"Agricultural Revolution," Japan's rescue package for Africa
Tongkeh Fowale
July 22, 2008
The road to the east has been "heavily" traveled by African leaders since the beginning of the 21st century. It might be too early to judge how much salvation Asia holds for Africa, but every keen observer will agree without hesitation that the compass of African diplomacy is now facing east. This is what Zimbabwe´s President Robert Mugabe meant when he said, "We have turned east where the sun rises, and given our back to the West where the sun set" Very few paid attention to Mugabe because his regime has been caught in the web of western criticism. Africa´s "look east" policy as this new foreign policy orientation is called, is now the center of debate in international politics.
Japan, like China and India (in recent years), opened its doors to representatives of 52 African states at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African development (TICAD 1V) in Yokohama at the end of May. The significance of this summit meeting is explained by its timing. The conference took place at a time when rising food prices directly threaten the lives of millions of people worldwide, the hardest hit being in Africa. This is explained by the spade of unrests and food riots in many African countries, case studies being Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal. Secondly, the conference was held less than a week before the FAO´s June 3 – 5 Conference in Rome, and a few weeks before the G8 July Summit in Japan. In all of these conferences, the global food crisis was at the center of discussion, suggesting the gravity of the situation, especially in Africa.
It was in the height of Africa´s hunger that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete sounded the continent´s frustration when he pleaded, "… Africa has come to Japan with high expectations." Africa´s "expectations" are also explained by the high esteem with which the continent holds Japan as an industrialized and technological power, development partner and aid donor. For these and more reasons, Africa has enough justifications to lean on Japan. For example a recent report by advocacy group DATA reveals that, of the seven countries that made commitments to Africa at the G8 Summit in 2005, only Japan has come clean in fulfilling its pledges to Africa. Such news is good enough for Africa which has had a long history of working with countries which cannot "walk the walk" as the same Kikwete reminded the Indian Prime Miniter in the last Africa-India Summit.
In return for Africa´s high expectations, Japan made a series of promises, among which included the doubling of aid to $1.9 billion over the next five years, a promise of $4 billion in soft loans over the same period to improve infrastructure in Africa and a $10 billion "Cool Earth Partnership Agreement" aimed at encouraging industrialization through access to clean technology. The most important of these promises relating to hunger was Japan´s promise to assist in Africa´s "Green Revolution." "As Africa seeks to achieve its Green Revolution, I would like to put out a call for action, aiming to double the current rice production output of 14 million tons over the next ten years," said Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda.
Past meets present: The roots of African hunger
The current food crisis is drawing attention largely because it is a global problem. It is intricately linked with the increasing cost of production due largely to the unprecedented rise in fuel prices which have adversely affected the agro-industries of the developed world. This has led to strikes in many European capitals in the past months. For Africa, it is an old story. Hunger, famine, starvation, malnutrition hunger-related problems and protein deficiencies are no strangers in Africa. Their endemic presence in the continent is explained by many factors. Bad policies, the pressures of globalization, and natural hazards are among these reasons. None however is as strong as history.
The history of Africa´s agricultural malaise could be traced conveniently from the period of colonialism. When Walter Rodney observes that the African farmer entered colonialism with "a hoe" and left with "a hoe," he was drawing attention to this colonial damage on African agriculture. Under colonialism, the most productive factors for agricultural production - land and labor, were mobilized for European economic enterprise, with "nothing of compensatory value" to Africa as Rodney puts it. This created the vacuum which has consistently manifested itself in the form of food shortages and hunger in the continent.
Colonialism partitioned African land into several categories (Crown lands, Native lands and reserves), and development followed along the lines of this categorization. Africans were kept off the most fertile lands and development was limited to Crown lands. The rest of the fertile land was taken up for plantation agriculture which transformed the food crop economies into cash crop producing ones at the cost of African life and limb. As seen in German Tanganyika, it was a legal offence for Africans to attempt to produce food to feed themselves. Their energies belonged to the European plantations. The ensuing conflicts that erupted as a result of clashing values and interests on African land, claimed the lives of the most energetic Africans, leading to a severe loss of labor. The Maji Maji revolt, the Mau Mau uprising and the Chimurenga are few case studies in this war of "all against all" triggered by colonialism.
The system of infrastructural development under colonialism greatly discouraged local food production and exchange among Africans. These facilities were principally designed to transport raw materials out of Africa and therefore ran from hinterland to coast. African societies bereft of these resources were therefore not part of the communication network. Their contribution to the colonial economy was limited to the supply of labor in European plantations and other related projects which were of little benefit to African food production. This infrastructural deficit remains the backbone of Africa´s agricultural dilemma today because large cities and urban communities are deprived of agricultural resources which are abundant in remote and isolated villages.
