are committed to a market economy and adhere to global guidelines. Since 2000, there have been few cases of African countries falling into massive debt, requiring bailouts from international financiers, or experiencing hyperinflation or rapid currency depreciation. The majority of African countries have stabilised their macro-economies over the past 20 years, and this has attracted massive foreign direct investment and improved economic performance in the region.

 

Improved governance and cooperation have also aided freer movement of capital across boundaries in Africa and expanded intra-African trade (Songwe, 2019). Four decades ago, foreign banks controlled the banking sectors of African countries. Today, a number of indigenous banks dominate Africa’s banking sector. Many of these banks now operate regionally. As investment opportunities have emerged across the continent, investment and private equity firms from the more advanced African countries are investing in less advanced ones (Silici and Locke, 2013). For example, many Nigerian banks operate across Africa. Entrepreneurship, agro-enterprises, women-owned business and food enterprises are increasingly the focus of emerging private equity funds. The Tony Elumelu Foundation has committed 100 million US dollars towards creating 10,000 entrepreneurs, 1 million jobs and 10 billion US dollars in new economic activity within ten years and has leveraged co-financing from international organisations.

 

Parliamentarians and government officials are mirrors of their society and constituents. And fortunately for Africa, as education levels continue to improve, the quality of governance will become more open, more egalitarian and more responsive to constituents. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be major hiccups along the way – one can point to setbacks and worrying developments in any country – but what matters is whether the cumulative impact of the positive developments outweigh the negative ones. On net, the governance trends in African are generally moving in the right direction, and this has been the case for at least three decades.

 

Conclusions

Thirty years ago, Africa was synonymous with war, famine and poverty. That narrative is clearly outdated. A middle class has started to emerge in Africa, propelled by agricultural growth, economic diversification, digitisation, entrepreneurship, labour mobility and urbanisation. Africa’s rise has much to do with broadly improving education, greater access to information and opportunities, the spread of democracy and greater rule of law. Virtuous cycles are being initiated: as the more educated and informed classes raise their voices in demanding clean and accountable governments, the quality of public services, infrastructure and economic opportunities will continue to improve as it has over the past several decades, but at a faster pace. While Africa’s positive trajectory is unmistakable, it will be at least several decades before most of its countries are firmly middle class. Compared to other regions of the world, that is a remarkably short period, even though millions of poor people will understandably regard it as painfully slow.

 

It is difficult to accurately predict how COVID-19 will affect the region, but certainly it will kill many,  create great pain especially for poor households, and arrest the region’s development at least temporarily. COVID-19 will also almost certainly set in motion great pressures for governments to invest in water, sanitation and health facilities and galvanise the region’s efforts to strengthen its own capacity to address pandemics and other types of shocks, and meet its citizens’ basic human needs. These investments will reinforce Africa’s long-term development trajectory.

 

Former hockey player Wayne Gretzky quipped that a good hockey player plays where the puck is, but a great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. Because change is occurring so rapidly, Africa’s future is best understood not by overly focusing on its current position – which can easily blight one’s vision – but by considering where the trajectory of its many long-term trends is pointing.

 

This article first appeared in Rural21 Vol. 54 No. 2/2020 on: Employment for rural Africa and is part of a media cooperation between weltohnehunger.org and Rural 21.

Education
,
Civil society
,
Equality
,
Industrialisation and technologisation
,
Governance
,
Employment
,
Private sector

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Nutrition is not just a women’s issue

A contribution by GIZ

When women have control over the resources of a household and manage the income, it usually leads to a more balanced and healthier diet for the family. But often the decision-making power lies with the men. How can this gender inequality be addressed? The GIZ global project Food Security and Resilience provides insights into project work on gender-transformative approaches finances by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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Unlocking the potential of agrivoltaics

A contribution by Fraunhofer Institute

Agrivoltaics is a concept that combines photovoltaic electricity generation and agricultural production, providing the opportunity for a more efficient land use and contributing overall to the integration of food, energy and water systems. This can be particularly interesting for countries in the Global South, where rural electrification rates are often low and food security needs to be improved.

