AGFAX - Recent highlights

Since 2004, the Malawi government has been funding a programme that provides subsidised maize seed and fertiliser to around half the smallholder farmers in the country. Despite some problems, for example with corruption, the scheme appears to be succeeding. The maize harvest in the 2006/7 season was the highest on record, with over 1 million tonnes of surplus grain produced. Ephraim Chirwa of the University of Malawi recently offered an analysis of the subsidy programme to the Salzburg Global Seminar. In Malawi subsidises seed and fertiliser he describes how the programme has been implemented so far, and the challenges it now faces.

In recent years, banana farming in East Africa has had its fair share of troubles. Diseases like Black Sigatoka have decimated harvests and the spread of banana bacterial wilt threatens to be even more devastating. But, according to Andrew Kiggundu of Uganda's National Agricultural Research Organisation, there is better news in the pipeline. The government in Uganda is now supporting trials of disease-resistant GM bananas which, Kiggundu believes, could have a major role in protecting banana harvests. And in October 2008, exciting new marketing opportunities for Africa's banana growers will be under discussion at the Banana 2008 conference in Mombassa. In Technology and trade for African bananas he explains more.

Private sector entrepreneurs are essential to translate new technologies into profitable businesses, says Josephine Okot, founder and chief executive officer of Victoria Seeds in Uganda. Small companies are also well placed to respond to the market demands and opportunities, compared to large multinationals. But, she argues, they need better support. Banking arrangements, for example, should be more supportive of businesses that are working on behalf of the poor. They also need to recognise how adverse weather, such as drought or floods, can impact on yields and profits. And research must also be more market driven. She shares her strongly held views in African Green Revolution: supporting the private sector.

Potato chips are an increasingly popular food in Africa. Many of these chips are imported, cut and frozen, from European manufacturers. But why can't Africa produce its own packaged chips? One reason is the poor availability of the right varieties of potato. There are also very few processing units in Africa that can make chips. But, according to Dr Berga Lemaga in Potato chips - feeding an infant industry, potato chips represent a real income-generating opportunity for African farmers and processors, especially now that organisations such as his own are working to increase the availability of clean potato seed of the right varieties.

In Tanzania, the government has recognised the importance of secure land ownership in rural communities. Having legal title to land gives people the confidence to invest in it, thereby supporting many development activities. In 1999, the Village Land Act was passed, creating a process of land registration specifically aimed at smallholders. Until now, however, very little land has actually been mapped or registered, and few people are aware that any process exists. In response, the NGO Concern Worldwide is working in four districts, informing people about the Village Land Act and providing training and equipment to local authorities, to support the registration process. The impact on farming communities has been impressive, as programme manager Aswani Adams explains, in Land registration in Tanzania.

As chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Kofi Annan believes passionately in the capacity of Africa to feed itself. But achieving his vision of a uniquely African Green Revolution will demand much greater coordination of effort, particularly among the big agencies that are currently working to boost productivity in Africa’s farmlands. It will also mean changing the ways that Africa’s farmers produce food, through technologies such as improved seed and better land and water management. In Annan’s African Green Revolution he outlines his vision to Susanna Thorp.