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Africa: Global Body Calls for More Investment in Agriculture Research
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The East African (Nairobi)
12 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Catherine Riungu
Nairobi
The world must invest now and in the long term in problem-solving agricultural research, the only solution to the growing food crisis, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has said.
The group said in a statement released last week that agriculture is now under stress, the effects of which are being felt from the poorest to the offices of presidents across the globe.
"World agriculture is suddenly under great stress. Prices of basic commodities are soaring. Food riots have spread across countries one after the other, like falling dominoes, causing political tremors felt in the offices of presidents," the statement said.
The poor, though, have felt the crisis the most, with basic foods having been the most affected. Wheat prices rose 120 per cent last year while rice rose 75 per cent and there is no indication that prices will come down soon.
"For poor families, it means the cost of a loaf of bread has almost doubled, and a two-kilogramme bag of rice may be half of the money a family earns in a day in some parts of the world. Now we are entering a period when we can expect to see higher food prices and more food price volatility overall."
This development requires that policy makers put together a comprehensive plan to ensure long-term food availability and security, as well as short-term relief.
The group says that evidence shows agriculture research will produce higher yielding crops to meet a common goal of greater farm productivity while conserving natural resources.
Such an approach has succeeded in the past. Investment in agriculture research has "paid off handsomely," delivering an average rate of return of 43 per cent in 700 projects evaluated in developing countries, according to the World Bank's World Development Report 2008.
The report states that CGIAR's investment in agricultural research, since its founding in 1971, has contributed about 5 per cent of today's food productivity. It has also seen developing countries produce at least 8 per cent more food and has saved about 15 million children from malnourishment.
The 15 centres sponsored by CGIAR have produced hundreds of examples showing how research greatly improved crop yields and people's lives. Across Eastern and Southern Africa, more than 50 varieties of drought-resistant maize varieties developed by the group's researchers are now being grown on roughly 1 million hectares, resulting in yield gains of up to 30 per cent over varieties they replace.
In Bangladesh, a flood-tolerant rice variety grown on six million hectares increases farmers' yields two to three times while also withstanding complete submergence for as long as two weeks.
Crops resilient to extreme weather volatility also provide solutions in adapting to climate change, which scientists estimate could cause agriculture production to drop by as much as 50 per cent in many African countries and by 30 per cent in Central and South Asia.
Farming systems are also helping to optimise agriculture production while conserving natural resources, a balance of growing importance as resources such as water and land become increasingly scarce.
For example, zero-till technology has generated benefits estimated at $147 million per year through higher crop yields, lower production costs and savings in water and energy. Agroforestry systems are strengthening soil fertility in Southern Africa, essential for increased productivity.
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In addition, advances in addressing pests and diseases are helping to avert potentially catastrophic crop losses.
Now, for instance, researchers are working to prevent the spread of a new form of wheat stem rust, Ug99, a devastating disease which has moved from Africa to the Middle East in the past few years, threatening one of the world's most important crops.
In sub-Saharan Africa, biological control of the cassava mealybug and green mite, both menacing pests to this root crop, has successfully staved off staggering losses of cassava, a crop vital for food security in that part of the world.
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