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The rush for green energy shouldn’t undermine rights of pastoralist communities

A contribution by Hussein Tadicha Wario

Africa’s drylands seem to be predestined for generating solar and wind power – especially given the current hype over green hydrogen. However, pastoral communities are often put at a disadvantage in this respect. Our author describes the arising conflicts and what successful coexistence of green energy projects and the communities could look like.

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Against all Odds

A Contribution by Claudia Huber

Rose Okello is a Matoke farmer and single mother living in a village near Mbarara, a town in southern Uganda. To ensure that she can pay for her family's food, her children's school fees and other expenses on time, Rose uses various financial services. Her story portrays hurdles but also hope for women in agribusiness.

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© GIZ

Ideas on the ground: Local solutions for global challenges

Interview with Sebastian Lesch (BMZ)

A world without hunger and with sufficient healthy food as well as climate-friendly agriculture can only be achieved if ideas are transformed into innovations and ultimately also applied - a conversation with BMZ Head of Division Sebastian Lesch on the Innovation Challenge programme of the new Agricultural Innovation Fund.

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(c) Thomas Trutschel/BMEL/photothek

Rethinking funding

By Anna Sophia Rainer

Peasant farmers tend to fail due to bank credit limits. But investment could help them generate a sustainable income. This has given rise to an intense discussion about potential digital solutions.

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Answers from the youth: "Leave or stay? That depends on it!"

GIZ study; conducted by Geopoll

Does Africa's youth want to live in the city or in the country? Which career path seems particularly attractive? And how optimistic are the young people about the future? Young adults from rural areas answered these questions by SMS.

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(c) Privat

How much private investment is the agricultural sector able to bear?

By Pedro Morazán

Small farmers in developing countries must modernise their farming methods, but poorly understood reforms could exacerbate poverty instead of alleviating it.

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Uli Reinhardt/Zeitenspiegel

Enough of being poor

By Marcellin Boguy

In western Africa a new middle class is emerging. Their consumer behaviour is determining the demand for products – home-produced and imported goods, on the internet or at the village market. The people of Ivory Coast in particular are looking to the future with optimism.

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Video: 4 Questions to Claudia Makdristo

A video clip by Seedstars

Startups are booming in African agriculture. What are the current trend and challenges – and can other regions benefit from innovative approaches? A Video-Interview with Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager of Seedstars  

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Turning many into one: CGIAR network restructures

A contribution by Jan Rübel

International agricultural research is responding to new challenges: Their advisory group is undergoing a fundamental reform process and unites knowledge, partnerships and physical assets into OneCGIAR.

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(c) Joerg Boethling/GIZ

What it takes now

A contribution by Heike Baumüller

Artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain are the hottest topics of our time. The digital transformation of the African agricultural sector is ready for take-off. What will it take for the future of technology to hit the ground running?

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(c) Katapult/GIZ

The digitised farmyard

An interactive graphic Jan Rübel

Lots of apps are entering the market, but what really makes sense? For African agriculture, some of it seems like a gimmick, some like a real step forward. So this is what a smallholder farm in Africa could look like today - with the help of smartphones, internet and electricity. 

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(c) Foto Privat

Story: In Blocked Chains We Trust

A contribution by Solomon King Benge

It is 2080. We are on a farm somewhere in Africa. Everything is digital. The blockchain is an omnipotent point of reference, and the farm is flourishing. But then, everything goes wrong. A dystopian short story, written exclusively for SEWOH.

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(c) Joerg Boethling/GIZ

"We are not Uber for tractors"

Interview with Jehiel Oliver

Jehiel Oliver was a successful consultant. One day, he quit his job in investment banking to become a social entrepreneur. His mission: tractors for Africa. Rental tractors. What gave him that idea? Find out in his interview with Jan Rübel.

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(c) Christoph Pueschner/Zeitenspiegel

From start to finish: a vision of interconnectivity

A contribution by Tanja Reith

At the moment, the agricultural industries of African countries exist in relative isolation. Imagine peasant farmers digitally connected to the value chains of the global food industry. How could this happen? A guidebook.

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(c) Klara Palatova/WFP

A global signpost: What way is the market, please?

A contribution by the World Food Programme

There is a clear global task: We need to feed nine billion people by 2050. We, the people of Earth, must produce more food and waste less. That is the top priority of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), too - the description of a challenge.

