saharan

Washington, DC

World Bank calls for agricultural renewal, focus on productivity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

The latest World Development Report calls for greater investment in agriculture in Africa and warns that the sector must be placed at the center of the Region's development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized.


Titled "Agriculture for Development", the report says the need for action is especially urgent in Sub- Saharan Africa, where agricultural productivity growth has lagged behind other regions. Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa employs 65 percent of the labor force and generates 32 percent of GDP growth.

"In Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 229 million extremely poor rural people, agriculture is about much more than simple food security," said Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President. "A greater focus on agriculture will help boost overall economic growth and can offer multiple pathways out of poverty."

According to the report, the share of official development assistance going to agriculture in developing countries is a mere 4 percent. This is also the same insufficient share that governments in Sub-Saharan Africa spend from their budgets on agriculture" far short of the 11-14 percent share of national budgets invested in agriculture that fueled the Asian green revolutions.

The report calls for an "agriculture for development" agenda for Africa that will improve the investment climate as well as make optimal use of markets, technology, sustainable water and soil management, and institutional services. In addition, countries must deliver on issues such as a level playing field for trade, while farmer organizations and other local groups need more say in setting policies.

According to the WDR, for the poorest people, GDP growth originating in agriculture is about four times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth originating outside the sector.

It cites the example of smallholders successfully producing crops for export markets, such as coffee, cotton and green beans. With rapid population growth and urbanization, it says demand for local food staples and livestock products is growing fast, offering expanding market opportunities.

"African agricultural growth increased from 2.3 percent in the 1980s, to 3.3 percent on average in the 1990s, to 3.8 percent annually from 2000 to 2005.

Rural poverty rates have started to decline in 10 of the 13 countries for which data were analyzed,? said Francois Bourguignon, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics. "Further accelerating and sustaining this growth is needed if key development goals are to be met."

The report says demand for food in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double by 2015 from its level in 2000. But food markets in the region already do not serve millions of people adequately, especially those in remote areas with poor infrastructure: More needs to be done.

For its part, the World Bank is committed to increasing its support for agriculture and rural development, following a decline in lending in the 1980s and 1990s. Commitments averaged $2.9 billion per annum during FY05-07, equivalent to 12 percent of overall Bank commitments during that period. In FY07 total commitments reached $3.1 billion, of which $580.5 million were directed to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Detailed findings

While agriculture in Africa holds promise, the report says current challenges are daunting and require new roles for the state, the private sector, and civil society; a new mix of centralized and decentralized services to serve rural people; and improved coordination among such entities as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, a wide range of development partners and non-governmental organizations, regional organizations and national governments.

The agriculture for development agenda also requires rich countries to amend policies that harm the poor. For example, it is vital that the rich countries reduce subsidies that hinder African cotton exports. And the report says rich countries that have been the major contributors to global warming urgently need to do more to help poor farmers to adapt to climate change.

"Africa's own agricultural revolution must cater to very diverse rain-fed farming systems and simultaneously improve technologies, institutions, and markets," said Alain de Janvry, Co-Team leader of the report and professor of agricultural economics at UC Berkeley. He cited irrigation in Nigeria (small scale) and Mali (large scale), multiple uses for cassava in West Africa, cotton in Zambia, and horticulture and dairy in Kenya as good examples of local successes which can be scaled up.

Relevant Links

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"Today, environmentally friendly technologies like conservation tillage, integrated pest management, and new varieties such as 'Nerica' rice (known as New Rice for Africa) hold promise. Science and technology are a lynchpin to Africa's future productivity growth" said Derek Byerlee, Co-Team leader of the report.

According to the authors, beyond agriculture, greater geographic mobility and improved skills are central to reducing rural poverty in Africa. Because of HIV/AIDS and malaria, better health care and education must be an integral part of a broader set of safety nets that protect the assets of poor people.
Sub-Saharan Africa
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A political map showing national divisions in relation to the ecological break (Sub-Saharan Africa in green)
A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan areaSub-Saharan Africa is the term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara desert. Geographically, the demarcation line is the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.

