Maize is a major staple food in Africa whose production is likely to be affected by COVID-19[/caption]
By Dr. Daniel Kyalo Willy
Mr. Wycliff Wephukhulu has just retired from a very productive day at his 5-acre farm. He is trying to rush against time to finish land preparation before the long rains start.
As he listens to the evening bulletin on his favorite vernacular radio station, news stream in that more positive cases of the deadly Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Kenya.
With this, the government has restricted travel into and out of four counties in Kenya besides a dusk to dawn curfew, while the government of Uganda, a neighboring country not far from his village, has taken stricter measures, there will be a total lock down for 21 days.
Similar situations have been experienced across the African soil. As he ponders over this news, he cannot stop wondering how this pandemic will affect his plans at the farm and his children residing in Nairobi, Mombasa and Entebbe.
For Wycliff and millions like him in Africa, farming is the main source of income.
Moreover, slightly over 60% of African economies derive 25-40% of their GDP from Agriculture. Consequently, a pandemic of the magnitude of COVID-19 cannot be brushed off because it touches the nerves of many farmers and economies.
The pandemic is likely to affect Wycliff and others like him, be it in Nigeria, Senegal, Djibouti, and the other 50+ countries in Africa where the pandemic has already been confirmed in the following three major ways.
Limited Access to Inputs
Due to the lock downs and economic slowdown that most countries are experiencing, the production and distribution of critical inputs: Fertilizer, Seeds and Pesticides will be disrupted.
Besides the limited access to these critical inputs, their prices are also likely increase as a result of suppressed supply. Untimely access and costly inputs are likely to deny farmers the opportunity to apply these inputs at critical stages of crop development and increase the cost of production, hence affecting yields and incomes.
Suppressed Labour Markets
Agricultural production in Africa is generally labour-intensive.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a direct impact on the physical and mental health of the labour force hence limiting output per person.
The anxieties and limited movement as a result of lock down is likely to limit labour mobility, creating labour shortages and eventually leading to low labour productivity.
In areas where group labour is a common practice, social distancing requirements will most likely to limit the number of people who can work at the same time, with implications on labour
Limited Access to Local and International Markets
COVID-19 has disrupted agricultural supply chains a great deal.
For export commodities, the disruption of international transport and logistics has cut off producers from the foreign markets. Exports of fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, Cocoa and flowers from Africa to the rest of the world to the world markets has reduced drastically.
For commodities sold in the local markets, the impact can be either positive or negative.
Positive impact comes from inter-regional market opportunities, which can sustain farmers’ incomes, so long as the local movement of agricultural commodities is not disrupted.
Negative impacts can be caused by disruptions in local transportation, leading to huge post-harvest losses, surpluses in some regions and scarcity in others.
Also, business closure and job losses in the service and manufacturing sectors will lead to lower incomes hence less purchasing power of consumers in urban areas, leading to lower dietary diversity. The net effect to farmers will depend on the magnitude of the positive and the negative impacts.
How will the African Farmer Bounce back after COVID-19?
In the short run, curtailing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is the most urgent thing.
In the meantime, focus needs to concentrate on equipping farmers with the necessary personal protection equipment and sanitizers to enhance protection of farmers and their laborers. There is also need to farmers need to enhance personal protection and capacity to prevent contamination of foodstuffs.
After dealing with the health dimension of the pandemic, the world will be staring at another crisis post COVID-19 if the right measures are not taken now.
The 330 Million people who are already facing food insecurity in Africa need to be cushioned against falling into chronic hunger. Remedy measures need to focus on enhancing farmers capacity to access quality seeds, fertilizer and other critical inputs. Given that border closures and other disruptions on internal transport and mobility of people may subsist for a while, there is need to focus on eliminating any physical barriers on the movement of goods and services.
Furthermore, there is need to eliminate any non-tariff barriers and additional border control procedures that limit the movement of goods and services. This can be achieved through smart subsidy programmes, availing low cost agricultural credit and other fiscal measures such as reduction of VAT and other levies on basic inputs and basic commodities to cushion farmers and other vulnerable groups against the impacts of COVID-19.
It is worth noting that these measures will need mobilization of resources from concerted efforts among several stakeholders. One initiative that has contributed resources into these efforts is the COVID-19 response facility recently launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB) group to assist regional member countries in fighting the pandemic.
The facility is the latest measure taken by the Bank to respond to the pandemic and will be the institution's primary channel for its efforts to address the crisis. It provides up to $10 billion to governments and the private sector.
Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, said the package took into account the fiscal challenges that many African countries are facing.
“Africa is facing enormous fiscal challenges to respond to the coronavirus pandemic effectively. The African Development Bank Group is deploying its full weight of emergency response support to assist Africa at this critical time. We must protect lives. This Facility will help African countries to fast-track their efforts to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19,” Adesina said, commending the Board of Directors for its unwavering support.
