Food Crisis - Ecowas , Pan African MPs Call for Offensive

from All Africa

By Etim Imisim

The current global food crisis which has sparked grave unrest with long lines of demonstrators taking to the streets and a situation where the people's basic needs are not met, has attracted the attention of ECOWAS and the Pan African parliamentarians. In a recent meeting in Abuja, they resolved to fight crisis.

The first ordinary session of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament for 2008 ended in Abuja last weekend with a call for an "offensive" to be launched against food insecurity in the region. The speaker, Niger's Mahamane Ousmane, first raised the issue of the looming world food crisis during the opening ceremony of the session, and the sub-region's particular vulnerability, in the face of scarcity. According to him, he was "apprehensive" in the last several months when riots were reported in a number of ECOWAS countries on the account of the food situation. "The situation is widespread," the speaker said, "and has sparked grave unrest with long lines of demonstrators taking to the streets. A situation where the people's basic needs are not met concerns all of us."

The President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas next presented a report in which he said that agricultural production had not been factored into structural adjustment programmes of member countries in the past, and that the present global food crisis was causing shock that was capable of having "severe" socio-economic implications for the region. He spoke of the origin of the crisis, and said land was being diverted from food crops to bio-fuel production. The costs of energy and fertilizer have been on the increase while drought was wrecking havoc in Australia and flooding in Bangladesh and other places. In addition, the emerging economies of China, India and those of the Middle East were increasing their demands for food.

The food crisis came up in various plenary sessions and in the reports of a number of committees, especially the committee on agriculture, environment, water resources and rural development. The final resolutions of parliamentarians called on member states to honour the commitments they freely entered into in Maputo. The session of ECOWAS parliamentary took place May 13 to 24, 2008. The ninth ordinary session of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, which held May 5-16, also spent a considerable time debating the food crisis in Africa. The continental parliamentarians took the same position as their sub-regional counterparts in West Africa as members highlighted the role of political leaderships, past and present, as a factor in the food crisis "in which we now find ourselves. In the context of the African continent, there was consensus that African governments must be held accountable to their own commitments such as the AU's Maputo decision in 2003", said a statement from PAP President, Dr. Gertrude Mongella.

The Maputo document requires national governments to ensure that not less than 10 per cent of their national budgets are allocated towards the development of the agricultural sector. This is contrary to current average public spending for farming in the region, which is a mere four per cent of total government spending. ECOWAS seeks, as does the African Union, to achieve a six per cent annual growth in food production.

As reported by THISDAY, an alarm was sounded May 8, at the continental parliament over the global food crisis when a member asked Africans in the assembly to find lasting solutions to the crippling challenge of food poverty in the continent. Hon. Athumani Janguo, the acting chairperson of PAP's permanent committee on agriculture, rural economy, natural Resources and environment, said that parliament should persuade African heads of state, regional economic communities, non-governmental organisations and the international community to get to the root causes of the problem and address them. Africa was most at risk in the worsening global food situation, the MP said. The crisis is likely to worsen malnutrition and HIV/AIDS as well as increase crime and violence in Africa, he explained. Like Speaker Ousmane noted in Abuja, riots over rising food prices in a number of countries in the continent is very worrisome. According to agency reports, troops fired at similarly protesting crowds the previous week in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, killing two.

Famine has been on in the continent for five years, Janguo added. Around 30 million citizens, most of them women and children have suffered hunger, starvation, and even death. The Horn of Africa and some Southern African countries, including Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, are the hardest hit. He observed that Africa suffers from chronic food shortages despite the continent's vast arable land. His presentation cited inappropriate government agricultural policies as the major contributing factors to Africa's food crisis. Others are poverty, outdated farming methods, climate change, vermin invasions, land exhaustion, overgrazing and poor infrastructure.

The MP asked his colleagues to encourage their countries tackle the problem. According to him, 50 per cent of Africa's food crises are caused by internal and cross-border conflicts which displace millions of people. Other major factors he cited include inappropriate government policies, poverty, outdated farming methods, climate change, land exhaustion, overgrazing and poor infrastructure. The African parliamentarians in Midrand, Johannesburg, also welcomed the news that the United Nations had decided to debate the food crisis in the continent and invited the head of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as a resource person at Janguo's presentation. "The PAP considers the matter so serious that it requested Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to report to the Parliament on information at his disposal," Mongella said.

