The Secretary General of the African Federation of Environmental Journalists (AFEJ) Mr. Daud Abdi Daud who has been tracking the rape case and was among few journalists present at the attorney general on Tuesday 22 January to follow the case affirmed that the raped women clearly stated her position and tells the attorney general that she was raped by uniformed government soldiers even her father and uncle were confirmed the case as well as her husband who is in a one of the detained people publicly voted for that his wife was raped by uniformed government soldiers.
The drivers and dynamic in this case should be investigated and prosecuted by the African Union and the United Nations as publicly acknowledged that rape violence is a tactics of war crime according Zeinab Hawa Bangura the special secretary general representative in conflict related sexual violence.
The human rights groups worried the situation and issued triangle statement today to address the rape violence and the journalist custody. For your information kindly have looked the below statement from the Committee to Protect the Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.

Somalia: Free Journalist, Others Unlawfully Detained
Police Response to Sexual Violence Chills Media Freedom
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/12/somalia-free-journalist-others-linked-rape-allegation

The African Federation of Environmental Journalists (AFEJ) calls in need of attention release by all the detained innocent people including the journalist without political row among the Somalia government institutions over the ongoing rape violence and generally solicited Somalia environmental journalists to do accurate coverage over the rape issues which is now imperative one with a lot of worry.
For more information of the ongoing Somalia rape violence please contact AFEJ Secretary General Mr. Daud Abdi Daud who is now tracking the cases wholly on +252616349997 or email dimbil@afejnews.org

(Addis Ababa, January 21, 2013) – The African Union (AU) should make human rights central to its discussions about crises situations in Africa at its summit meeting this week in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to the AU chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The Ordinary Summit begins on January 21, 2013, and AU heads of state are due to meet on January 27 and 28 in Addis Ababa.

The AU summit should address the human rights crises in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Somalia as well as the human rights challenges around upcoming elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe, Human Rights Watch said. Of particular concern are the human rights implications of the deployment of an African Union/United Nations-supported international military force in Mali and the need to ensure proper safeguards for protecting civilians and a human rights monitoring capability. Potential abuses not only by the Malian security forces but also by the armed forces of countries potentially taking part in the operation bring particular urgency to the situation, with the recent resumption of hostilities in Mali.

“The AU summit is an important regional forum for ensuring that human rights considerations are injected into every crisis response,” said Tiseke Kasambala, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The AU has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the military intervention in Mali does not contribute to further human rights violations in already insecure environments. That means abiding by international law and making civilian protection a priority.”

In eastern Congo, concerted regional and international action is required to help end the cycle of abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Over the past nine months, M23 rebels in eastern Congo have committed widespread abuses amounting to war crimes, including deliberate killings of civilians, summary executions, rapes, and recruitment of child soldiers. The rebels have received significant logistical and military support from neighboring Rwanda.

Talks between the M23 and the Congolese government, which began in December 2012 and resumed in January, appear to be faltering and so far, have made little progress.

“The violence in eastern Congo continues to lead to appalling loss of civilian life,” Kasambala said. “Rwanda should immediately stop supporting the abusive rebel group M23 and the AU should insist that M23 commanders implicated in war crimes are brought to justice.”

Ongoing talks over the deployment of an African-led intervention brigade as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo should consider mandating this force to support arrest operations of suspects sought on international and national warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said.

In Sudan, the human rights and humanitarian situation has deteriorated, particularly in the conflict-affected areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur. The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-North) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states has affected nearly one million people, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands from both states since mid-2011. The Sudanese military has used indiscriminate aerial bombardments in populated areas of both states. 

Government forces along with government-affiliated militia are also responsible for other serious abuses against civilians in both states, such as ground attacks on villages, destruction of grain and water sources that are critical to the survival of the population, arbitrary detention, and sexual violence against women and girls. Sudan has blocked humanitarian aid groups from the areas outside government-controlled towns where civilians are in dire need of food aid.

