Following the recent African Food Summit in Nairobi, CGTN Africa interviewed Dr Enock Chikava, the Interim Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Agricultural Development Unit. The conversation focused on assessing the impact of climate issues on agriculture and the pertinent measures currently engaged by CGIAR and national agencies to mitigate the pending food crisis in the African region.
As the temperature in Africa is projected to rise faster than the global average, many sub-Saharan countries will experience an average temperature rise of 2 degrees from 2025 to 2040. Responding to how this temperature rise will affect yield, Chivaka said, “African countries are already experiencing a yield reduction and may even see yield decimated further without funding for sustainable research to mitigate foreseen food crises. When productivity at the global level reduced to 20% from 1961 to 2015, Africa experienced a 40% decrease.” This calls for intensive intervention in the African climes, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation commits to increasing productivity despite drought, pests, and diseases to focus on innovations of Africa’s indigenous crops.
Chikava emphasized the need for African countries to focus on indigenous crops, such as sorghum, millet, cassava, maize, wheat, and sweet potatoes. He emphasized the need for Africa to bolster research into indigenous African foods, as the Gates Foundation does through the CGIAR systems. The Russia-Ukraine war is an example where food shortages reverberated because of Africa’s import dependence.
“The governments of Africa should put more money into research and development in crops that serve as food for every nation rather than focus on ‘dessert foods’ for other countries. Eating what you don’t produce and producing what you don’t eat is perilous,” Chikava said. Africa should eat what they produce and produce what they eat.
Regarding access to drought-resistant and improved seeds for farmers, Chikava said the improved seeds developed by IITA-CGIAR and other CGIAR centers are in the public domain. The CGIAR and the agricultural research agencies work together in every African nation to ensure the innovations they develop get to smallholder farmers. The agricultural research agencies also boost policies to fast-track their adoption.
Responding to what two adaptation strategies African countries should focus on with limited resources, Chikava said Africa should invest in innovations for crops and livestock. Secondly, Africa should focus on rehabilitating its degraded soils. Focusing on soil health is another way to ensure productivity when temperatures increase and the rains recede. He said the cost of understanding Africa’s soil has reduced by 97% through the work of the Gates Foundation in the last ten years.
Farmers no longer have to try and fail at identifying suitable crops for suitable soil types. Every country can do a digital survey and get over 20 characteristics of its soil. Furthermore, the soils4Africa project, under the Soil Management Unit of CGIAR, is currently developing a soil information system for continental Africa for soil quality monitoring of agricultural land across Africa. Governments then need to incorporate these innovations in policies for adoption and scaling.
Contributed by: Folake Oduntan
Story reference links:
Technological innovations for improving cassava production in sub-Saharan Africa
IITA advances innovation in the EBS Maize Breeding Program to enhance food-secure solutions
Q & A: A decade of improved and climate-smart maize through collaborative research and innovation.
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