Etim Imisim
2 June 2008
The current global food crisis which has sparked grave unrest with long lines of demonstrators taking to the streets and a situation where the people's basic needs are not met, has attracted the attention of ECOWAS and the Pan African parliamentarians. In a recent meeting in Abuja, they resolved to fight crisis.
The first ordinary session of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament for 2008 ended in Abuja last weekend with a call for an "offensive" to be launched against food insecurity in the region. The speaker, Niger's Mahamane Ousmane, first raised the issue of the looming world food crisis during the opening ceremony of the session, and the sub-region's particular vulnerability, in the face of scarcity. According to him, he was "apprehensive" in the last several months when riots were reported in a number of ECOWAS countries on the account of the food situation. "The situation is widespread," the speaker said, "and has sparked grave unrest with long lines of demonstrators taking to the streets. A situation where the people's basic needs are not met concerns all of us."
The President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas next presented a report in which he said that agricultural production had not been factored into structural adjustment programmes of member countries in the past, and that the present global food crisis was causing shock that was capable of having "severe" socio-economic implications for the region. He spoke of the origin of the crisis, and said land was being diverted from food crops to bio-fuel production. The costs of energy and fertilizer have been on the increase while drought was wrecking havoc in Australia and flooding in Bangladesh and other places. In addition, the emerging economies of China, India and those of the Middle East were increasing their demands for food.
The food crisis came up in various plenary sessions and in the reports of a number of committees, especially the committee on agriculture, environment, water resources and rural development. The final resolutions of parliamentarians called on member states to honour the commitments they freely entered into in Maputo. The session of ECOWAS parliamentary took place May 13 to 24, 2008. The ninth ordinary session of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, which held May 5-16, also spent a considerable time debating the food crisis in Africa. The continental parliamentarians took the same position as their sub-regional counterparts in West Africa as members highlighted the role of political leaderships, past and present, as a factor in the food crisis "in which we now find ourselves. In the context of the African continent, there was consensus that African governments must be held accountable to their own commitments such as the AU's Maputo decision in 2003", said a statement from PAP President, Dr. Gertrude Mongella.
The Maputo document requires national governments to ensure that not less than 10 per cent of their national budgets are allocated towards the development of the agricultural sector. This is contrary to current average public spending for farming in the region, which is a mere four per cent of total government spending. ECOWAS seeks, as does the African Union, to achieve a six per cent annual growth in food production.
As reported by THISDAY, an alarm was sounded May 8, at the continental parliament over the global food crisis when a member asked Africans in the assembly to find lasting solutions to the crippling challenge of food poverty in the continent. Hon. Athumani Janguo, the acting chairperson of PAP's permanent committee on agriculture, rural economy, natural Resources and environment, said that parliament should persuade African heads of state, regional economic communities, non-governmental organisations and the international community to get to the root causes of the problem and address them. Africa was most at risk in the worsening global food situation, the MP said. The crisis is likely to worsen malnutrition and HIV/AIDS as well as increase crime and violence in Africa, he explained. Like Speaker Ousmane noted in Abuja, riots over rising food prices in a number of countries in the continent is very worrisome. According to agency reports, troops fired at similarly protesting crowds the previous week in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, killing two.
Famine has been on in the continent for five years, Janguo added. Around 30 million citizens, most of them women and children have suffered hunger, starvation, and even death. The Horn of Africa and some Southern African countries, including Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, are the hardest hit. He observed that Africa suffers from chronic food shortages despite the continent's vast arable land. His presentation cited inappropriate government agricultural policies as the major contributing factors to Africa's food crisis. Others are poverty, outdated farming methods, climate change, vermin invasions, land exhaustion, overgrazing and poor infrastructure.
The MP asked his colleagues to encourage their countries tackle the problem. According to him, 50 per cent of Africa's food crises are caused by internal and cross-border conflicts which displace millions of people. Other major factors he cited include inappropriate government policies, poverty, outdated farming methods, climate change, land exhaustion, overgrazing and poor infrastructure. The African parliamentarians in Midrand, Johannesburg, also welcomed the news that the United Nations had decided to debate the food crisis in the continent and invited the head of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as a resource person at Janguo's presentation. "The PAP considers the matter so serious that it requested Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to report to the Parliament on information at his disposal," Mongella said.
Responding to questions, Modibo Traore, assistant director-general and regional representative for Africa of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), who addressed the PAP session, said the organisation could recommend but was not in a position to force African governments to invest in agriculture. The UN agency had allocated $17 million as food emergency package and agriculture support for 20 African countries, he added.
The points raised by Traore were the same as what the plenary session of ECOWAS discussed and adopted. Before passing their resolutions, the West African parliamentarians recalled "the failure to honour regional and continental commitments, notably those regarding the development of the rural sector" under the MDGs, NEPAD, Maputo and ECOWAS agriculture programme. The law makers noted that agriculture is the tool and strategy for poverty reduction in West Africa. The sub-region has "abundant useable land and water resources," a market of 255million consumers, and therefore enormous potentials for growth.
The sub-regional parliamentarians went on to recommend, amongst other measures, that the region should consider consuming what it produces. Massive investment was to be directed at the agriculture sector and emphasis placed on food processing and the manufacture of fertilizer, where the raw materials are found. Further more, a financial support would also be required for emergency measures and special fund created to reduce hunger.
Members also wanted a review of bilateral and multilateral agreements the region had entered into that may hinder productivity in the agricultural sector. The development of a regional market should be pursued vigorously and an appropriate CET adopted as an instrument to protect products made in the sub-region. One of the resolutions was an expectation that the Economic Partnership Agreement, which the sub-region is entering into with the European Union, should be an instrument for development, but expressed concern that the current stage of negotiations does not show that the expectation may be met.
The recommendations of last week followed an earlier policy deliberation of ECOWAS Commission and the committee on agriculture, environment, water resources and rural of ECOWAS parliament. The president of the commission had written the speaker last November to seek the opinion of the leader of parliament on the commission's programmes and policies relating to agriculture and the environment.
The focus of the subsequent interactions between the legislature and the executive arms of ECOWAS sought to clarify systemic issues. The multitude of agencies and operators often hamper the implementation of policies. Sources of concern to the law makers therefore were three elements of strategy to deliver the policies. These were the reorganisation and the strengthening of institutions; mobilisation of financial resources; and the crucial role of monitoring and evaluation - needed clarification.
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