In Darfur, armed conflict between the government forces and militias and the rebel groups continues, in addition to inter-ethnic clashes over resources. Scores of people have been killed in the fighting and the AU/UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeepers have repeatedly come under attack. The Sudanese government restricts the movement of AU/UN peacekeepers and nongovernmental organizations, preventing access to large parts of the region. The AU should press the government of Sudan to grant immediate and unfettered access to humanitarian agencies in the conflict-affected areas of Darfur, and Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, Human Rights Watch said.

“An urgent response is required to resolve the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sudan,” Kasambala said. “The AU should demand that the Sudanese government immediately stop the indiscriminate aerial bombardments and other violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.”

During the past year, a new government replaced the transitional authority in Somalia, and AMISOM troops made significant military advances into territory held by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab. The human rights situation in Somalia nonetheless remains poor, Human Rights Watch said. State security forces have been implicated in serious violations of fundamental rights that contribute to the insecurity of the population. These include killings of journalists in government-controlled areas, rape, and severe restrictions on access to food and shelter for displaced people.  

Foreign forces including Kenyan forces under AMISOM command, as well as Ethiopian forces, have also committed abuses in south-central Somalia during military operations, including indiscriminate shelling.

“The AU should urge the Somali authorities to end abuses by state security forces,” Kasambala said. “The AU should also ensure that respect for humanitarian law and accountability for abuses during military operations by AMISOM are a priority.”

The deployment of a long-term AU election observer mission to Kenya this coming March is an important contribution to free and fair elections, but the possibility of election-related violence is a growing concern, Human Rights Watch said. In the past year, 400 people have been killed and over 200,000 people displaced in incidents of ethnic, resource-based, and politically motivated violence in the coast region of Northern Kenya and parts of Nairobi. The pre-election violence has been among the worst in Kenya since 1992.

Few of those responsible for the violence that followed the 2007 elections in Kenya have been brought to justice, raising fears that those responsible for the violence during the 2007 elections could carry out further acts of violence in 2013.

“The ongoing violence and lack of justice for victims of human rights abuses during the 2007 elections makes it vital for the AU to send a strong message to the Kenyan authorities that grave abuses should not go unpunished,” Kasambala said.

The AU should provide for early deployment and sufficient numbers of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and AU election observers to Zimbabwe, where a lack of institutional and legal reform has raised the specter of violence and other rights abuses during elections to be held in 2013. The AU should keep the monitors on the ground after the elections, long enough to deter violence and intimidation.

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Mali, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/mali
 For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/drc
 For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/sudan

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Somalia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/somalia

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Kenya, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/kenya
 

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Zimbabwe, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/zimbabwe

For more information, please contact:
In Addis Ababa, Tiseke Kasambala (English): +251-927-423-196 (mobile); or kasambt@hrw.org
In New York, Daniel Bekele (English, Amharic): +1-212-216-1223; or +1-917-385-3878 (mobile); or bekeled@hrw.org
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-73-56 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In Paris, Jean-Marie Fardeau (French, English, Portuguese): +33-6-45-85-24-87 (mobile); or fardeaj@hrw.org
In London, Carina Tertsakian (English, French): +44-207-713-2764; or +44-790-350-3297 (mobile)

Nigeria has released two improved cassava varieties in an effort to maintain its lead as the world’s largest producer of the root crop, improve incomes of farmers and make them smile.

The varieties were developed through a collaborative effort between the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Nigerian Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike. The two varieties are originally recognized as IITA developed genotypes: IITA-TMS-I982132 and IITA-TMS-I011206. But with the official release, they are to be known as UMUCASS 42 and UMUCASS 43 respectively. 

“Both varieties performed well in different cassava production regions of Nigeria with high yield, high dry matter and good disease resistance.  The roots of these varieties are yellow and contain moderate levels of pro-Vitamin A,” says Dr Peter Kulakow, IITA Cassava Breeder.