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Frank Schultze / Agentur_ZS

Visions in agriculture

Video by Frank Schultze and Jan Rübel

At the beginning of December 2018, AGRA's board of directors met in Berlin. The "Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa" ​​panel discussed the next steps in their policy of modernizing agriculture. How to go on in the next ten years? One question - many answers from experts.

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Karel Prinsloo/Arete/Rockefeller Foundation/AGRA

"Nutrition is a human right"

Interview with Joe DeVries (AGRA)

Joe DeVries is a breeder – and Vice President of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa). What are the chances and risks of a ’green revolution‘ in Africa? A discourse between Jan Rübel and him about productivity, needs, and paternalism.

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Silicon Valley for Africa’s agricultural start-ups

A contribution by Michel Bernhardt (GIZ)

The project “Scaling digital agriculture innovations through start-ups” (SAIS) supports Africans going into business in the agricultural and food sector in scaling their digital innovations and thus reaching out to a larger number of users.

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Innovations for a secure food supply

A contribution by German Agribusiness Alliance

The COVID 19 pandemic is hitting developing and emerging countries and their poorest populations particularly hard. It is important to take countermeasures at an early stage. Companies in the German agricultural sector want to make their contribution to ensuring the availability of urgently needed operating resources.

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(c) Christoph Pueschner/Zeitenspiegel

Can this end world hunger?

A report by Stig Tanzmann

Time to dig deeper: We can only benefit from technical progress if we have a solid legal framework for everybody. But so far, none is in sight - in many countries. Instead, international corporations grow ever more powerful.

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(c) Michael Bruentrup/DIE

News from the starting block: Changeover

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE)

The region of Sub-Saharan Africa is on the decisive verge of a great development boost in farming: it could skip entire generations of technological development. But how? About possible roles and potentials of digital services.

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Joerg Boethling/GIZ

"The Green Revolution reaches its limits"

Interview with Stig Tanzmann (BfdW)

Stig Tanzmann is a farmer and adviser on agricultural issues at ‘Bread for the World’. Jan Rübel interviewed him about his reservations about AGRA's strategy.

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A new attempt at Africa's industrialization?

A contribution by Helmut Asche

Afrika is about ready. There are promising approaches for a sustainable industrialization. However, the path poses challenges to the continent.

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(c) Christoph Mohr/GIZ

Microinsurance against climate change

A contribution by Claudia Voß

Climate change is destroying development progress in many places. The clever interaction of digitalisation and the insurance industry protects affected small farmers.

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Empowering farmers to control their own data

A contribution by GIZ

A new study on the digitalisation of agriculture puts farmers back at the centre of their own sector, identifies market gaps and gives recommendations on how to support relevant actors.

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"The virus does not need visa"

Interview by Dr. Ahmed Ouma (CDC)

Countries across Africa coordinate their efforts in the fight against corona by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) of the African Union in Addis Abeba. Until now, the curve of new infections has been successfully flattened – why? Dr. Ahmed Ouma, Deputy Director, explains the work of CDC in an interview with Tilman Wörtz.

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(c) Welthungerhilfe

5 questions to F. Patterson: Why is there more hunger?

Interview with Fraser Patterson

Every year in October, the "Welthungerhilfe" aid organisation, with the Irish "Concern Worldwide" NGO, publishes the Global Hunger Index, a tool with which the hunger situation is recorded. What are the trends - and what needs to be done?

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“We have to prepare for the unexpected”

Interview with Dr Maria Flachsbarth (BMZ)

In August, Germany’s development ministry set up a division concentrating on One Health topics. Parliamentary State Secretary Maria Flachsbarth on knowledge gaps at the human-animal-environmental interface, the link between One Health and food security, and lessons learnt from previous pandemics.

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More than just a seat at the table

A contribution by Welthungerhilfe

Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest growing population. For many young people, agriculture could offer a job perspective. But to improve the living conditions and job prospects of young people in rural areas, political reforms and investments are desperately needed, as these people will be at the centre of agriculture and agricultural development in the future.

