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Agri-tech can turn African Savannah into global food basket – African Development Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is championing a new regional and global effort to transform the African Savannah from a “Sleeping Giant” to the cradle of the continent’s green revolution.
“This sleeping giant needs to wake up,” the Bank’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Jennifer Blanke, told an audience at a 2018 World Food Prize side event in Des Moines, Iowa last week. Blanke described Africa’s nearly 400 million hectares of Savannah zones as “the world’s largest agricultural frontier,” and if a small fraction of that cultivatable land – some 16 million hectares – is transformed, it could well set Africa up to decrease dependence on food imports, feed itself and contribute to feeding the world.
Africa is host to 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but currently spends an estimated US$35 billion per year on importing food. This figure is projected to shoot up to US$110 billion by 2025. Africa is importing what it should actually be producing: 22 million metric tons of maize, two million metric tons of soybean, one million metric tons of broiler meat and 10 million metric tons of milk product each year. This situation is made worse when African countries export raw goods outside the continent to be processed into consumer products imported back into Africa for purchase. In essence, Africa is exporting jobs outside the continent, and contributing to Africa’s poverty challenges.
The African Development Bank has determined that the African Savannah can support the production of maize, soybean, and livestock, and transform the continent into a net exporter of these commodities. Only ten percent of the African Savannah is under cultivation – better utilized, small sections of Africa’s grasslands could provide direct jobs for tens of millions of young people and indirect jobs for many more.
Blanke, who spoke on behalf of African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, noted that all of Africa’s Savannah is more than twice as large as Brazil’s “Cerrados” that launched that country’s farming economy success. She said transforming a small part of Africa’s mixed woodland grasslands, in a smart and sustainable way, can produce enough to supply all the continent’s maize, soybean, and livestock requirements.
Brazil transformed its tropical Cerrados into a US$54 billion food industry within two decades through skillful development of production technologies for new crop and livestock varieties; innovative soil and crop management programs adapted to the tropics; wide-scale dissemination of new agricultural technologies; low interest loans, and ambitious rural development programs.
The Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation for the Savannahs (TAAT-S) initiative seeks to transform 16 million Ha out of Africa’s 400 million Ha of Savannah into an agribusiness hive for the production of maize, soybean, and livestock. That is just about four percent of the continent’s mixed woodland and grassland areas. If African countries can harness the available technologies with the right policies, they will rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers, as well as assure lower food prices for consumers.
Vice President Blanke led a Bank delegation selling the merits of its TAAT-S initiative at the World Food Prize gathering. The Bank’s TAAT-S session discussed training, innovation, entrepreneurship, and policy support for transformation of African Savannahs.
To ensure effective implementation, the Bank has looked to Brazil’s agri-business success story to engage with organizations with proven track record in tropical and conservation agriculture. These include the Brazilian Research Corporation and the Agricultural Corporation of Brazil, the Argentine Association of Zero-tillage, and the Argentine Agricultural Research Institute – all part of a systematic effort at technology introduction and adaptation.
TAAT-S was launched in October 2017 in Ghana and has since been operating in Zambia, Guinea and Gabon. The Bank expects to launch TAAT-S in Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Mozambique next year.
When TAAT-S is fully implemented, Africa can expect to double its maize production from a current 50 million metric tons per annum to 100 million metric tons, to triple soybean production from less than three million metric tons to nine million metric tons, and to double livestock production from 8.5 million metric tons to 16 million metric tons by 2025.
The TAAT-S session was part of Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium, held in conjunction with the World Food Prize Laureate Ceremony. The US$250,000 World Food Prize recognizes accomplishments of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. African Development Bank President Adesina is the 2017 World Food Prize laureate.
US car giant Ford on Wednesday announced 4,000 more job cuts in Europe, mostly in Germany and Britain, in the latest blow to the continent’s beleaguered car industry.
“The company has incurred significant losses in recent years,” Ford said in a statement, blaming “the industry shift to electrified vehicles and new competition”.
The move will affect 2,900 jobs in Germany, 800 in the UK and 300 in western Europe by the end of 2027, a Ford spokesman told AFP.
“It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe,” said Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice-president in the statement.
The company also said it was adjusting the production of its Explorer and Capri models, resulting in reduced hours at its Cologne plant in the first quarter of 2025.
Europe’s car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles and increased competition in key market China.
Germany’s Volkswagen has been among those hardest hit, announcing in September that it was considering the unprecedented move of closing some factories in Germany.
“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation,” Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said at the time.
Ford had already announced in February 2023 that it was planning to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, including 2,300 in Germany and 1,300 in Britain.
The company said then it was planning to reduce the number of models developed for Europe, concentrate on the profitable van segment and speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
Ford currently has around 28,000 employees in Europe with 15,000 in Germany, according to the company’s works council.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, and the removal of the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, and Registrar, Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike.
The council, chaired by Ambassador Greg Ozumba Mbadiwe, comprised five other members: Hafiz Oladejo, Augustine Onyedebelu, Engr. Amioleran Osahon, and Rtd. Gen. Funsho Oyeneyin.
A statement released on Wednesday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, revealed that the council was dissolved following reports of procedural violations in appointing the vice-chancellor.
According to the statement, the council had allegedly appointed an unqualified candidate, disregarding due process, which triggered tensions between the university’s Senate and the council.
The Federal Government expressed dismay over the council’s actions, emphasizing the need for adherence to the university’s governing laws in decision-making.
“The council’s disregard for established rules necessitated the government’s intervention to restore order to the 33-year-old institution,” the statement noted.
In a related development, President Tinubu also approved the dismissal of Engr. Ohieku Muhammed Salami, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Benue State.
Salami was accused of suspending the university’s Vice-Chancellor without following the prescribed procedures, a move the Federal Ministry of Education had previously directed him to reverse.
Despite the Ministry’s directives, Salami reportedly refused to comply and resorted to issuing threats and abusive remarks towards the Ministry’s officials, including the Permanent Secretary.
The Federal Government reiterated that the primary role of university councils is to ensure the smooth operation of academic activities, strictly adhering to the laws establishing each institution.
Tinubu warned university councils against engaging in actions that could destabilize their institutions, as his administration remains committed to enhancing the nation’s education system.
The Ekiti State Government has reached an agreement with labour leaders in the state, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage approved by the Federal Government.
Addressing journalists at a brief ceremony in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, the Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Folakemi Olomojobi, announced that the payment would commence immediately.
She lauded Governor Biodun Oyebanji for prioritizing the welfare of workers despite the state’s limited resources.
“This development demonstrates the governor’s commitment to improving the livelihood of our workers,” Dr. Olomojobi stated, highlighting the proactive measures taken by the administration to ensure prompt implementation.
In their remarks, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Chairman, Comrade Sola Adigun, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Comrade Olatunde Kolapo, expressed their appreciation to Governor Oyebanji for fulfilling his promises to workers.
They confirmed that the new minimum wage would apply to all cadres, including employees in ministries, parastatals, agencies, and pensioners.
The Chairman of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), Comrade Femi Ajoloko, described the implementation as a fair and commendable adjustment.
“This decision reflects the governor’s magnanimity and his dedication to fostering a productive workforce in Ekiti State,” he said.
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