The Facility entails $5.5 billion for sovereign operations in African Development Bank countries, and $3.1 billion for sovereign and regional operations for countries under the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional arm that caters to fragile countries. An additional $1.35 billion will be devoted to private sector operations.
Dr. Wily, an Agricultural Economist at AATF works with the TAAT Policy Compact.
On this International Mother Earth Day, all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic – the biggest test the world has faced since the Second World War.
We must work together to save lives, ease suffering and lessen the shattering economic and social consequences.
The impact of the coronavirus is both immediate and dreadful.
But there is another deep emergency -- the planet’s unfolding environmental crisis.
Biodiversity is in steep decline.
Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return.
We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption.
The current crisis is an unprecedented wake-up call.
We need to turn the recovery into a real opportunity to do things right for the future.
I am therefore proposing six climate-related actions to shape the recovery and the work ahead.
First: as we spend huge amounts of money to recover from the coronavirus, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition.
Second: where taxpayers’ money is used to rescue businesses, it needs to be tied to achieving green jobs and sustainable growth.
Third: fiscal firepower must drive a shift from the grey to green economy, and make societies and people more resilient
Fourth: public funds should be used to invest in the future, not the past, and flow to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and the climate.
Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying for their pollution
Fifth: climate risks and opportunities must be incorporated into the financial system as well as all aspects of public policy making and infrastructure.
Sixth: we need to work together as an international community.
These six principles constitute an important guide to recovering better together.
Greenhouse gases, just like viruses, do not respect national boundaries.
On this Earth Day, please join me in demanding a healthy and resilient future for people and planet alike.
On this International Mother Earth Day, all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic – the biggest test the world has faced since the Second World War.
We must work together to save lives, ease suffering and lessen the shattering economic and social consequences.
The impact of the coronavirus is both immediate and dreadful.
But there is another deep emergency -- the planet’s unfolding environmental crisis.
Biodiversity is in steep decline.
Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return.
We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption.
The current crisis is an unprecedented wake-up call.
We need to turn the recovery into a real opportunity to do things right for the future.
I am therefore proposing six climate-related actions to shape the recovery and the work ahead.
First: as we spend huge amounts of money to recover from the coronavirus, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition.
Second: where taxpayers’ money is used to rescue businesses, it needs to be tied to achieving green jobs and sustainable growth.
Third: fiscal firepower must drive a shift from the grey to green economy, and make societies and people more resilient
Fourth: public funds should be used to invest in the future, not the past, and flow to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and the climate.
Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying for their pollution
Fifth: climate risks and opportunities must be incorporated into the financial system as well as all aspects of public policy making and infrastructure.
Sixth: we need to work together as an international community.
These six principles constitute an important guide to recovering better together.
Greenhouse gases, just like viruses, do not respect national boundaries.
On this Earth Day, please join me in demanding a healthy and resilient future for people and planet alike.
Sorghum is the fifth most produced grain globally.
This two-meter tall plant from the grass family is often grown in regions that have high temperatures and lower rainfall. In wetter regions, its production is lower than that of more lucrative crops such as rice and maize.
Sorghum is a particularly essential crop in Africa, second to maize, as the staple grain for millions of people.
Although it is mainly consumed as a grain, sorghum is also prepared into a wide variety of other food products such as porridge, bread, lactic and alcoholic beverages, and weaning meals.
Africa’s third top producer of sorghum
Sorghum is the main cereal crop grown in Burkina Faso, with more than 1.5 million hectares. Along with pearl millet, it is the staple diet of rural populations in the Sub-Sahelian regions.
Burkina Faso is the continent’s third top producer of sorghum (after Nigeria and Sudan)
In spite of various interventions, its productivity remains low, with an average yield of approximately one tonne per hectare. Many factors have contributed to the decreased productivity, including demographic pressure, ecological degradation, loss of soil fertility, and water erosion.
Other factors include negative effect of dry spells on crop growth and yield, negative effect of end of season drought, scarcity of organic amendment, improved seed and other farm inputs and output.
The Sahel as a bread basket
To address these constraints, and with a view to transforming the Sahel into a bread basket, the African Development Bank (AfDB), in 2018, launched the Sorghum and Millet Compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT).
The compact, according to the bank, spearheads the bold plan to transform Sorghum and Millet in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Chad.
TAAT’s main objective is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight Priority Intervention Areas (PIA).
The programme increases agricultural productivity through the deployment of proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale along selected nine commodity compacts which include sorghum and millet.
These work with six enabler compacts addressing transversal issues such as soil fertility management, water management, capacity development, policy support, attracting African youth in agribusiness and fall armyworm response.
With sustainable intensification, improved profitability of sorghum and millet; and the scaling up of proven technologies as areas of focal emphasis, the TAAT sorghum and millet compact set out to work on contributing to food and nutrition security in a region where low agricultural productivity and lack of value added are among the main causes of malnutrition, unemployment and poverty on the continent.