Potential maximum yield of the two varieties is between 49 and 53 tons per hectare, according to pre-varietal release trials that were conducted between 2008 and 2010. Local varieties produce less than 10 tons per hectare. The varieties are also resistant to major pests and diseases that affect cassava in the country including cassava mosaic disease, cassava bacterial blight, cassava anthracnose, cassava mealybug and cassava green mite.

Dr Chiedozie Egesi,  NRCRI Cassava Breeder, who presented the varieties before the Nigeria Varietal Release committee—the body in charge of officially releasing varieties—said the varieties have the following distinct qualities:

1.       Good for high quality cassava flour—a sought after trait by researchers for the cassava transformation agenda in Nigeria.

2.       High dry matter which is positively related to starch and crucial for cassava value chain development

3.       High leaf retention which is positively related to drought tolerance and is crucial for cassava production in the drier regions and in mitigating the impact of climate change, and

4.       Moderate levels of betacarotene for enhancing nutrition.

Over the years, cassava has transformed from being a “poor man’s” crop to now a cash crop and an industrial crop, as cassava is being processed to products such as starch, flour, glucose and ethanol. This transition has placed demand on cassava.

Researchers say developing new improved varieties is one way that will boost the steady supply of cassava roots to this ever increasing demand.

According to Dr Egesi, continuous breeding of such improved new varieties will help in stabilizing production, processing and marketing of cassava products.

“The impact of these efforts will be felt in areas such as rural employment and a virile cassava industrial sector,” he added.

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For information, please contact:

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org

(Johannesburg, January 10, 2013) – Zimbabwe’s “unity government” is failing to carry out reforms in the country’s Global Political Agreement that are vital for the country to hold credible, free, and fair elections in 2013, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 28-page report, “Race Against Time: The Need for Legal and Institutional Reforms Ahead of Zimbabwe’s Elections,” assesses the legislative and electoral reforms undertaken by the unity government, which was established in 2009 after the 2008 elections resulted in violence. The unity government consists of the former ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two factions of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The deeply fractured unity government has failed to reform key laws or the justice system, which remains extremely partisan toward ZANU-PF, Human Rights Watch said. It has also failed to hold accountable those responsible for past human rights abuses, including during the 2008 electoral violence.

“To hold credible, free, and fair elections in 2013, Zimbabwe’s government needs to level the political playing field and create a rights-respecting environment now,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This means amending repressive laws and replacing partisan police chiefs and election officials with impartial professionals.”

Many Zimbabweans are concerned that without the needed reforms elections expected in 2013 will result in widespread violence and human rights violations, as occurred in 2008, Human Rights Watch said.

The unity government has failed to make any changes to repressive laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Public Order and Security Act, and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. These laws have been used to severely curtail basic rights through vague defamation clauses and draconian penalties. ZANU-PF has not agreed to genuine and comprehensive institutional reforms to end the politically partisan leadership of key state institutions such as the security forces, election bodies, and government broadcasters.

The newly created Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission could help improve the human rights environment, but its mandate is limited to investigating and reporting on human rights abuses committed after the unity government was formed in February 2009, excluding the widespread electoral violence of 2008.

The reconstituted Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has new commissioners, but the secretariat staff is largely the same pro-ZANU-PF team that worked for previous commissions. ZANU-PF resists calls by civil society and the MDC factions for an independent audit of electoral commission staff followed by the recruitment of professional and non-partisan personnel.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), an inter-governmental body of 15 southern African countries, should independently assess and certify that conditions in Zimbabwe meet criteria in the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections before it clears Zimbabwe to hold elections, Human Rights Watch said. SADC should also deploy SADC and African Union election observers to Zimbabwe early and in sufficient numbers, and maintain them on the ground well after elections to deter violence and intimidation.

The European Union and the United States should also maintain restrictive measures on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle, including travel bans and assets freezes, pending tangible human rights reforms, Human Rights Watch said.

