Africa’s agricultural productivity has grown in recent decades, but more progress needs to be made to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and create lasting economic growth, experts agreed at the TIME Impact Dinner on Wednesday Sep. 2 in Kigali, Rwanda. Moderated by TIME senior correspondent Justin Worland, leaders in agriculture, climate, and development discussed the progress that has been made in growing Africa’s agricultural productivity and the work that still remains. A report released this week from AGRA, an African-led institution focused on scaling agricultural innovations for smallholder farmers and the event sponsor, shows that Africa’s farm output has roughly doubled in the last 20 years.
Yet despite meaningful investments, not enough has been done to ensure that gains are not siloed, says Ismahane Elouafi, executive managing director of CGIAR, the world's largest, publicly-funded agrifood research network. Agriculture is central to Africa’s economy, contributing 20% to GDP and employing over 60% of the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum. That, coupled with a rising population that is expected to represent 25% of the global workforce by 2050, could present a new avenue for growth in Africa, Kingsley notes.
"It's a huge opportunity if you make [the workforce] agri-food system skilled." Yet strengthening the food system can only happen if the needs of smallholder farmers are taken into account, says Temiyeoluwa Alabi, head of corporate communications at ThriveAgric, which connects smallholder farmers across Africa to financing, support, and markets. It's supposed to actually look at how it's addressing the realities on the ground and what exactly the farmer is doing on the ground.” Success must be measured in different ways—beyond a farmer’s yield, Wathuti notes. How are we strengthening the farmers and ensuring that the farmers actually have more security?” she says.
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