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Africa's small farmers - a change of thinking
In so many cases, the reason is simple. One idea, one piece of technology on its own seldom addresses the multiplicity of problems facing the average smallholder farmer struggling to make a living on a small patch of land in a remote corner of his or her country. Yet too often, that's exactly what people look for - an easy fix or a single solution.
In my experience, both in the field and now as the Director of the Western and Central Africa Division at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), what makes a real difference is something more fundamental - it's how we look at Africa's smallholder farmers.
Do we see them as victims - poverty stricken women and men trapped in cycles of subsistence farming - or as potential entrepreneurs struggling to run small businesses in places were basic tools such as finance, technology, training and access to markets are unavailable? It's my belief that we need a paradigm shift in the way we think - one that takes us away from old ideas of African agriculture which rely on basic farming practices and on government and donor handouts and, instead, focuses on creating a vibrant rural economy built on establishing the right business environment for small farmers.
A woman I know in Ghana is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Her name is Faustina Sayki. She runs a successful cassava processing centre in a small rural town. She employs 34 women and produces about 30 tonnes of cassava flour, known as gari, a week. Her customers are in the US, UK, Nigeria and Mali. She also extracts starch from cassava and sells it to local textile and pharmaceutical factories. Many describe her as a national success story.
So how did a poor cassava farmer in a remote community build a successful cassava-processing factory? A business environment was created that gave her a chance, that's how.
Through the IFAD-supported Roots and Tubers Project she received support she needed to respond directly to market opportunities. For example, she received training that helped her strengthen her entrepreneurial skills and business savvy; and she had access to expert research and adapted technologies that helped her improve her factory's efficiency and produce a higher quality and quantity of gari.
With a sound business plan and a savings history, she was able to access private equity from a rural bank. Together, these things enabled Faustina to enter the market with a well-priced, reliable, high-quality product that is now in demand. Her story suggests what's possible once we put away old notions and start looking at small farming in Africa as a business opportunity.
Mohamed Beavogui is Director of the West and Central Africa Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and is responsible for the entire operations of the Fund in the region. Along his 28 years in Development, Mr BĂ©avogui has experience in policy and strategy formulation as well as project and programme management; he has led, built and implemented partnerships with donors, development partners, Government, civil society and the private sector at varying levels.
All views expressed within this article are those of the writer and not of the BBC.
Blog
Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:54
In this blog Mohamed Beavogui, director for the West and Central Africa at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, talks about the untapped potential of Africa's small-holder farmers. But he warns that to tap this potential donors and projects need to change the way they think about the these small-scale entrepreneurs.
Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:45
This week saw the European Innovation Summit take place in Warsaw and Brussels, where participants discussed the role of people and talent for innovation and the challenges of innovation funding and financing. Prof. Danuta Hübner, MEP, shares her observations after moderating debates about the future of innovation in the EU.
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:48
In this blog on the run-up to World Food Day this weekend, the Plunkett Foundation explores the complex arena of food prices and what can be learned from small, community-based enterprises who are trying to respond to the direct needs of their communities.