Since around 4,000 years before present[1], the north and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River. The peoples south of the Sahara (excluding the Nile Valley) developed in relative isolation from the rest of the world. The modern term sub-Saharan corresponds with the standard representation of North as above and South as below. Tropical Africa and Equatorial Africa are alternative modern labels, used for the distinctive ecology of the region. However, if strictly applied, this term would exclude South Africa, most of which lies outside the Tropics.

Contents
1 History
2 Critique of the term
3 Economies
4 Health care
5 Nations of sub-Saharan Africa
5.1 Central Africa
5.2 East Africa
5.3 Southern Africa
5.4 West Africa
5.5 Island nations
6 Notes
7 External links
8 Political maps of Sub-Saharan Africa



[edit] History
In 19th Century Europe and the Western world, the area was sometimes referred to as "Black Africa." This was partly due to the skin color of its inhabitants and partly because much of it had not been fully mapped or explored by Westerners. Some object to the usage of the term, such as cultural writer and filmmaker Owen 'Alik Shahadah.


[edit] Critique of the term

The G8's Greater Middle East includes Sub-Saharan African countriesSome object to the usage of the term and see it is as misleading and a racist colonial way of viewing Africa. [2][3][4][5] Academic and cultural writer Owen 'Alik Shahadah states "...This barrier of sand hence confined Africans to the bottom of this make-believe location, which exists neither linguistically, ethnically, politically or physically...Somalia and Djibouti are part of the same political Islamic alignment just like many so-called Arab countries." (See Arab League). Others such as P. Godfrey Okoth, Department of History University of California, states that European travelers and geographers created the concept of "two Africa's," sets up the removal of African contribution to world civilization.[5][2]

[edit] Economies
Generally, sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world, suffering from the effects of economic mismanagement, local corruption, inter-ethnic conflict and the legacy of colonialism and slavery. The region contains many of the least developed countries in the world. (See Economy of Africa.) Sub-Saharan Africa, especially East Africa, is regarded by some geneticists as being the birthplace of the human race (the genus Homo). Mitochondrial Eve, from whom all humans alive are descended, is thought to have lived in present day Ethiopia or Tanzania. Sub-Saharan Africa has been the site of many empires and kingdoms, including the Axum, Wagadu (Ghana Empire), Mali, Nok, Songhai, Kanem, Bornu, Benin and Great Zimbabwe.

Up to and including October 2006 many governments face difficulties in implementing policies aimed at mitigating the effects of the AIDS-pandemic due to lack of technical support despite a number of mitigating measures. [1]

The population of sub-Saharan Africa was 750 million in 2005. [2]


[edit] Health care
In 1987, Bamako was the location of a WHO conference known as the Bamako Initiative that helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa.[6] The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.[7][8]


[edit] Nations of sub-Saharan Africa
There are 42 countries located on the sub-Saharan African mainland and 6 island nations. According to this classification scheme, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa are:



Togo

[edit] Island nations
Cape Verde (West Africa)
Comoros (Southern Africa)
Madagascar (Southern Africa)
Mauritius (Southern Africa)
S?o Tomé and Príncipe (West Africa)
Seychelles (East Africa)
Territories

Mayotte (France)
Réunion (France)
Socotra (Yemen)
Saint Helena and Ascension (UK)

^ a b Shahadah, Owen 'Alik, Linguistics for a new African reality, first published at the Cheikh Anta Diop conference in 2005, retrieved July 15, 2007
^ Nehusi, Kimani, Mental Enslavement, From Medew Netjer to Ebonics, retrieved July 17, 2007
^ Muhammad, Andrew, Andrew Muhammad, chapter Hidden History, Free Your Mind, retrieved July 15, 2007
^ a b Okoth, P. Godfrey The Truman Administration and the Decolonization of Sub-Saharan Africa Journal of Third World Studies, retrieved July 15, 2007: The idea of "Sub-Saharan Africa," is, therefore, 'a myth or misleading. It cannot be accepted as it tantamount to the balkanization of Africa, thereby denying Africa its rightful role in contributing to world civilization
^ User fees for health: a background. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
^ Implementation of the Bamako Initiative: strategies in Benin and Guinea. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
^ Manageable Bamako Initiative schemes. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.