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Building our food systems back better

A contribution by Jes Weigelt and Alexander Müller

What is required to make food systems provide sufficient, healthy food while not harming the planet? How should food security be maintained given the threat posed by climate change? Our authors look at some aspects of tomorrow’s food systems against the backdrop of the corona crisis.

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The state of food security in Cape Town and St. Helena Bay

A study by Markus Hanisch, Agustina Malvido, Johanna Hansmann, Alexander Mewes, Moritz Reigl, Nicole Paganini (SLE)

Post-Covid-19 lockdown: How food governance processes could include marginalised communities - an extract of the results of an SLE study applying digital and participatory methods.

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Global responsibility: Tackling hunger is the only way forward

A contribution by Lisa Hücking (WHH)

Chancellor Merkel has begun an ambitious European political programme: Striving for compromise in budget negotiations, an orderly Brexit as well as an appropriate response to the corona crisis. Unfortunately, one of her positions that she previously held is nowhere to be found: Africa's prosperity is in the interest of Europe. 

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Hunger must not be a consequence of the epidemic!

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE)

Even though COVID-19 poses a threat to the health of humanity, the reaction to the pandemic must not cause more suffering than the disease itself. This is particularly relevant for poor developing countries, where the impact of the corona crisis on food security is even more severe!

 

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(c) Privat

Human Rights, Land and Rural Development

A contribution by Michael Windfuhr (German Institute for Human Rights)

Land rights are no longer governed by the law of the strongest. That is what the international community has agreed to. Governments and private companies have a duty to respect human rights and avoid corruption.

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How much do we actually waste, Mr. McFeely?

An interview with Peter McFeely (WWF)

The WWF has published a sensational study on food waste. The focus: farm-stage food waste. Peter McFeely, Global head of communications and strategic planning at WWF, explains what needs to be done.

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How Smallholders became Commodity Suppliers

Small farmers are often left behind in African agriculture. Access to markets and improved competitiveness can only be achieved if the small farms join forces. But those affected in partner countries are often at a loss as to how to implement cooperative models. Here, the BMZ provides support through the SEWOH ONE World – NO Hunger initiative and the Social Structure Promotion (Sozialstrukturförderung).

A project by Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband e. V.

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The Future of Development Politics: Voices from the Parliamentary Groups

A Contribution by Journalist Jan Rübel

Representatives of the six parliamentary groups offer their views on the future of German development cooperation.

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Cooperation and Effective Incentives for Sustainable Land Use

A Contribution by GIZ

The second GFFA expert panel highlights the need for governance action to reverse global trends of land degradation.

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What Needs to Change for Africa’s Youth, Ms Kah Walla?

An Interview with Kah Walla

A conversation with the activist and entrepreneur Kah Walla about what needs to change for young people in rural Africa.

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Building Better Resilience to Transboundary Threats

A Contribution by the TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

Fuelled by climate change, desert locust plagues become increasingly frequent. A plaidoyer for a paradigm shift on handling transboundary crises.

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From shared conviction to global response

A Contribution by Jan Rübel

The G7 is responding to the worsening global hunger crisis by mobilizing an additional $4.5 billion for this year alone. A key milestone for this in the run-up was the international conference on global food security "Uniting for Global Food Security".

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A dashboard as a key tool for global food security

A Contribution by BMZ

The Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), jointly launched by the German G7 Presidency and the World Bank, released the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard during COP27: A Rapid Response Tool for Coordinating Global Action for Food Security.

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How to govern food systems transformation

A contribution by Daniel Montas and Jan Rübel

The transformation of food systems is regarded as the new magic code, but effective strategies are lacking. A new group of experts discussed the prerequisites for efficiently managing this process. The experts representing politics, youth, civil society, farmers' organizations, private sector, and academia unanimously concluded: transformation is possible, but it needs a strong drive from within.

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“We want to overcome hunger and poverty”

An interview with Fernanda Machiaveli

After four years of the Bolsonaro administration, the new Brazilian government is trying to restart its engagement in agroecology, fighting deforestation in the Amazon and protecting indigenous communities and poor families from hunger. An interview with the Vice-minister for Rural Development and Family Farming, Fernanda Machiaveli.

