PARTNERSHIP TO CUT HUNGER IN AFRICA CONFERENCE
Address by Dr. Otim, Special Advisor on Agricultural and Veterinary Services to President Musevini of Uganda
Perspective of African Consultation Coordinator
After listening to messages from President Carter and the speech by McPherson and the elegant presentation by my colleague Dr. Adesina, I am greatly encouraged. But let me give you the perspective to underscore what has been said from the point of view of the National Coordinators. It is an honour for me to have been requested to speak by my colleagues and National Coordinators from their African countries represented at this Partnership meeting, namely Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Ghana and Uganda, to present our perspectives on the new U.S./Africa partnership to cut hunger and poverty in Africa.
I’d like to first thank Dr. Jerome Wolgin of the World Bank who was commissioned by the Partnership to prepare the discussion paper. His independent analysis of the critical determinants of poverty and hunger in Africa laid the foundation for the constructive dialogue and extensive consultation between the U.S. and African partners. These broad consultations lead to several revisions of the paper and have provided us with a strategic framework to inform the development of an actual plan for reducing hunger and poverty in Africa, which we will be discussing at this partnership conference.
A synthesis of insights, comments, and suggestions of key African reviewers of the partnership document clearly identify elements of agreement and concern. The major elements of arguments are:
- Agriculture must be an important engine for economic growth.
- Expanded markets and trade opportunities for Africa is critical for long-term effort to cut hunger, reduce poverty and expand broad-base economic growth.
- Good governance, especially the building of local government capacity, are vital for effective rural base strategy for cutting hunger and poverty in Africa.
African reviewers, however, express some areas of concern regarding the draft strategy to cut hunger and poverty in Africa. They are:
- The limited capacity of African countries to participate in globalization, including the use of bio-technology.
- Need to integrate agriculture-base strategy with improvement in key social services.
- The need to review micro-finance as a complement, not as a substitute for rural development.
- Omission of the role of non-crop production in agriculture, such as livestock and fisheries.
- A lack of clear approach on water resources for irrigation, especially in dry-land areas.
- The lack of attention to the fertilizer challenge that faces Africa. It was found that unless there’s a major effort to improve access for farmers to fertilizer, there would be very limited scope for significant reduction in hunger and poverty by the agricultural sector.
Let me emphasize that we believe the time is right for accelerated effort to achieve the above noble goals. The five key reasons to support this plan, some have already been mentioned, but let me repeat for emphasis.
- With the end of the Cold War, the political contents have changed for the better in the U.S. and Africa, so U.S. assistance can now be directed to Africa based on objective criteria rather than political alliance.
- Most African countries, especially the ones represented at this Partnership conference, have dramatically reformed their economies and policies and the number of independent single organizations have increased, giving the citizens a voice in the governance of their respective countries.
- Many African governments now recognize that accelerating rural and agricultural growth is a critical strategy for achieving rapid poverty and hunger reduction.
- The African governments also know that hunger and poverty are crudely linked to other critical in rural and urban areas, which include HIV/AIDS, inadequate education, limited opportunities for women and youths, and environmental degradation.
- Globalization and advances in science, communication and information technology offers opportunity for trade, capital and labour mobility and use of yield-increasing technology in Africa.
Above all, the U.S. is acutely aware that widespread hunger and poverty in Africa has stimulated conflicts within individual countries across Africa. This has led the U.S. and other developed countries to heavily spend money through funding of the international peace-keeping forces and aid for refugees. Indeed, it is expected that the annual cost of UN peacekeeping in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo alone will total $646,000,000 U.S. dollar in the year 2000-2001. Equivalent to nearly 60% of all U.S. foreign development assistance, including food aid requested for Africa in the financial year 2001 in the U.S. budget. This is the time to address these challenges by focusing squarely on agricultural development to provide a broad-based economic growth for long-term deduction in hunger and poverty. The new strategy for the U.S./Africa partnership to cut hunger and poverty in Africa provides such opportunities. Let us overcome and put behind us the only image Africa is a continent categorized by conflicts and dictatorial regimes with no hope.
In the past 15 years, many countries have made good progress, due to good and committed political leadership. The presence of our Heads of States and high political echelons of our people at this meeting spared by the excellent leadership of his Excellency, the President Konaré of Mali, is a clear testimony that there is a political wind and commitment for change. Commitment for a change that will see agriculture as the prime engine for broad-based growth to substantially cut hunger and poverty in Africa.
When one talks about democratization, let us be reminded that throughout human history, no sustainable democracy has ever been built on empty stomachs. So we ask the U.S. government to give a chance to agricultural development and as the key for the long-term reduction in hunger and poverty, as well as a broad-base economic growth of Africa. If we vote in agriculture this time around, it will deliver the goods because the time around the economic and political environment are conducive.
In conclusion, the National Coordinators of the Washington Declaration on the Partnership to cut hunger and poverty in Africa that it should not be allowed to become "business as usual." We expect major and significant change. The U.S. should lead by example, and help to shape agenda by showing the world that helping Africa develop its agriculture is the best way out of hunger, poverty and slow economic growth and development. By so doing, millions of our people will be empowered. We also feel that a one-size-fits-all strategy will not work. There is need to appreciate and be sensitive to the diversity of culture across the continent which will be an important component of success on the ground.
Thank you. God bless you.