“SADC should not only call upon Zimbabwe’s political leaders to carry out critical reforms, but clarify the consequences if they don’t,” Bekele said. “SADC and donor governments should not shy away from using sanctions on individuals and other measures to improve respect for human rights in Zimbabwe.”

Background
The June 2008 presidential runoff elections in Zimbabwe were characterized by widespread intimidation and political violence – largely by pro-ZANU-PF militia and supporters against opposition MDC activists – that left over 200 people dead.

The SADC Election Observer Mission concluded that the 2008 election did not conform to SADC standards, leading to negotiations and the signing of the Global Political Agreement in November 2008. The unity government was established in February 2009 to carry out the reforms necessary to pave the way for genuinely free and fair elections.

Mugabe has called for holding elections in March. The timing of national elections is governed by Zimbabwe’s constitution, which provides that parliament, unless dissolved earlier, shall last for five years, counting from the day the person elected as president enters into office. Mugabe was sworn in on June 29, 2008, and the presidential and parliamentary term of office ends on June 29, 2013. The constitution requires holding new elections no more than four months after that date. If elections are not held in March as Mugabe has indicated, the latest they can be held constitutionally is October 29.

“Race Against Time: The Need for Legal and Institutional Reforms Ahead of Zimbabwe’s Elections” is available at:
http://hrw.org/reports/2013/01/10/race-against-time-0

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Zimbabwe, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/zimbabwe

For more information, please contact:
In Johannesburg, Tiseke Kasambala (English): +27-11-062-2852; or +27-79-220-5254 (mobile)
In London, Dewa Mavhinga (English): +44-778-7587-550
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-73-56 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In New York, Daniel Bekele (English, Amharic): +1-917-385-3878 (mobile); or bekeled@hrw.org

“This donation is to support the Forest Project for the positive impact on the lives of the children,” says Mrs. Helen Chatburn – Ojehomon, the Primary Years Program Coordinator at IIS.

The IITA Forest Project has over the years provided children and teachers with the opportunity to learn about forest conservation, biodiversity, and the negative effects of deforestation.

Located on about 350 hectares in Ibadan, the IITA Forest Reserve is one of the few surviving and best protected secondary forests in western Nigeria with more than 230 different types of butterflies. It also plays host to 250 different species of birds, and over 450 plant species, most of which have medicinal uses.

Mrs.  Chatburn – Ojehomon explained that funds for the donation were raised by the children through the MathBuster Challenge—a sponsored educational program that encourages learning and enjoyment of mathematics. Funds raised from the sponsorship go into charity, and sponsors could be friends, parents, and relatives.

This year is the ninth in the series of the MathBuster Challenge, and the program has supported different projects in the past. The Forest Project of IITA was chosen in 2012 because the students had learnt about environmental degradation and deforestation during their numerous visits to IITA forest; as such the issues brought inspiration and interest in the project to them.

“The children feel this project should continue. And basically, we want to link their learning with action so that they can use their learning to help the community,” Chatburn – Ojehomon said.

Mrs  Deni Bown, Coordinator of IITA Forest Project, commended the children and the school for the gesture, stressing that the conservation of Nigeria’s forest is  vital to the survival of the country’s people.

Underscoring the importance of forests to human existence, Mrs. Bown likened the forest to the human skin.

“The forest is like the protective ‘skin’ of the planet earth. If you remove it, the earth gets hotter. And if we lose our forest to a certain level, we will have irreversible global warming” the forest expert said.

Mrs. Bown noted that the Institute’s Forest Project was a clear demonstration of the link between forests and agriculture—that they could go hand-in-hand.

She also explained that the Forest Project has over the years organized educational and guided tours to the forest for children because of the belief that they are future leaders and would make good use of the knowledge.

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For information, please contact:

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org

Members of the Somali Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (SOMESHA) made a tremendous nationwide climate monitoring outlook after the government of Somalia announced yesterday morning that weather storms may hit many coastal areas in the country.

After a cabinet meeting in Mogadishu yesterday, the government has called all communities living on the coasts to be vigilant as weather forecasts predict that storms may hit Somali coastal areas widely.