Africa´s current trade position in the global economy is also explained by the hangovers of colonialism. The Lome Convention of 1975 confirmed Africa´s place as a supplier of raw materials and minerals in world trade The STABEX (Stabilization of Exports) and SYSMIN (System for Mineral Production) schemes were all mechanisms of Lome to tie Africa down to this cash crop exportation economy. Price fluctuations in these commodities have had devastating effects on African farmers. The latest manifestation of this colonial system is the "Economic Partnership Agreements" (EPA) which has received little enthusiasm in Africa. "EPAs do not give sufficient opportunities for the businesses in LDCs to develop to levels where they can compete favorably with their counterparts in the EU ….," said Ghanaian Professor Joseph Stiglitis, Nobel Economics laureate.
Faced with the pressures of globalization, many African countries have been forced to liberalize their agricultural markets as a precondition for borrowing from the World Bank and IMF. These markets have therefore been flooded with highly subsidized agricultural products from the EU and U.S. Cheap milk, meat, chicken, fish and tomatoes from the EU have kept African farmers off production. U.S subsidies to cotton farmers have also kept African cotton producers at bay. The EU´s fishing rights over African waters has thrown African fishermen into unemployment. Without any source of livelihood, these masses are permanently trapped below the poverty line where hunger blends with poverty to create a potent mix of indescribable suffering for millions.
It is true that the political atmosphere in Africa has a direct bearing on agricultural production. Conflicts of one kind or make farming impossible. In other cases, more energy is directed to the plundering of natural resources than in agriculture. Such chaotic situations play into the hands of war lords and power-greedy leaders who use food as a weapon against their own people. Attacks on food convoys in East Africa, the politicization of food distribution in Zimbabwe and the deliberate refusal to invest in agriculture by African leaders opens the doors to hunger. In famine-stricken areas of the continent, leaders prefer to wait for hand outs from the West instead of buying up available supplies to feed the starving masses. When this adds up to natural hazards (such as floods, droughts and storms) which are not infrequent in the continent, the result is plaguing hunger.
Japan´s revival agenda
Japan´s promise to assist in Africa´s agricultural revolution strikes at the core of a challenging problem. It marks a radical departure from the colonial-type constraints that have bedeviled agriculture in Africa for decades. Says Ramtanu Maitra, "Japan´s initiative to become involved in Africa to eradicate that food-short continent´s hunger, and make it food secure, poses a stiff challenge to the centuries-old policies imposed by the Anglo-European powers." Continues she, "That policy – to view Africa as a continent full of mineral resources and cheap labor – is still in practice today … and is the cause of Africa´s perpetual food shortage."
Maistra further sees the absence of infrastructure in Africa as a deliberate policy designed by the West to keep Africa begging. "The focus of that policy as it has always been, is to keep the African nations divided, bereft of physical infrastructure, preventing them from becoming agro-industrial, sovereign nation states and dependent on food from abroad. … An aspect of this policy was to make available, emergency food and financial aid, as crumbs from the table of the wealthier nations when the inevitable mass starvation hit."
Prime Minister Fukuda manifested considerable wisdom and foresight in identifying the core of Africa´s food crisis – the absence of (or inadequate) infrastructure. "In order to boost the momentum for African growth, the most important thing is the development of infrastructure," he said. And in the area of infrastructure, Japan is no new hand. One of the world´s most technologically advanced powers, Japan holds many promises for Africa. Her expertise in the construction of roads, railways, ports, harbors and houses have received universal acclaim. "With a wealth of agricultural experience, Japan is willing to cooperate with countries and international organizations to develop irrigation systems, improve the varieties of crops raised and foster workers in the field of agriculture…," Fukuda promised.
Still in the area of infrastructure, Fukuda laid out concrete plans to realize what he called "a peoples´ infrastructure" for Africa. He also pledged Japan´s help in completing the "unconnected road networks," and also to build shipping ports to provide "a network that will enable Africa as a whole to move forward." What gives credit to Fukuda´s diagnosis of the situation in Africa is his recognition of the fact that growth and development in Africa can be attained only through internal stimulation, even though with external assistance. This makes all the difference between his vision for Africa and the loud sounding but counterproductive reform policies of the IMF, World Bank and other western donors. And Fukuda struck the right chord when he touched on infrastructure.
