Preserving Africa’s Agricultural Revolution With Innovation
As we celebrate Africa Day and commemorate our varied accomplishments, let’s also take a few minutes to appreciate how agriculture has been instrumental in developing the continent, and how innovation is key to preserving it in future. We are “standing on the edge of a second green revolution” and smart ideas from our young Einsteins may just be what we need to fulfil Africa’s dream of becoming the world’s food basket and sustaining its economy.
Agriculture has been Africa’s bread and butter over the last century and it continues to do so. In addition to creating most of the jobs in Africa, over half the population depend on it for their livelihoods. According to Nepad, the agricultural population in Africa stands at 530 million people and is expected to exceed 580 million by 2020. Africa has 33 million farms of less than 2 hectares, accounting for 80% of all farms, and the agricultural labour force is comprised mostly of women. Although poor, Africa has the largest surface area of uncultivated arable land and is regarded as a major player in the global food market.
CIMMYT