SOMESHA members in Puntland and Mudug regions reported that heavy rains with strong winds have been battering parts of Puntland in north east Somalia for the last 20 hours particularly towns and villages alongside the coast.

Residents in the coastal communities have been bracing for the bad weather after forecasts of the weather have been extensively aired and posted through the local media throughout Somalia.

Most of the areas, where the strong winds and heavy downpour are affecting, are towns and villages with large numbers of internally displaced and the IDPs live ramshackle camps so there is a concern that their houses may be destroyed by the winds.

“The Kenyan authority decision is an intimidation to the laws and conventions of the human rights as I believe and is also a threat to many civilians who similarly escaped terrorist acts by Shabab due to reprisal including women, children, human rights activists and journalists”said Daud Abdi Daud the Secretary General of AFEJ from Mogadishu, Somalia.

“ As Kenya’s President H.E. Mwai Kibaki said that his country is malleted with terrorist attacks and attributed the incursions of being planned from neighborhood Somalia. I’ agree with the president of Kenya that shabab is threat to Kenya security but women, children and journalists cannot be similar to Shabab and they need to be protected as 18 journalists killed in Somalia only this year of 2012 by Shabab, however, this quandary among Kenya and Somalia authorities still waits global involvement by United Nations and the African Union” Mr. Daud added
This statement from the secretary General of AFEJ comes after when the President of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud traveled to Kenya today and met Kenya authorities since he was elected as a president.

The political scene of the two countries recently was not good and its widely believed that this bilateral presidential meeting could boost the hope of many Somalis or pave the way a new humanitarian upheavals against dozens of Somalia refugees.

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, December 19, 2012/ – The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (http://www.acp.int) wrapped up a successful 2-day summit for Heads of States and Government on 13-14 December at the Grand Sipopo International Conference Centre in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, committing to intensified South-South cooperation, while calling for more development-friendly relations with European partners.

The 72-point Sipopo Declaration addressed broad areas of peace, security and good governance; development finance; international trade; energy, climate change and sustainable development; and the future outlook of the ACP Group as an international institution.

In particular, the outcome document highlighted members’ determination to “stay united as a Group” and retain relevance by “enhancing the ACP-EU relationship as a unique North-South development cooperation model, while developing South-South and other partnerships.”

The document lauded the EU’s efforts in helping ACP countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals, while urging that the European Development Fund (EDF) remain outside the regular EU budget framework as a mechanism of development financing for the ACP countries. Leaders also expressed concern over the notion of differentiation and graduation in allocating development funds, calling on the EU to keep to the legal framework of the Cotonou Agreement.

On trade, ACP leaders emphasized “development-friendly” Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between ACP countries and the EU, insisting on coherence between European development and trade policies. Taking a stand against proposed amendments to Market Access Regulation 1528/2007 as well as the Generalised System Preferences (GSP), leaders appealed for a “joint ACP-EU high level political engagement” to be convened to resolve pending issues.

Looking towards the future of the 79-member Group, ACPHeads of State noted the need to shape a more dynamic and innovative ACP Group to engage with the EU in the third five-year review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement in 2015. They welcomed plans to set up an Eminent Persons’ Group to revive the vision, mission and response of the ACP Group to global challenges.

High level delegates from at least 63 countries, including more than 15 national heads attended the conference. Representing the regions, this included Benin President and President-in-Office of the African Union, H.E. Mr Yayi Boni, St Lucia Prime Minister and Chair of the Caribbean Community Hon. Dr Kenny Anthony, and Cook Islands Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum Hon. Mr Henry Puna, along with the Presidents of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Togo, Zimbabwe, the  Prime Minister of Namibia, and five Vice Presidents (Burundi, Seychelles, Sudan) and Deputy Prime Ministers (Papua New Guinea, Swaziland).

