Pierre Jacquemot
Pierre Jacquemot presents below his latest book: ” Se nourrir, le défi de l’Afrique “, published by Karthala. After providing an uncompromising diagnostic of African agriculture, the author explores potential pathways to achieving food sovereignty on the continent, which he sees as its only path to salvation.
In 2023, an estimated 342 million people were suffering from severe food insecurity, meaning they lacked access to adequate food. By 2050, 60% of the world’s population growth will occur in Africa, and it will be the only continent where the rural population will continue to grow (+35%). Africa will then need to meet the food demand of 2.5 billion people, more than double its current population. This challenge boils down to solving a particularly complex equation: how to meet the growing and evolving demand for healthy and nutritious food in sufficient quantities within the constraints of land limits, climatic hazards, and often degraded soils, all while preserving the environment and without increasing dependence on imports?
The Food Sovereignty Strategy
The concept of food sovereignty is emphasized in the vast majority of countries, rejecting the simplistic yet eloquent adage that “Africa produces what it does not eat and eats what it does not produce.” Food sovereignty encompasses the notion of food security, which prioritizes access, availability, and quality of food, and gives it a broader operational dimension—territorial (if possible, across the entire country or region), political (on an independent basis), and legal (with rights for all). It embodies the idea of a structural transformation of agricultural and food systems, from the supply of inputs to the production of agriculture, fisheries, and livestock, to the processing, retail sale, and consumption of healthy and quality food products.
This book is organized around several key questions to contribute to the reflection and suggest possible solutions:
– What are the major trends likely to continue and shape the future of food systems?
– What are the seeds of change that can alter these trends?
– Which agents are potentially the most dynamic and capable of driving the necessary transformation?
– What agronomic, technical, and financial options are available?
– How can we address demographic and spatial challenges, particularly those associated with rapid urbanization?
– What actions can be taken to mitigate vulnerabilities to various shocks (climatic, health, security, etc.) that food systems will inevitably face?
Reinventing agricultural and food policies will not be possible without steering African agriculture off the trajectory it has been on for decades. A disruption in the management practices of water, soil, seeds, nutrients, and other resources will be necessary to enhance the adaptability of agriculture, fisheries, and livestock. It is important to recognize that in these areas, no approach to transformation is short-term.
Some Pathways for the Food Sovereignty Strategy
Several orientations can guide the food sovereignty strategy:
Placing the peasant economy at the center, along with its critical functions and inherent knowledge, could positively change the conditions for meeting both rural and urban needs. Many farmers’ associations advocate for a transition to resilient food systems, which will require a focus on equity, social well-being, and the inclusion of farmers and communities in the design and implementation of locally appropriate solutions.
How can agricultural, fishery, and livestock production be doubled by 2050? Intensifying production is not an option; it is a necessity. Land limits are well-established. Our estimate is for an increase in real supplies under acceptable yield conditions of around 50 to 100 million hectares. Practices combining diversification and intensification will yield the best results. African agriculture already has a broad spectrum of solutions, whether alternative, complementary, or a combination of the three models (conventional, transgenic, agroecological). The potential of combining genetic engineering with ecological engineering is significant for building “ecologically intensive agriculture.” This will be achieved through new techniques, whose proliferation is already impressive, whether they involve agroecological practices or the processing of products to promote “local consumption” of nutritious, healthy, and high-quality products accessible to the widest possible audience, thereby combating the triple burden of malnutrition (food deficiency, nutrient deficiency, obesity).
The adoption of imported food consumption patterns as urbanization progresses is not inevitable. Urban consumers, as is already the trend, will increasingly demand quick-to-consume and easy-to-use products, often requiring at least one transformation step between the field and the consumer’s basket. It is important that the share of unhealthy and ultra-processed foods be limited as much as possible through political measures. Developing a network of artisanal or industrial processing companies that source locally will require intensifying efforts to support investment.
“Developments under constraints” could benefit the consumption of local foodstuffs. Altering dietary habits in the long term by substituting millet and sorghum for imported cereals in Sahelian countries, for example, or by making greater use of legumes, is no longer an insurmountable obstacle. Thanks to the ingenuity displayed particularly by women, some local starches have managed to secure a place in the “local diet”: dry cereals, plantains, and legumes that can contain large amounts of protein and calories. These products must incorporate the qualities appreciated in imported products (taste, presentation, ease of preparation) while also taking into account the local “food culture,” for which women are the traditional custodians within households and communities. Applied research has an opportunity to be seized if it is based on surveys of eating behavior, leading to relevant advertising themes, and if it involves artisans and local companies in processing.
Africa is Plural
The need for better rural transport infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa is urgent and obvious. Rural transport strategies all share the same objectives: to address the “first mile” constraint in the transport of agricultural products from the farm, ensure proper management of the “last mile” because this is when contact with end customers occurs, increase resistance to climatic hazards, particularly through the improvement of rural roads, and establish effective maintenance systems for tracks and roads.
Border protection is essential if it is well-designed and well-targeted. There are strong arguments for a reasoned increase in tariffs on agricultural products in Africa, at least to the level of the safeguard measures for sensitive products authorized by the WTO: reducing competition from low-cost imports to strengthen local value chains, reducing the trade deficit, and decreasing food dependence on world markets. Additionally, eliminating the “import rents” enjoyed by many large merchants is crucial.
Given the diversity of African agriculture, the logic of integrating regional markets seems obvious. The regional level will be relevant for thinking about the future. Expectations are high, and there is significant room for growth in intra-continental trade. The growing regional demand for quality food products will provide an opportunity to drive the sustainable transformation of the agri-food sector. The creation of regional value chains (RVCs) can become a realistic goal, with three objectives: to take advantage of complementarities between countries and economic actors in the region, to meet the growing demand for fresh and processed food products, and to protect against distortions transmitted by international markets.
Experience shows that coherence between short-term responses to recurrent or exceptional crises and long-term transformational changes must be at the center of policies. For a long time, the right hand (support for grain production) did not know what the left hand was doing (issuance of import licenses). The contradictory nature of a proactive policy to develop local production, which remains simultaneously under the influence of importers seeking rents, illustrates the dilemma faced by political powers almost everywhere—alternating between protecting the interests of rural producers and liberalizing imports. However, the levers of action for structural transformation are within the reach of African governments, provided they allow the multitude of initiatives to unfold and facilitate their flourishing, particularly with women seeking autonomy and young people seeking integration.
One thing is clear: Africa is plural. We must speak of “Africas.” Not all actors are constrained in the same way by their ecosystem, nor are they integrated into the market system identically. There is nothing comparable between the Africa of Morocco’s argan and olive trees, the Africa of Burkina Faso’s granaries and daba, the Africa of banana trees and euphorbias in the Great Lakes, the Africa of Egypt’s vast irrigated plains, or the Africa of tiered rice paddies in Madagascar. Based on this observation of diversity, the analysis of agricultural and food systems reveals the existence of no fewer than fifteen different major systems in sub-Saharan Africa and eight in North Africa. Each of these systems includes millions of farming households with contrasting levels of resources, access to services, and coping strategies. Faced with such colorful realities, the approach suggested in this book is to highlight the heterogeneity and richness of practices, the multiple and sometimes paradoxical nature of the logics guiding the actions of actors, even if the synthesis exercise sometimes requires a certain degree of generalization.
Pierre Jacquemot is a diplomat and academic, honorary president of the Initiatives Group, expert at the Jean Jaurès Foundation, lecturer at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and member of the Academy of Overseas Sciences. He has served in Senegal, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.