=Africa and other parts of the developing world are preparing to negotiate better access to the markets of wealthy countries at the next ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ugandan Agriculture Minister Wilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa said in Pretoria this week.
The minister was interviewed after closing an international conference on successes in African agriculture, held in the South African capital from December 1 to 3. The meeting brought together representatives of government, business, academia and civil society.
“It is unfortunate that negotiations in Cancun [collapsed] the way they did,” he added, referring to unsuccessful talks held by the WTO in Mexico, three months ago. “We are regrouping to persevere the next time.”
Kisamba-Mugerwa observed that “If globalisation and trade liberalisation are to work, then the developing world must have access to global markets. This is vital if we are to sustain productivity, reduce poverty and improve the lives of the people.”
The next WTO ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place this month.
A statement issued after the conference declared that significant poverty reduction would not be possible in Africa without rapid agricultural growth.
“Only improved agricultural productivity can simultaneously improve welfare among the two-thirds of all Africans who work primarily in agriculture as well as the urban poor, who spend over 60% of their budget on food staples,” said the document.
According to delegates, past performance has been inadequate.
“Africa remains the only region of the developing world where per capita agricultural production has fallen over the past 40 years,” the final statement noted.
“To stem deepening poverty, social inequity and political instability, African farmers, governments, international partners and the private sector must all do better in the future.”
Heads of state agreed at the African Union summit in July this year to make agriculture a priority. The summit also called for agricultural budget allocations to be raised to a minimum of 10% of public spending within five years.
The Pretoria meeting steered clear of complete pessimism, noting that “Africa’s sluggish performance … masks a rich historical record of substantial agricultural successes.”
“Though these episodic and scattered booms have proven insufficient to sustain aggregate per capita growth in agriculture, they do prove informative in pointing to promising areas for effective intervention for the future.”
The conference identified good governance and sustained public funding for research as the two fundamental prerequisites for agricultural development.
Case studies examined by delegates included the combating of cassava mosaic virus in Uganda, cotton farming in West Africa and horticulture exports from Kenya.
“We believe that with renewed commitment to building partnerships between governments, farmers’ organisations, international partners and the private sector, significant gains are achievable in African agriculture,” the statement for the meeting concluded.
The conference was sponsored by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute, the German government’s agency for human resource development and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. The European Union’s Technical Centre for Agricultural Rural Cooperation also helped fund the meeting. — IPS