Participants at the Seventh Summit reaffirmed their solidarity as the collective voice of the 79-member intergovernmental body, representing a population of 930 million people. As the new republic of South Sudan joins the organisation, membership will expand to 80 nations.

Special guests such as African Union Commissioner H.E Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, European Commissioner for Development Mr Andris Piebalgs, and Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliament Assembly Hon. Louis Michel were also present.

Distributed by the African Press organization on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group).

For further enquiries:

Josephine Latu, Press Attachée +32-2-743 0617 or email: latu@acp.int

SOURCE 

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group)

By Masimba Tafirenyika

Amid raving economic forecasts thatAfricawill be the next big emerging market, chronic food shortages remain stubbornly immune to solutions. The African Union is aware of this weak link and is working to convince its members to boost investments in agriculture.

It’s a tall order. But there are signs of progress, thanks in part to an innovative plan by the AU’s development agency, NEPAD, called the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

CAADP’s message is simple but powerful: More investments in agriculture will end hunger and lift millions out of poverty. The programme has several elements, but the best-known requires signatories to spend at least 10 per cent of their budgets on agriculture. To date, 30 countries have signed up.

CAADP’s scorecard so far is mixed. Some countries are still grappling with the teething troubles of translating its plans into action. But those that have faithfully followed the programme are seeing positive changes.

CAADP is a noble idea. Yet it suffers from two major weaknesses: It doesn’t have enough money to back its plan and it has no power to compel members to adopt its recommendations.

Take the European Union’s farm subsidy programme, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), for instance, which was created in response to severe food shortages inEuropeback in the 1950s. CAP has money — in 2010 it was gobbling up about 40 per cent of the EU’s budget — and the power to impose conditions on members that get subsidies. True, EU subsidies hurt farmers in poor nations, but they have raised the incomes of EU farmers and produced more quality food for consumers.

In contrast, CAADP uses moral suasion to induce members to stick to their commitments. Worse still, it relies heavily on donors for investments in countries that have signed on. Equally troubling is that a big chunk of the national budgets of most CAADP signatories comes from donors, subjecting Africa to aid cuts whenever donor economies slump or priorities shift, or when domestic African political fortunes change, as events in Malawi, Rwanda and elsewhere have clearly shown.

CAADP can be effective, but only to the extent that signatories are committed to doing the necessary heavy lifting. To demonstrate its commitment to food security, the AU should move beyond platitudes and follow the EU’s example — make it mandatory for members to contribute to a common fund for agriculture. Each member’s contribution could be based on its ability to pay, perhaps using GNP per capita as a guide. Such a fund could then be used to reduce CAADP’s dependence on donors.

True, setting aside a tenth of the budget for agriculture is a big deal for poor countries often faced with competing priorities. But success in agriculture reduces the pressure to finance solutions to social problems caused by hunger and poverty. Putting money into agriculture is a smart investment.

Africa Renewal

http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/january-2013/africa%E2%80%99s-food-policy-needs-sharper-teeth

By Masimba Tafirenyika

Once againMalawifinds itself in a tight spot. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships is slowly unfolding. Sadly and unexpectedly,Malawihas lost its hard-earned status as an agricultural success story. Many are now wondering what went wrong and whether there could be lessons for other African countries.

More than 1.63 million people, or 11 per cent of the population, are facing severe food shortages, according to the World Food Programme, a UN relief agency.Malawineeds $30 million to the end of 2012 to cover the shortfall. Agriculture is the backbone of its economy: four in five people rely on it for income. Most farmers plant on small plots by hand with little irrigation, and therefore are vulnerable to recurring droughts, notes the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.Malawiis home to Africa’s third-largest freshwater lake —Lake Malawi— yet less than 3 per cent of the land is irrigated.

Malawi’s current troubles might seem surprising. Yet to those who follow events in the Southern African nation, it is less an abrupt change in fortunes than a series of self-inflicted injuries unfolding in slow motion.