Responding to questions, Modibo Traore, assistant director-general and regional representative for Africa of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), who addressed the PAP session, said the organisation could recommend but was not in a position to force African governments to invest in agriculture. The UN agency had allocated $17 million as food emergency package and agriculture support for 20 African countries, he added.

The points raised by Traore were the same as what the plenary session of ECOWAS discussed and adopted. Before passing their resolutions, the West African parliamentarians recalled "the failure to honour regional and continental commitments, notably those regarding the development of the rural sector" under the MDGs, NEPAD, Maputo and ECOWAS agriculture programme. The law makers noted that agriculture is the tool and strategy for poverty reduction in West Africa. The sub-region has "abundant useable land and water resources," a market of 255million consumers, and therefore enormous potentials for growth.

The sub-regional parliamentarians went on to recommend, amongst other measures, that the region should consider consuming what it produces. Massive investment was to be directed at the agriculture sector and emphasis placed on food processing and the manufacture of fertilizer, where the raw materials are found. Further more, a financial support would also be required for emergency measures and special fund created to reduce hunger.

Members also wanted a review of bilateral and multilateral agreements the region had entered into that may hinder productivity in the agricultural sector. The development of a regional market should be pursued vigorously and an appropriate CET adopted as an instrument to protect products made in the sub-region. One of the resolutions was an expectation that the Economic Partnership Agreement, which the sub-region is entering into with the European Union, should be an instrument for development, but expressed concern that the current stage of negotiations does not show that the expectation may be met.

The recommendations of last week followed an earlier policy deliberation of ECOWAS Commission and the committee on agriculture, environment, water resources and rural of ECOWAS parliament. The president of the commission had written the speaker last November to seek the opinion of the leader of parliament on the commission's programmes and policies relating to agriculture and the environment.

The focus of the subsequent interactions between the legislature and the executive arms of ECOWAS sought to clarify systemic issues. The multitude of agencies and operators often hamper the implementation of policies. Sources of concern to the law makers therefore were three elements of strategy to deliver the policies. These were the reorganisation and the strengthening of institutions; mobilisation of financial resources; and the crucial role of monitoring and evaluation - needed clarification.

When the agriculture committee, presided over by Hon. Saran Sere Sereme, met in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso April 1 to15, the socio-economic and institutional context of ECOWAS agriculture policy and other issues were tabled for discussion. The draft regulations to harmonise rules governing quality, the certification of pesticides and an action plan for the adoption of biotechnology and biosafety within ECOWAS zone, were also considered. Another issue for discussion was environmental protection, since natural resources form bases of the economic policies of the economic development of the region. After listening to Mr. Salifou Ousseini, ECOWAS commissioner for agriculture, environment and water, the parliamentarians raised further questions concerning the participation of water management, pricing and the participation of the private sector.

The executive arm of ECOWAS, in large part, responded to the recommendations of the law makers when it asked the Commission of ECOWAS to raise $4 billion to boost food production in the region. The amount is a part of short-term measures to solve the ongoing food crisis and covers between 2008 and 2010. The directive came from the council of ministers of ECOWAS, representing the executive arm of the regional organisation, which met late in the night of May 19 in Abuja. The council authorised the commission to take the lead and mobilise two billion dollars from the international community as emergency food support for the most vulnerable. (About 44.4 per cent of people in the sub-region live in abject poverty.)

Already, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has pledged 100 million dollars yearly in support of the fund. Based on the advice of agricultural experts from the sub-region, which met during the preceding weeks, the fund will be used as inputs for small family farms, which constitute the bulk of the region's agriculture. The thrust of the new sub-regional agriculture policy is in line with the current search for a new vision for African farming, which is being spearheaded by the Koffi Annan-led Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). This is the "bold pro-poor policies," a 'uniquely' African green revolution for the continent.

"To address poverty at its core, particularly in light of the growing threat of climate change, we need a uniquely African green revolution," Annan said. "Our farmers need better seeds, soils, and prices for what they sell. They need access to water, markets and credit. They need policies that accelerate rural economic growth, investment and job creation."