Led by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in collaboration with National Research and Extension Systems, the sorghum and millet compact targets about 40 to 50% of African farmers with technologies relevant to boosting agricultural productivity and self-sufficiency by 2025.
During the 2019 rainy season, the compact, in collaboration with the TAAT Water Enabler Compact (TAAT-WEC) selected Burkina Faso and Mali to host the demonstration of climate smart technologies.
The TAAT-WEC is led by International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The Water Compact promotes low-cost and easy-to-deploy irrigation and water management technologies to small-scale farmers across Africa.
Zai, Half-moon and CLT Technologies
The technologies identified for the demonstration are Zai, Half-moons and Contour Lines Technique. These are mainly soil and water conservation technologies.
Zai refers to planting pit dug in degraded land, amended with organic manure which is meant to collect run-off water and restore the productivity of the soil.
Sorghum or millet seeds are planted in the pits.
Half-moons on the other hand, form structure made in degraded land and amended with organic manure which collects run-off water and is planted with sorghum or millet.
Zai pits and half-moon ditches can increase yields even in the first year. The farmer does not need to wait for the land to fully regenerate before sowing.
The soil remains bare between Zai pits, but inside the hole the earth is damp and fertile. The pit collects and retains moisture and prevents the rich soil and seeds from being washed away by the rain.
These technologies were displayed in Burkina Faso using the famer field school approach, while the contour lines technique (CLT) was presented to farmers in Mali using the demonstration plot approach.
Contour lines technique refers to lines of stones installed on degraded land following the contour lines. They are meant to reduce run-off and spread run-off water in the field.
In both countries, abandoned bare lands, which traditional famers believe are not suitable for cultivation, were used with the compact selecting the sites and the relevant crop varieties in both cases.
According to Dr Dougbeji Fatondji, TAAT Sorghum and Millet Compact Leader, “the objective of this activity is to demonstrate to the farmers, technologies that can help them produce and increase crop productivity under the current weather variability and climate change conditions.
Farmer field school approach in Burkina Faso
Kapelga, a sorghum variety (white grain and early maturing) was used in the district of Toma. It is a variety that is under promotion in the province and beyond by Federation des Professionnels Agricole du Burkina (FEPAB).
In the district of Boussoma, ICSV1049 a variety promoted in the Sanmentenga province was used.
Both varieties were grown in half-hectare of half-moon and half-hectare of Zai. The half hectare planted with the same varieties was used as control using the farmer’s practice.
The two sorghum varieties were selected based on the agro-ecological characteristics. Planting was done on the same day at each site.
In Toma, the field was managed by FEPAB (25 farmers with 9 of them being females) and in Boussouma it was managed by 30 farmers – 13 females and 17 males.
Two field days were organized in each site, during heading and during maturity stages.
The second day of the farmer field school presented an opportunity to harvest and estimate with farmers, the yield of the different technologies.
Demonstration plot approach in Mali
In Sorofing, one of the selected villages, the TAAT Water Enabler Compact (TAAT-WEC) trained farmers on how to design the contour lines by automatic reading method.
Mr Dramane Male, a farmer applied the CLT on 2.0 hectare of Fadda. Despite the end of season’s drought, the plants remained green with good soil moisture.
Dramane said that the CLT stopped the runoffs.
“If this were to be the traditional method in a similar rainy season, I would have lost all my crops because of drought,” he added. He promised to apply the CLT in all the areas of his fields with pronounced slopes.
On the 0.5-hectare, Yaya Male, another farmer, applied the CLT, the plants are well developed with big stems and green leaves.
A field day was organized at Foh to showcase the performance of the demonstrated technology to farmers.
About 10 research and development institutions including a private seed company and many farmers were represented at the event which was covered by Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision du Mali (ORTM), the country’s national television station.
During the visit to the plot of Pierre Diarra in Kourouma, Dr. Kalifa Traore, from the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), explained the methodology deployed – from farmers’ sensitization to training and practical exercises on the CLT.
In addition to the proposed variety (Tiandougou Coura), the farmer used his own local variety to see if the crop performance was not linked to the varietal differences.
The results were self-explanatory and amazing. The plot under CLT produced good plants with large panicles compared to the control (low plant stand due to runoffs).
“I usually abandon this particular field because of the runoffs,” Pierre Diarra said.
“With this exposure to the CLT now, I promise to apply the CLT in all problematic soils for all crops,” Pierre aded.
The local authorities led by the Deputy Mayor, Michel Traore, thanked the team for the technology deployed in his community. He equally called for continuous support aimed at taking the technology beyond borders.
On his part, he promised to include the CLT technique in their local Development Plan (PDSEC).
Participants from other communities also requested for similar training on CLT. This elicited a positive response from farmers organizations Platform (AOPP) and the local Chamber of Agriculture (CRA) who pledged to organise more training sessions in collaboration with the TAAT programme.
