The African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) Board of Directors on Friday approved a $1.5 billion facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis.
Apparently aimed at mitigating the impacts of the disruption of food supplies arising from the Russia-Ukraine war in Africa, the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility, which is a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years, is an unprecedented comprehensive initiative to support smallholder farmers in filling the food shortfall in the continent.
According to a news report by Africa Press Organisation (APO) Group circulated on behalf of the bank, the African Emergency Food Production Facility is projected to provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds, increase access to agricultural fertilizers and enable them to rapidly produce 38 million tons of food.
Speaking on the funding support for African smallholder farmers, the AfDB Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said: “Food aid cannot feed Africa. Africa does not need bowls in hand. Africa needs seeds in the ground, and mechanical harvesters to harvest bountiful food produced locally. Africa will feed itself with pride for there is no dignity in begging for food.”
The African Emergency Food Production Facility has benefited from stakeholder consultations, including those with fertilizer producers and separately with African Union agriculture and finance ministers earlier this month.
The ministers agreed to implement reforms to address the systemic hurdles that prevent modern input markets from performing effectively.
The African Development Bank’s $1.5 billion strategy will lead to the production of 11 million tons of wheat; 18 million tons of maize; 6 million tons of rice; and 2.5 million tons of soybeans as the facility will provide 20 million farmers with certified seeds, fertilizer, and extension services and also support market growth and post-harvest management.
In addition, the facility will also create a platform to advocate for critical policy reforms to solve the structural issues that impede farmers from receiving modern inputs. This includes strengthening national institutions overseeing input markets.
The facility has a structure for working with multilateral development partners. This will ensure rapid alignment and implementation, enhanced reach, and effective impact. It will increase technical preparedness and responsiveness. In addition, it includes short, medium, and long-term measures to address both the urgent food crisis and the long-term sustainability and resilience of Africa’s food systems.
Commenting on the facility, AfDB’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford, said: “The Africa Emergency Food Production Facility builds on lessons learned from the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Response to Covid-19 programme.
“That programme has provided a strategic roadmap to support Africa’s agriculture sector and safeguard food security against the pandemic’s impact”, Dunford added.
Over the past three years, the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation initiative has delivered heat-tolerant wheat varieties to 1.8 million farmers in seven countries, increasing wheat production by 2.7 million metric tons, worth $840 million.
As part of the development finance institution’s long-term sustainability to wean Africa off wheat and other food imports, it hinted that a five-year ramp-up phase will follow the two-year African Emergency Food Production Facility.
The bank stated that the initiative will build on previous gains and strengthen self-sufficiency in wheat, maize, and other staple crops, as well as expand access to agricultural fertilizers by delivering seeds and inputs to 40 million farmers under the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation programme.