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“We have to focus on sustainability”

An interview with Karen Mapusua

Karen Mapusua, President of IFOAM Organics International Network, on the danger of the current fuel crises and inflation to loose track in sustainablity, why organic farmers should be heard and how the word “crisis” has a very different meaning where she lives in Fiji.

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Governor's Day with Farmers – For more discussion with local actors

A contribution by William Onura and Larissa Stiem-Bhatia

In agriculture it is important to include political stakeholders in the discourse. To build the bridge between practical application and political action, the think tank TMG launched the Governor's Day with Farmers in Kakamega County, Kenya. Now it took place for the second time. But what are the goals and benefits of the Governor's Day?

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The Key to Transforming Food Systems Lies in Inclusive Governance

A Contribution by Daniel Montas

Experts from Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Malawi came together to discuss inclusive governance in a workshop entitled "Inclusive Governance of Food Systems Transformation". Daniel Montas, TMG Research, on the findings.

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Can we democratize data in the age of digital extraction?

A contribution by Clare Crowe Pettersson & Lena Bassermann

The United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) recently adopted new policy guidelines on the use of data and digital technologies in the context of food security and nutrition. What comes next?

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(c) Simon Veith

The Big Bang is possible

Interview with Joachim von Braun

Happy youngsters in rural areas, green development and the connection to the digital age – professor Joachim von Braun believes in this future sceneraio for Africa. For three decades the agricultural scienties has been researching how politics can create prosperty on the continent. 

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(c) Kate Holt / Africa Practice

Leveraging investment impacts

A contribution by Heike Baumüller, Christine Husmann, Julia Machovsky-Smid, Oliver Kirui, Justice Tambo

Any initiative whose aim is to reduce poverty in Africa should focus first on agriculture. But what kind of investment has the greatest impact? The use of scientific criteria provides some answers.

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"Without peace, there will be no development"

Interview with Karina Mroß (DIE)

What contribution does development cooperation make to conflict prevention? What can it do for sustainable peace? Political scientist Karina Mroß talks to Raphael Thelen about post-conflict societies and their chances for peaceful development.

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(c) Privat

The 'Grey Gold'

A contribution by Maria Schmidt (GIZ)

The Cashew Council is the first international organisation for a raw material stemming from Africa. The industry promises to make progress in processing and refining cashew nuts - and answers to climate change

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(c) GIZ

Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture in Rural Areas

Fish is important for combating malnutrition and undernourishment. But it is not only notable for its nutritional value, but also secures the livelihoods and employment for 600 million people worldwide.

A Project of GIZ

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(c) GIZ

Youth Employment in Rural Areas

The world’s population keeps on growing; with this rise comes an increased need for food as well as productive employment opportunities. Offering young people in rural areas better employment prospects is one of the objectives of the sector project. The young population is the key to a modern and efficient agricultural economy.

A project of GIZ

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Youth as key actors for a transformation of agri-food systems

Five Questions for Anke Oppermann

In October, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted policy recommendations ‘Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems’. Anke Oppermann answers five questions on youth employment in the agricultural sector.

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Priscilla Impraim and her chocolate business

A contribution by Jan Rübel

Priscilla Impraim is one of the first women in Ghana to enter the chocolate business. Despite some hurdles, she founded the company Ab Ovo Confectionery Limited in 2006 with currently six permanent employees and 25 seasonal employees.

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Achieving more together – New forms of cooperation for sustainability in the cotton sector

A Contribution by Saskia Widenhorn

Saskia Widenhorn, Head of the Cotton Component in Cameroon and the Sub-Saharan Cotton Initiative at GIZ, reports on the Bremer Cotton Week, which brought together international industry experts. The agenda included supply chain transparency, sustainability and new forms of cooperation between the private sector and partner countries.

 

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Sang'alo Institute invests in farming of sunflower crop

A contribution by James Wanzala

Kenya is a large importer of vetable oils mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia - amongst them sunflower oil. Due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there were supply bottlenecks and food shortages, leading to less affordable vegetable oils in Kenya. As a response to the lack of supply, the Sanga'alo Institute of Science and Technology, took that impulse, teamed up with the GIZ and established regional cultivation and refinement of sunflowers.

