Kigali, 09/09 (IPS) – For over five years, Ritta Achevih has been harvesting a bag of corn or less from her small plot each season. She could hardly provide enough healthy food for her extended family.
The culprit for her poor corn yields is the poor soil on the one hectare piece of land she continuously tills at the edge of the biodiversity-rich Kakamega Forest in northwestern Kenya. Farmers cut down trees to get land closer to the forest, leading to massive land degradation.
But Ms. Achevih (65) from Vihiga Country switched farming and harvested eight bags of corn last season. This is thanks to the application of Sustainable Soil Management (SLM) approaches to improve soil health and productivity by protecting the soil from degradation using manure. In addition, SLM promotes intercropping of maize and legumes and the growing of native leafy vegetables.
“Changing the way I manage the land has changed my yields. My life has improved because I have enough and different foods to eat,” Achevih told IPS on the sidelines of the Alliance Forum for the Green Revolution (AGRF) Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
“I grow corn, beans and native vegetables that help my family have enough food, healthy food. The native vegetables have increased income for my family because of the high yield,” said Achevih, adding that she now enjoys a variety of daily meals.
“I have more food to choose from than before. I can eat banana or millet porridge in the morning and ugali (a corn dish) with native vegetables for lunch and enjoy potatoes in the evening,” she said.
“My farming methods are better, but farmers need training and support to produce more food, have more markets and better incomes.”
Achevih contributes to ensuring food security for families and communities. She could do better with access to improved technology, know-how and inputs to enhance food and nutrition security in the face of growing threats to agriculture in Africa.
Another farmer, Wellington Salano from Kakamega County, says the government needs to take action commit to develop agriculture in Africa by investing more in this sector to help eradicate poverty and malnutrition.
Salano told IPS: “African leaders should dedicate a large part of their budget to agriculture as it is our food supply and livelihood. “Agriculture is life, and healthy food cannot be guaranteed without investments to increase farmer yields at a time when we are dealing with climate change and food shortages.”
Salano (65 years old) grows maize, beans and native vegetables in the Kakamega country in northwestern Kenya. He practices sustainable land management and sustainable forest management under a project led by Mr Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). The project aims to strengthen sustainable management of the Kakamega Forest, which has been affected by deforestation due to illegal encroachment for firewood, timber and herbs and its conversion to grassland, resulting in biodiversity loss. .
How to feed and nurture Africa?
How Africa can successfully address the crises currently affecting the global food supply chain and ensure that African Governments can mobilize investment and accelerate commitments to bring out the dominant discussions on the food security continent at the annual AGRF Summit.
Possible solutions are needed to promote sustainable crop production on the continent, where one in five people will face hunger by 2020. Worse still, Africa remains an importer. net food, spending nearly $50 billion on food imports.
“We should stop exporting these jobs when we can produce this food,” warned AGRA President Agnes Kalibata. “Africa’s current food systems are failing to provide a healthy diet for everyone and represent one of the biggest challenges to environmental and climate sustainability.”
Currently, about 57.9 percent of people in Africa are being fed undernourishment, according to recent data reportThe State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, also forecasts that hunger may increase, making Africa the region with the largest number of undernourished people.
Leadership in food and nutrition
In 2021, African leaders agreed on common ground ahead of the United Nations Food Systems Summit to ensure that Africa is more resilient to global shocks. unexpected. However, the continent is deviating from the goals agreed upon in the Africa Comprehensive Agricultural Development Agenda, the Malabo Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The leaders noted that the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, global supply chains and the energy crisis have strained Africa’s food system.
Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and President of AGRA and the AGRF Partnership Group, said: “We need to transform the food system now, real change.
“No country is healthy unless food and livelihoods are healthy,” notes Dessalegn, calling on governments to prioritize and integrate policies to promote healthy diets. healthy and nutritious, providing decent income for farmers, while addressing climate and other challenges to food security.
Desalegn said: “Africa’s prosperity depends on transforming the commitments we have made to fulfill, emphasizing that Africa’s plight requires common will, voice and action. comprehensive transformation of the agricultural sector.
“It is necessary to boldly arouse the collective will of the leaders to strongly support the agricultural transformation.”
Report of the United Nations Office IPS
By @IPSNewsUNBureau
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© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