Increased farm subsidies

Back in 2004, President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in early 2012, rode into power on a promise to increase farm subsidies as part of his Farm Input Subsidy Programme. Under the plan, the government gave subsidy vouchers to “smallholders to buy a small amount of fertilizer and seed so that they could replenish the soil nutrients, take advantage of improved seed varieties and at least achieve a livable crop from their tiny farms,” says Africa Confidential, a UK-based newsletter.

The results were instant. In 2005, a year after expanded subsidies kicked in,Malawiharvested a grain surplus of half a million tonnes. In subsequent years it exported grain toLesothoandSwaziland, as well as 400,000 tonnes of maize toZimbabwe. Food experts and advocacy groups took turns at international forums extollingMalawias an example ofAfrica’s “green revolution.”

Ironically, even during the years of plenty,Malawicontinued to import large quantities of wheat, maize and other cereals, says FAO, and isolated pockets of hunger remained. In pursuing subsidies, Mutharika defied donor critics who alleged that the programme was riddled with corruption, ran counter to the principles of free markets and was unsustainable. Indeed, by 2009 the government was spending 16 per cent of its budget on subsidies.

Over time President Mutharika became autocratic, amid charges of corruption and cronyism. In 2009 he spent more than $20 million on a long-range presidential jet. Worse, he started promoting his brother Peter, then foreign minister, as his successor, further alienating donors, on whomMalawidepends. When the donors abandoned him, the economy tanked and protesters took to the streets, leading to political instability.

Leadership is key

Rhoda Tumusiime, the head of agriculture at the African Union Commission, notes that while success in agriculture does not have many drivers, leadership is crucial. “There must be a key political champion at head-of-state level to steer and champion a vision on agricultural revolution,” she told the Economic Commission forAfricain an interview.

Mr. Mutharika not only had the political will, but tried to lead by example. And his anti-poverty policies attracted many advocates. The director of the New York–based Earth Institute at ColumbiaUniversity, Jeffrey Sachs, who has worked closely with Malawian authorities to fight poverty, is among them. “We should … remember a positive legacy of the late president Mutharika, because that legacy holds a key for Africa’s future development and escape from poverty,” Sachs wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times.

“Until his final two years, Mutharika had actually engineered an agriculture-led boom inMalawi, one that pointed a way forAfricato overcome its chronic hunger, food insecurity, and periodic extreme famines,” said Sachs. He credited the late president for standing “bravely against the arrogance of an ill-informed foreign aid community back in 2005.”

Food security equals national security

Second, while foreign aid is critical in feeding the hungry and reviving agriculture inAfrica, food security requires the same seriousness and resources as national security, if not more. In fact, national security loses its legitimacy if thousands of citizens die not from enemy firepower but from starvation, or risk their lives crossing borders while fleeing from hunger.

And finally,Africaneeds a strong food policy backed by resources. One tangible African Union response has been the ComprehensiveAfricaAgriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which requires countries that sign up to it to spend at least 10 per cent of their national budgets on agriculture. CAADP itself has a very small budget, but it uses the little it has to strengthen agricultural institutions and build teams of skilled personnel who roam the continent sharing best practices with national authorities.

“There is no doubt that African agriculture needs strong local institutions to avoid the kind of bubble that we saw in Malawi, which was largely driven by external energy,” Martin Bwalya, the head of CAADP, told Africa Renewal, alluding to Malawi’s dependence on donors for its short-lived success. CAADP, which is run by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the AU’s development agency, recognizes thatAfrica needs institutions whose effectiveness and shelf life do not depend on the survival of individuals.

Mr. Mutharika tried to follow the path of subsidies and largely succeeded. Countries that have pursuedMalawi’s lead have “achieve[d] breakthroughs in farm yields and food production for the first time in their modern history,” said Professor Sachs. His successor, Joyce Banda,Africa’s third female president, now has to formulate a new food policy, woo back the donors, stabilize the economy and again get agriculture back on track.

Africa Renewal

http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/january-2013/what-went-wrong-lessons-malawi%E2%80%99s-food-crisis