AGRA’s Muhinda on how to feed Africa’s rapidly growing population

Africa's population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, comprising a significant 25% of the world's population. However, as food security concerns escalate across the continent, bold steps are needed to ensure that this rapidly growing population is adequately fed. Jean Jacques Muhinda, the Regional Manager for East Africa at AGRA, recently discussed strategies to address these pressing issues in an interview with CNBC Africa. Muhinda emphasized the importance of transcending from traditional food security approaches towards achieving broader outcomes such as promoting healthy diets, sustainable environmental practices, social inclusion, and economic prosperity for all communities. While Africa has made strides in agricultural investments since the inception of the Maputo and Malabo Declarations, Muhinda underscored the need to move beyond mere food security towards addressing critical societal challenges. Africa's historical reliance on cash crops for export rather than staple food crops presents a significant hurdle in achieving food self-sufficiency. Muhinda highlighted the imbalance in trade, where Africa annually spends a staggering $50 billion on importing commodities like wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans that could be feasibly cultivated within the region's diverse agroecological zones. This dependence on imports not only affects food security but also hampers access to essential resources like fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides. A major bottleneck in enhancing agricultural productivity lies in the continent's heavy reliance on imported mineral fertilizers, with Africa importing nearly 90% of its annual fertilizer requirements, amounting to an additional $5 billion expenditure. Despite possessing rich phosphorus and nitrogen resources in various African countries, the lack of local fertilizer production exacerbates the dependency on foreign markets. Muhinda proposed a continental framework that harnesses Africa's comparative advantage in mineral resources to establish locally tailored fertilizer production facilities. Resource mobilization emerges as another critical challenge impeding agricultural progress in Africa. Multilateral lending institutions have historically overlooked the agricultural sector in favor of other industries, leading to a dearth of financial support for agriculture. While external investments have propped up the sector in the past, shifting global priorities, such as the conflict in Ukraine, underscore the urgency for Africa to mobilize local resources and maximize existing funds effectively. To address the perception of agriculture as a risky sector among financial institutions, Muhinda advocated for innovative funding mechanisms to de-risk agricultural investments and attract more capital to the sector. By collaborating with national governments, private sector entities, and development partners, Africa can leverage a combination of public and private investments to drive sustainable agricultural growth and food security across the continent. In light of the challenges plaguing Africa's food systems, Muhinda emphasized the need for cohesive strategies that prioritize local production, resource efficiency, and inclusive investments to propel Africa towards food self-sufficiency and ensure the well-being of its burgeoning population.