ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY (OAU) - ORGANISATION DE L'UNITE AFRICAINE - ORGANIZACION DE LA UNIDAD AFRICANA

His Excellency Vijay S. Makhan, Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)

Food security is an issue which occupies the centre stage of our attention in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in our quest to evolve appropriate development strategies for Africa. It could not be more befitting, therefore, that the political leadership of the world should spend time in addressing this topic which is fundamental to mankind. It is thus a singular honour for me to address this gathering on behalf of my organization and to share with you some of our thoughts.

The occasion is also propitious for me to place on record our gratitude to all those international organizations and research institutions, and of course to FAO itself, which have contributed alongside us in tackling the multifaceted and inter-related problems of food security in Africa. I entertain no doubt, whatsoever, that this worldwide network of institutions will continue its partnership with African counterparts and governments of our Member States, in meeting the challenges that have been identified in the African common position on food security and agricultural development adopted by the recent OAU Summit meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

It is an accepted fact that a country's level of food security is determined by environmental, agro-ecological, historical, social, cultural, demographic and economic factors. In addition to these determinants, the policy regime of the government, in terms of the targeting of incentives, as well as the overall political climate including peace and stability, also play a critical role in the ability of a country to feed its people. In this regard, it behoves me to use this platform to remind ourselves, especially those at the helm of state affairs in our countries, of the heavy responsibility we bear for the right mix of policy and for political stability as the determinants of food policy. Indeed, without appropriate policies and political stability we will find ourselves perpetuating the predicament in which Africa finds herself today, where it is estimated that we now need 14 million tons more of grain each year than we are producing. With the population growing at 3 percent per year and agricultural production increasing only 2 percent, this shortfall has been estimated to reach 50 million tons by the year 2000. In this context, let us not forget also that Africa has been absent from the stage of the Green Revolution that has impacted so positively in Asia and Latin America.

I can only emphasize the point that political commitment and the support of governments at the highest level are imperative to facilitate the implementation of appropriate strategies and programmes to achieve food security and enhance agricultural development in Africa.

We also need to appreciate the historical perspective of the problem of food security in order to address our future activities comprehensively. Colonialization disrupted the traditional mode of food production of indigenous Africans, who are often forced off their land into waged employment or onto unproductive land. Under such pressures Africa's traditional agriculture disintegrated rapidly to the point which we have reached today, where Africa has become a net importer of food and a recipient of food aid. Indeed, we have continued to feed our former masters' factories with our raw materials, even at the expense of food production for our own peoples.

As scholars have shown in the recently published work of the Washington-based National Research Council entitled, "The Lost Crops of Africa", during the last 300 years in Africa, foreign cereals pioneered and supported by commercial farmers, missionaries and colonial administrators displaced and supplanted the production of native grains. More recently, the development and production of native grains have been further undermined by the importation and distribution at subsidized prices of millions of tons of cereals, particularly rice and wheat. The promotion of native grains must be the cornerstone of our food security strategy because such grains are better adapted to the environmental and ecological conditions, as well as to the vagaries of weather in Africa. Moreover, such hardy grains could facilitate the extension of production onto marginal lands that will be needed to feed the rapidly growing population and, if predictions about global warming prove to be correct, Africa's native grains could even provide the means of ensuring that our arable lands are kept in production.

Improving the prospects of the native cereals of Africa should be a continent-wide agricultural endeavour supported by the established network of international organizations and research institutions and, more particularly, FAO. To this end, regional cooperation to facilitate increased agricultural productivity and food security are among the priorities in the treaty establishing the African Economic Community, the Abuja Treaty.

Allow me at this point to announce that next week from 19 to 21 November, the first session of the Economic and Social Commission of the Community will convene in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to consider, among other issues, a programme of work for the implementation of the Treaty. For the food and agricultural sector the African Common Position on Food Security and Agricultural Development, one of the key documents of this Summit, will constitute the essential framework of our activities and initiatives. I therefore invite the various organizations, represented in this august assembly, to support our sub-regional and regional efforts within the framework of the African Economic Community to promote self-reliance in the production of food in Africa.

Notwithstanding our well-known environmental and ecological difficulties, Africa has the potential to become a major breadbasket of the world. A strategy centred around the development and increased productivity of our native grains must be the starting point. I feel confident that we can all rise to this challenge.