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East Africa: EAC - Avert Food Crisis
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East African Business Week (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Rising food prices has been the buzzword all over the world. Reports show that global food prices have doubled in the last three years, and the cereal bill for low-income food-deficit countries in Africa is projected to increase another 74% this year.
Information available shows that in the in sub-Saharan Africa alone, 33 million children are malnourished.
With Africa's own food production tragically low, the continent remains dependent on food imports and food aid.
Just this week World Bank chief, Robert Zoellick, warned that 100 million people have already been pushed into poverty due to the man-made food crisis and another two billion are in dire straits the verge of disaster.
"This is not a natural disaster," said Zoellick the World Bank. "Make no mistake; there is nothing natural about this. But for millions of people it is a disaster."
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that if this situation is not checked insecurity is bound to escalate and like the recent riots in Egypt, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti. The WFP has characterised this as the 'Silent Tsunami' warning this may lead to potential catastrophe.
Back home in East Africa in 2005-6, the region witnessed a drought where hundreds of peasants lived on food aid.
Fortunately, the East African Community (EAC) has within its mandate a strategy for food security.
According to an EAC Secretariat report produced in 2006, the partner states adopted and signed instruments in the development of agriculture and attainment of food security.
The Secretariat and the regional parliament (EALA) should look into laws that will ensure practical solutions to avert future crises.
Programmes that will encourage family gardens and the provision of small scale livestock to diversify and improve diet,
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Empowering farmers by training and providing them with the tools to increase crop yields, improve grain storage capacity and irrigation techniques and increase their access to markets.
Encourage projects that improve family income levels by promoting greater commercial enterprise. Improve rural infrastructure and accessibility like roads and water transport to access markets and better income. We need to take advantage of the mushrooming information channels like the FM stations and local newspapers, religious worship centers, teach this curriculum in schools amoung other strategies.
With its vast land and fertile soils, the region is arguably the bread basket of Africa.
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