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The Principle of Sharing

A contribution by gebana

gebana, a Swiss fair trade company, follows the principle of "sharing" with its corporate philosophy: farming families in the Global South participate directly in the sales of their online shop. Caroline Schaar, Marketing at gebana, explains the company's approach.

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Uli Reinhardt/Zeitenspiegel

No dirty dealing

Von Marlis Lindecke

Shit Business is Serious Business: A successful cooperation between research and the private sector.

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(c) Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel

Slaves do not produce quality

By Tilman Wörtz

Every child in Germany knows Ritter Sport – but most of the children harvesting cocoa on western African plantations have never even eaten chocolate. Can a chocolate manufacturer change the world? Conversation with Alfred Ritter about the power and powerlessness of a businessman.

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(c) Simon Veith

A fresh opportunity

Interview with Lutz Hartmann

By leasing a three hundred hectare fruit plantation in Ethiopia, Lutz Hartmann has realised a long-cherished dream: to run his own business in Africa. Now he has a personal interest in the issue of Africa’s development.

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Support for sustainable start-ups

Companies in Africa that need financing between $20,000 and $200,000 find relatively few investors, as this sector is too large for microcredit and too small for institutional investors. This creates a "gap in the middle" where companies have limited options. A project of the World Resource Institute provides a remedy with the Landaccelerator 2020.

A World Resources Institute project

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Pesticides – a blessing or a curse?

A debate between Lena Luig and Ludger Weß

What are the consequences of using synthetic pesticides in agriculture? Where do they help, where do they harm? Lena Luig, expert for the development policy organization INKOTA, and science journalist Ludger Weß discuss this controversial topic of international scope.

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Ms Rudloff, what are the benefits of a supply chain law?

By Jan Rübel

The Federal Government is fine-tuning a law that would require companies to ensure human rights – a supply chain law. What are the consequences for the agricultural sector? Dr Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) discusses linking policy fields with added value.

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Freed from trade? Towards a fairer EU Trade Agenda

A contribution by Dr. Jan Orbie (University Gent)

‘Fair’ and ‘sustainable’ are key words in Germany’s EU Council Presidency. At the same time, Germany pursues ‘modernization’ of the WTO and ‘rapid progress’ on free trade agreements. Are these goals really compatible? Can we be concerned about fairness and sustainability while continuing with ‘business as usual’?

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(c) Privat

Small Farms, big money

A contribution by Agnes Kalibata

Agnes Kalibata, AGRA president since 2014 and former minister of agriculture and wildlife in Rwanda, is convinced that Africa's economy will only grow sustainably if small-scale agriculture is also seen as an opportunity.

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Investing in Healthy Soils: Curse or Blessing?

A Contribution by WWF

How investing in healthy soils provides incentives for more sustainable agriculture even as it demonstrates the need for far reaching changes in the agrisector.

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Successful Blueprints for African Agriculture

A Contribution by GIZ

At the 8th German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF) representatives from business and politics discussed successful investment models to improve living conditions in Africa.

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Together towards Sustainable Development: Private Sector Cooperation

A Multimedia-Toolbox by GIZ

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through responsible investments in the agri-food sector of emerging countries.

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Controversy: Do supply chains need liability rules?

Discussion about the potential supply chain law

The German government is struggling to pass a supply chain law. It is intended to address violations of human rights, social and environmental standards. What would the consequences be for business? A double interview with Veselina Vasileva from GEPA and economics professor Andreas Freytag.

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G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative: From Commitment to Action

Future generations need more sustainable and stable agri-food systems. But how can this comprehensive transformation succeed and what responsibility does the private sector bear? These questions were the focus of the G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative (G7 SSCI) side event as part of the ‘Champion Youth Action’ day at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).

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The Answer is Healthy Soil

A Conversation with Nina Mannheimer

The Berlin start-up Klim is forging an alliance between farmers and companies. The aim is to use regenerative farming to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it as carbon in the soil. An interview with Nina Mannheimer.

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Coconuts, Digitalization and the Future

An Interview with Ebun Feludu

Female founder Ebun Feludu wants to bring the coconut value chain to Nigeria with her start-up Kokari. In this interview, she explains why she envisions every coconut palm tree bearing its own name in the future and how digitalization can contribute to this.

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