Promising African agriculture

摘要

The World Economic Forum on Africa was recently held in Cape Town, with over 1 000 participants from more than 80 countries taking part. Under the theme Delivering on Africa's Promise, the meeting's agenda integrated three pillars: Accelerating Economic Diversification; Boosting Strategic Infrastructure; and Unlocking Africa's Talent.At the Forum participants in a televised debate on investing in agriculture said that only by encouraging all stakeholders, including farmers, to see farming as a business enterprise would many of the problems bedevilling the industry be tackled. Improvements need to be made right through the chain, they said. This includes investing at the front end in seed development and better farming techniques to boost yields and linking production to markets at the other end. Supplying reliable and detailed datais another factor helping farmers to succeedAfrican agriculture needs to be regarded as an economic sector rather than a social enterprise if the continent is to become a trillion dollar food market and net importer of food by 2030.