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African Green Revolution
Africa, alone among all the major regions of the world, has yet to have its green revolution. Many experts argue that an African Green Revolution is essential for achieving food security in a continent that cannot rely on converting new land to agriculture. Africa is the only continent where food production per capita has fallen in the last four decades. Food yields per hectare in sub-Saharan Africa are the lowest in the world. Increased agricultural productivity and food production is the key to combating hunger and to enhance Africa's economic development in general.
Africa lagging behind In Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, a green revolution has tripled food productivity and helped lift hundreds of millions out of hunger. Africa has not yet had a green revolution of its own.
This is partly because the scientific breakthroughs that worked so well in Asia are not directly applicable to Africa south of the Sahara. African farmers produce a wide variety of food crops using diverse farming systems in different agro-ecological zones and depend largely on rain-fed agriculture rather than irrigation. This leaves them vulnerable to climatic shocks. They also face much higher transport costs and soils severely depleted of nutrients.
According to Josue Dione, Director of Sustainable Development Division (SDD) of the Economic Commission for Africa, this diversity means that different versions of Green Revolution must be designed to fit different African contexts: "However, the principles must be the same - scientifically valid, economically viable, environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and manageable by African farming communities."
Reviewing the potential of green revolution technologies in sub-Saharan Africa, the InterAcademy Council concluded in 2004 that a revolution similar to Asia's was unlikely to occur. "Rather than attempting to introduce changes across the whole region, sub-Saharan Africa requires a series of smaller 'rainbow evolutions' - smaller technological developments that respond to local farming systems. Africa's revolution cannot therefore be a green one, as important changes need to take place far from the farm."
Doubly Green Revolution Based on Asian experiences and today´s awareness, others argue for the need of a "doubly" green revolution - as a second transformation of agriculture. Among these are the former president of the Rockefeller Foundation, Gordon Conway, who in a book on the subject already in 1997, argued that a "doubly green" revolution that stresses conservation as well as productivity is needed.
Josue Dione underlines that an African Green Revolution needs to utilize existing green revolution best practices, successes and experiences with relevance to Africa. One such success is the high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of major African food crops like sorghum, millet, maize and cassava that have been developed. Another is the system of international agricultural research centers now working on many aspects of developing-country agriculture (the Future Harvest Centers that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research).
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