Japan´s promise to increase rice production in Africa adds to a history of successes in this area. Africa currently accounts for about 30% of global rice imports. This is due largely to the increase in the size of urban populations which have departed from traditional staples. Also, rice is (or used to be) relatively cheaper than other staples, it I is readily available, is more palatable and easy to cook. The reduction in rice supplies from China and India has deprived Africans of this staple leading to a mad rise in its price. Japan´s goodwill gesture to reduce its 1.5 million tons of rice reserves to help some five hunger-stricken countries in Africa therefore comes as a welcome relief.
Japan´s efforts to increase rice production in Africa pre-date the TICAD 1V Summit. Rice strains developed with Japanese expertise are already widely consumed in Africa. An example is the New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a protein rich and pest-and disease resistant strain. This rice specie combines the best traits of Asian and African strains. This project is jointly sponsored by the Japanese government, the UN Development Program UNDP), the African development Bank (ADB), the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Rockefeller Foundation. From its experimental base in the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA), the project is moving from West to East Africa. Projected to increase rice harvests by 50%, this project fits neatly with Japan´s determination to eradicate hunger in Africa in ten years.
Conclusion
Strong diseases need strong medicines. Africa´s diseases are not incurable, but they definitely need very strong anti-dotes. These remedies must seek to address the political and economic problems in the continent, provide the climate of stability that is a pre-requisite for any form of development, be it agricultural or otherwise. Prime Minister Fukuda drew the right picture of Africa when he observed, "In order to fully ensure growth in Africa, the development of agriculture is extremely important, as about two-thirds of the population of Africa is engaged in it." This leaves us with the conclusion that any meaningful development in Africa must first address the problem of agriculture."
Bringing Japan´s technological prowess to resource-rich Africa is the beginning of a major revolution. Estimated to hold 40% of the world´s hydroelectric power, Africa still lags behind the rest of the world in electricity consumption. Power failures and blackouts are very frequent and electricity is costly and therefore unaffordable. Using advanced technology to provide cheap electricity can help increase the living standards of farmers and therefore stimulate micro projects at village levels such as poultry and animal husbandry to increases the protein intake of peasants and city dwellers. Africa is also in dire need of food preservation technologies to check the problem of waste. Since many crops, fruits and vegetables in Africa are seasonal and perishable, large quantities of these items end unconsumed and wasted. They cannot reach the city because of exorbitant costs of transportation due to bad roads and high fuel prices.
The Bible was not brought to Africa by Japan or any Asian power. It was brought by the Christian West. But these "lovers of God" have consistently neglected their duty to read that portion of the Holy Book which says "When I was hungry you gave me to eat…" If Japan translates its words into action, it would have done just that. It would also have laid the foundation for the eventual take-off of African growth in this century which Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda baptized as the "Century of African Growth."
Japan, like China and India (in recent years), opened its doors to representatives of 52 African states at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African development (TICAD 1V) in Yokohama at the end of May. The significance of this summit meeting is explained by its timing. The conference took place at a time when rising food prices directly threaten the lives of millions of people worldwide, the hardest hit being in Africa. This is explained by the spade of unrests and food riots in many African countries, case studies being Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal. Secondly, the conference was held less than a week before the FAO´s June 3 – 5 Conference in Rome, and a few weeks before the G8 July Summit in Japan. In all of these conferences, the global food crisis was at the center of discussion, suggesting the gravity of the situation, especially in Africa.
It was in the height of Africa´s hunger that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete sounded the continent´s frustration when he pleaded, "… Africa has come to Japan with high expectations." Africa´s "expectations" are also explained by the high esteem with which the continent holds Japan as an industrialized and technological power, development partner and aid donor. For these and more reasons, Africa has enough justifications to lean on Japan. For example a recent report by advocacy group DATA reveals that, of the seven countries that made commitments to Africa at the G8 Summit in 2005, only Japan has come clean in fulfilling its pledges to Africa. Such news is good enough for Africa which has had a long history of working with countries which cannot "walk the walk" as the same Kikwete reminded the Indian Prime Miniter in the last Africa-India Summit.
In return for Africa´s high expectations, Japan made a series of promises, among which included the doubling of aid to $1.9 billion over the next five years, a promise of $4 billion in soft loans over the same period to improve infrastructure in Africa and a $10 billion "Cool Earth Partnership Agreement" aimed at encouraging industrialization through access to clean technology. The most important of these promises relating to hunger was Japan´s promise to assist in Africa´s "Green Revolution." "As Africa seeks to achieve its Green Revolution, I would like to put out a call for action, aiming to double the current rice production output of 14 million tons over the next ten years," said Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda.
