Major Group: Business & Industry
Madame Chair, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Today African countries are facing major challenges in the wake of the food
and financial crisis, but also have the opportunity to effect important
changes. Agriculture is one of the main engines of growth in Africa. It is
important that it remains at the top of the priority agenda. African
agriculture is mostly made of millions of smallholders, in particular women,
who should be at the center of policy making.
Business and Industry is calling for improvements to be made in 3 specific
areas of action: Access to inputs and markets; access to training and
knowledge; strengthening and capacity building of the private sector and
small entrepreneurs.
Farmers need better access to inputs to increase their productivity, minimize
losses and raise the quality of their produce. Although we do not have
specific data on Africa, the World Bank estimates that in India, fruit and
vegetable post harvest losses amount to 40% of total production, or the
equivalent of one year of fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK.
But African farmers, workers, retailers, and agro-industries need access to
better infrastructure, such as storage, transport and physical market facilities
to be able to sell their products ad to reduce losses. One particular obstacle
for farmers seeking to access markets is the lack of market and price
information. Initiatives which have pioneered the use of cell phones to help
farmers access market information, should be replicated and scaled up. For
example, Senegalese company Manobi successfully partnered with cell phone
provider Sonatel to develop a platform which enables its users to receive
price information via text messages as daily updates and to make further
request for additional information if needed.
Continued progress needs to be made with regards to access to training and
knowledge. In particular, increased access to integrated crop management
training, through better public-private partnerships is essential. The plant
science industry is heavily involved in providing access to training and
conducts annual programs to reach African farmers. In 2007, CropLife
Madagascar partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture to broadcast a series
of safe use training radio programs for farmers, reaching 2 million farmers.
Globally, over 350,000 stakeholders are trained in IPM.
To provide truly long term opportunities however, we must strengthen the
private sector and entrepreneurs along the value chain. They constitute the
future of agriculture and we must work through partnerships to equip them
with the tools and knowledge they need to become economic actors in their
communities.
This statement supports the principle expressed in our policy document,
Farming First.
Thank you.
Farming First
Safeguarding natural resources - furthering widespread adoption of
sustainable practices of water and land use, such as conservation technology.
Sharing knowledge - while much knowledge to improve global agriculture
already exists it often does not reach those farmers who could benefit most.
Programs like village-based knowledge centre help.
Building local access - fundamental resources should be available to
farmers to help them manage their production process more reliably,
including mechanical tools, seed, fertilizer, and crop protection.
Protecting harvest - in many of the poorest countries, 20-40% of crop
yields are lost because of inadequate pre- and post-harvest support.
Likewise, vast quantities of food are squandered during production and
consumption phases of the food chain.
Enable access to markets - farmers need to be able to get their products
to market and receive equitable price treatment when they do by getting
information like up-to-date market pricing even in remote areas.
Prioritise research imperatives - achieving sustainable agriculture
requires intensified, continuous research, prioritising locally relevant crops,
stewardship techniques, and adaptation to climate change.
Today African countries are facing major challenges in the wake of the food
and financial crisis, but also have the opportunity to effect important
changes. Agriculture is one of the main engines of growth in Africa. It is
important that it remains at the top of the priority agenda. African
agriculture is mostly made of millions of smallholders, in particular women,
who should be at the center of policy making.
Business and Industry is calling for improvements to be made in 3 specific
areas of action: Access to inputs and markets; access to training and
knowledge; strengthening and capacity building of the private sector and
small entrepreneurs.
Farmers need better access to inputs to increase their productivity, minimize
losses and raise the quality of their produce. Although we do not have
specific data on Africa, the World Bank estimates that in India, fruit and
vegetable post harvest losses amount to 40% of total production, or the
equivalent of one year of fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK.
But African farmers, workers, retailers, and agro-industries need access to
better infrastructure, such as storage, transport and physical market facilities
to be able to sell their products ad to reduce losses. One particular obstacle
for farmers seeking to access markets is the lack of market and price
information. Initiatives which have pioneered the use of cell phones to help
farmers access market information, should be replicated and scaled up. For
example, Senegalese company Manobi successfully partnered with cell phone
provider Sonatel to develop a platform which enables its users to receive
price information via text messages as daily updates and to make further
request for additional information if needed.
Continued progress needs to be made with regards to access to training and
knowledge. In particular, increased access to integrated crop management
training, through better public-private partnerships is essential. The plant
science industry is heavily involved in providing access to training and
conducts annual programs to reach African farmers. In 2007, CropLife
Madagascar partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture to broadcast a series
of safe use training radio programs for farmers, reaching 2 million farmers.
Globally, over 350,000 stakeholders are trained in IPM.
To provide truly long term opportunities however, we must strengthen the
private sector and entrepreneurs along the value chain. They constitute the
future of agriculture and we must work through partnerships to equip them
with the tools and knowledge they need to become economic actors in their
communities.
This statement supports the principle expressed in our policy document,
Farming First.
Thank you.
Farming First
Safeguarding natural resources - furthering widespread adoption of
sustainable practices of water and land use, such as conservation technology.
Sharing knowledge - while much knowledge to improve global agriculture
already exists it often does not reach those farmers who could benefit most.
Programs like village-based knowledge centre help.
Building local access - fundamental resources should be available to
farmers to help them manage their production process more reliably,
including mechanical tools, seed, fertilizer, and crop protection.
Protecting harvest - in many of the poorest countries, 20-40% of crop
yields are lost because of inadequate pre- and post-harvest support.
Likewise, vast quantities of food are squandered during production and
consumption phases of the food chain.
Enable access to markets - farmers need to be able to get their products
to market and receive equitable price treatment when they do by getting
information like up-to-date market pricing even in remote areas.
Prioritise research imperatives - achieving sustainable agriculture
requires intensified, continuous research, prioritising locally relevant crops,
stewardship techniques, and adaptation to climate change.