Dr. Adrienne Diop, communications director of ECOWAS, who was recently promoted to commissioner for gender and development, had told THISDAY that the scope of ECOWAS agricultural scheme covers agriculture, fisheries, livestock, food and natural resource management. ECOWAS agriculture policy, which was adopted in 2005 in Accra, Ghana and termed ECOWAP, seeks to feed the region's growing rural and urban population. Member states are to harmonise their individual policies to fit the sub-regional framework and, in so doing, place emphasis on aspects of implementation that need mainly national-level actions.

It worried Ms Diop that only 20 per cent of arable land is being used in the region. There is water, she added, but what is needed is water management, a system of irrigation and coordination that can create and retaining and re-directed water to where it is needed.

"Our farmers need to be supported to produce more," Diop said. "We have everything in the region. What we need is the professional organisation of what we have. That is our role here in ECOWAS. If one country has solved one problem, the skills can be shared as best practices to other members. It is better than going to school. What you can do in Sokoto, you can do in Niger Republic. And what you can do in the south-west of Nigeria, you can do in Ghana and The Gambia, because they are in the same geographical zones."

Adrienne Diop further told THISDAY that trade ministers are deeply involved in the agricultural programme, along with the ministers of agriculture and finance, because "If you farm and don't trade, you have a problem." ECOWAS is to undertake bulk purchases of basic food items for a group of member states in the short-term and, in doing so, hopes to get discount for such purchases. Ministers called for a reorientation programme for citizens to come to favour local foods above imported foodstuffs. The measure should enable the region eat what it produces and produce what it eats.

In the long-term, ECOWAS members agreed to improve their budgetary allocation to agriculture. They are to invest in local fertiliser production and seed multiplication as well as subsidise agricultural production. The provision of infrastructure that will support agricultural productivity, and concessionary credit to the sector, were also stressed.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu told reporters that he envisages governments in the region creating the enabling environment for agriculture to address the food crisis. A long-term view of the food situation would involve opening up rural communities, he said. Feeder roads should be constructed throughout the region to enable farmers move their produce to markets.

Meanwhile, the council of ECOWAS ministers has renewed call on member states to implement the protocol which concerns the free movement of citizens and their right of residence. The call sought easier access of citizens to commodities produced in the region and said the free movement of persons and goods would help reduce the spiralling cost of foodstuffs. The renewed call for elimination of existing barriers to intra-regional movement came as a response after an interim report presented by Chambas who said citizens travelling within the region faced problems and have no proper security. The council noted that countries, including Nigeria and Niger, have entered into arrangements to help citizens move freely across borders, and urged other members to follow this good example, which facilitates regional integration.

The economy of the region was witnessing an increase from $141.9 billion in 2005 to $170.1 in 2006 and $199.7 in 2007, according to Chambas. Economic outlook for the region was positive, the ECOWAS Commission president noted. The upbeat trend was being secured through improved macroeconomic management, governance and security situation. High commodity prices and the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the Gulf of Guinea affected the fortunes of the region. And financial assistance to the region from development partners has also been on the increase, Chambas added.

Individual ECOWAS countries were at various levels of growth and the region as a whole was facing myriads of challenges. The challenges include poverty, poor infrastructure and low level of intra-regional trade. Others are increase in the prices of commodities, especially oil and food.

In a related development, the Africa Rice Centre said that the massive rice imports, currently being embarked upon by some African countries, including Nigeria, could upturn the fragile economy of the continent, if it is done at the expense of local production.

The centre said that tens of millions of poor African consumers faced a dangerous rice crisis in 2007, but that new rice varieties adapted to African conditions helped to increase the continent's output to six per cent. Even though this represented a major advance, it was still far short of meeting the region's requirement. "Relying so much on rice from other countries is a recipe for disaster for this continent," the director general of the Africa Rice Centre, Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck, said in the statement. "Unless government leaders take strong action now, the economic recovery experienced in so many parts of Africa will evaporate. We need short and long-term solutions that boost domestic rice production."

The centre is managing the $35 million, five-year project, which started in 2005. It is one of the 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The statement, which was made available to THISDAY, was released May 22, 2008 from Cotonou, Benin Republic, ahead of a key international conference in Japan on Africa's development.