Past meets present: The roots of African hunger
The current food crisis is drawing attention largely because it is a global problem. It is intricately linked with the increasing cost of production due largely to the unprecedented rise in fuel prices which have adversely affected the agro-industries of the developed world. This has led to strikes in many European capitals in the past months. For Africa, it is an old story. Hunger, famine, starvation, malnutrition hunger-related problems and protein deficiencies are no strangers in Africa. Their endemic presence in the continent is explained by many factors. Bad policies, the pressures of globalization, and natural hazards are among these reasons. None however is as strong as history.
The history of Africa´s agricultural malaise could be traced conveniently from the period of colonialism. When Walter Rodney observes that the African farmer entered colonialism with "a hoe" and left with "a hoe," he was drawing attention to this colonial damage on African agriculture. Under colonialism, the most productive factors for agricultural production - land and labor, were mobilized for European economic enterprise, with "nothing of compensatory value" to Africa as Rodney puts it. This created the vacuum which has consistently manifested itself in the form of food shortages and hunger in the continent.
Colonialism partitioned African land into several categories (Crown lands, Native lands and reserves), and development followed along the lines of this categorization. Africans were kept off the most fertile lands and development was limited to Crown lands. The rest of the fertile land was taken up for plantation agriculture which transformed the food crop economies into cash crop producing ones at the cost of African life and limb. As seen in German Tanganyika, it was a legal offence for Africans to attempt to produce food to feed themselves. Their energies belonged to the European plantations. The ensuing conflicts that erupted as a result of clashing values and interests on African land, claimed the lives of the most energetic Africans, leading to a severe loss of labor. The Maji Maji revolt, the Mau Mau uprising and the Chimurenga are few case studies in this war of "all against all" triggered by colonialism.
The system of infrastructural development under colonialism greatly discouraged local food production and exchange among Africans. These facilities were principally designed to transport raw materials out of Africa and therefore ran from hinterland to coast. African societies bereft of these resources were therefore not part of the communication network. Their contribution to the colonial economy was limited to the supply of labor in European plantations and other related projects which were of little benefit to African food production. This infrastructural deficit remains the backbone of Africa´s agricultural dilemma today because large cities and urban communities are deprived of agricultural resources which are abundant in remote and isolated villages.
Africa´s current trade position in the global economy is also explained by the hangovers of colonialism. The Lome Convention of 1975 confirmed Africa´s place as a supplier of raw materials and minerals in world trade The STABEX (Stabilization of Exports) and SYSMIN (System for Mineral Production) schemes were all mechanisms of Lome to tie Africa down to this cash crop exportation economy. Price fluctuations in these commodities have had devastating effects on African farmers. The latest manifestation of this colonial system is the "Economic Partnership Agreements" (EPA) which has received little enthusiasm in Africa. "EPAs do not give sufficient opportunities for the businesses in LDCs to develop to levels where they can compete favorably with their counterparts in the EU ….," said Ghanaian Professor Joseph Stiglitis, Nobel Economics laureate.
Faced with the pressures of globalization, many African countries have been forced to liberalize their agricultural markets as a precondition for borrowing from the World Bank and IMF. These markets have therefore been flooded with highly subsidized agricultural products from the EU and U.S. Cheap milk, meat, chicken, fish and tomatoes from the EU have kept African farmers off production. U.S subsidies to cotton farmers have also kept African cotton producers at bay. The EU´s fishing rights over African waters has thrown African fishermen into unemployment. Without any source of livelihood, these masses are permanently trapped below the poverty line where hunger blends with poverty to create a potent mix of indescribable suffering for millions.
It is true that the political atmosphere in Africa has a direct bearing on agricultural production. Conflicts of one kind or make farming impossible. In other cases, more energy is directed to the plundering of natural resources than in agriculture. Such chaotic situations play into the hands of war lords and power-greedy leaders who use food as a weapon against their own people. Attacks on food convoys in East Africa, the politicization of food distribution in Zimbabwe and the deliberate refusal to invest in agriculture by African leaders opens the doors to hunger. In famine-stricken areas of the continent, leaders prefer to wait for hand outs from the West instead of buying up available supplies to feed the starving masses. When this adds up to natural hazards (such as floods, droughts and storms) which are not infrequent in the continent, the result is plaguing hunger.
Japan´s revival agenda
Japan´s promise to assist in Africa´s agricultural revolution strikes at the core of a challenging problem. It marks a radical departure from the colonial-type constraints that have bedeviled agriculture in Africa for decades. Says Ramtanu Maitra, "Japan´s initiative to become involved in Africa to eradicate that food-short continent´s hunger, and make it food secure, poses a stiff challenge to the centuries-old policies imposed by the Anglo-European powers." Continues she, "That policy – to view Africa as a continent full of mineral resources and cheap labor – is still in practice today … and is the cause of Africa´s perpetual food shortage."
