Research to Feed Africa

African governments and universities should nurture young scientists to have an impact in agriculture production and to ensure food security.

Experts at an agriculture forum noted that Africa is increasingly becoming a 25 to 35-year-old continent, hence the need to invest in and nurture youth in agriculture.

Dr. Jean Lebel, President of the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), said there is need to build leaders for today and tomorrow and that African youth are the next generation to continue the fight.
“To feed Africa, research must work for the poor, and we should focus and invest on research that is market based,” he said.

He noted the need to ensure cutting-edge science and research that addresses the needs of small-scale farmers in Africa.

“We should not have research for the sake of research; it should be solution driven, and inclusive in order to support farmers, especially women and youth. We are also looking into new partnerships with the private sector to link products and consumers,” Lebel said.

He was speaking during a major day-long IDRC event held just prior tothe opening of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme, ‘Beyond the Tipping Point: a new vision and strategies for inclusive and sustainable transformation’.

Lebel said building on the experience of local farmers is the right approach to take. “We need to recognize that there are untapped opportunities in small-scale farming systems where farmers have demonstrated remarkable innovation in farming their lands. Often, building on these simple, practical innovations is the best way to go,” he said.

Africa’s smallholder farmers produce the vast majority of food grown on the continent, and they are the backbone of a sector that employs more than 65% of all Africans. So when businesses, governments, researchers and farmers work together to strengthen our food production and distribution systems, they are seeking commercial success that will be shared across African society, and particularly among the poor,” said Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), one of 11 co-sponsors of the AGRF.