Maistra further sees the absence of infrastructure in Africa as a deliberate policy designed by the West to keep Africa begging. "The focus of that policy as it has always been, is to keep the African nations divided, bereft of physical infrastructure, preventing them from becoming agro-industrial, sovereign nation states and dependent on food from abroad. … An aspect of this policy was to make available, emergency food and financial aid, as crumbs from the table of the wealthier nations when the inevitable mass starvation hit."
Prime Minister Fukuda manifested considerable wisdom and foresight in identifying the core of Africa´s food crisis – the absence of (or inadequate) infrastructure. "In order to boost the momentum for African growth, the most important thing is the development of infrastructure," he said. And in the area of infrastructure, Japan is no new hand. One of the world´s most technologically advanced powers, Japan holds many promises for Africa. Her expertise in the construction of roads, railways, ports, harbors and houses have received universal acclaim. "With a wealth of agricultural experience, Japan is willing to cooperate with countries and international organizations to develop irrigation systems, improve the varieties of crops raised and foster workers in the field of agriculture…," Fukuda promised.
Still in the area of infrastructure, Fukuda laid out concrete plans to realize what he called "a peoples´ infrastructure" for Africa. He also pledged Japan´s help in completing the "unconnected road networks," and also to build shipping ports to provide "a network that will enable Africa as a whole to move forward." What gives credit to Fukuda´s diagnosis of the situation in Africa is his recognition of the fact that growth and development in Africa can be attained only through internal stimulation, even though with external assistance. This makes all the difference between his vision for Africa and the loud sounding but counterproductive reform policies of the IMF, World Bank and other western donors. And Fukuda struck the right chord when he touched on infrastructure.
Japan´s promise to increase rice production in Africa adds to a history of successes in this area. Africa currently accounts for about 30% of global rice imports. This is due largely to the increase in the size of urban populations which have departed from traditional staples. Also, rice is (or used to be) relatively cheaper than other staples, it I is readily available, is more palatable and easy to cook. The reduction in rice supplies from China and India has deprived Africans of this staple leading to a mad rise in its price. Japan´s goodwill gesture to reduce its 1.5 million tons of rice reserves to help some five hunger-stricken countries in Africa therefore comes as a welcome relief.
Japan´s efforts to increase rice production in Africa pre-date the TICAD 1V Summit. Rice strains developed with Japanese expertise are already widely consumed in Africa. An example is the New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a protein rich and pest-and disease resistant strain. This rice specie combines the best traits of Asian and African strains. This project is jointly sponsored by the Japanese government, the UN Development Program UNDP), the African development Bank (ADB), the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Rockefeller Foundation. From its experimental base in the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA), the project is moving from West to East Africa. Projected to increase rice harvests by 50%, this project fits neatly with Japan´s determination to eradicate hunger in Africa in ten years.
Conclusion
Strong diseases need strong medicines. Africa´s diseases are not incurable, but they definitely need very strong anti-dotes. These remedies must seek to address the political and economic problems in the continent, provide the climate of stability that is a pre-requisite for any form of development, be it agricultural or otherwise. Prime Minister Fukuda drew the right picture of Africa when he observed, "In order to fully ensure growth in Africa, the development of agriculture is extremely important, as about two-thirds of the population of Africa is engaged in it." This leaves us with the conclusion that any meaningful development in Africa must first address the problem of agriculture."
Bringing Japan´s technological prowess to resource-rich Africa is the beginning of a major revolution. Estimated to hold 40% of the world´s hydroelectric power, Africa still lags behind the rest of the world in electricity consumption. Power failures and blackouts are very frequent and electricity is costly and therefore unaffordable. Using advanced technology to provide cheap electricity can help increase the living standards of farmers and therefore stimulate micro projects at village levels such as poultry and animal husbandry to increases the protein intake of peasants and city dwellers. Africa is also in dire need of food preservation technologies to check the problem of waste. Since many crops, fruits and vegetables in Africa are seasonal and perishable, large quantities of these items end unconsumed and wasted. They cannot reach the city because of exorbitant costs of transportation due to bad roads and high fuel prices.
The Bible was not brought to Africa by Japan or any Asian power. It was brought by the Christian West. But these "lovers of God" have consistently neglected their duty to read that portion of the Holy Book which says "When I was hungry you gave me to eat…" If Japan translates its words into action, it would have done just that. It would also have laid the foundation for the eventual take-off of African growth in this century which Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda baptized as the "Century of African Growth."