ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 371 - 01/07/1999

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS



Africa

Food security in developing countries


by Taye Babaleye, Nigeria, May 1999

THEME = DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION

An African scientist speaks on globalization challenges
of food security in developing countries

"The challenges of globalization on food security in the developing countries will, in the next few years, determine the way forward in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. And unless all stake holders in the agricultural sector including policy makers, scientists, researchers, farmers, agro-industrialists, and agricultural research donors brace up to train and re-train, so as to be able to cope with the rapid changes in the new world, food security may continue to be elusive in the developing countries". These were some of the observations of Professor Abdalla Ahmed Abdalla, former President of the University of Khartoum, Sudan, while speaking at the annual Distinguished African Scientist Lecture series of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. He was speaking on the topic "Globalization challenges and consequences for higher agricultural education and research in developing countries".

Implications of globalization  -  Professor Abdalla said the implications of globalization on agricultural research and technology in the developing countries, are already visible on the agricultural development strategies of developing countries. These include among others, stiff competition arising from liberalization of world trade, protection of intellectual property rights, the dearth of basic science experts in developing countries, the sudden impact of rapid advances in information technology, poor public and private sector support for agricultural research, and misplaced priorities in government policies on agricultural development.

Professor Abdalla who was formerly Minister of Agriculture in Sudan, believes that solutions to food security problems should hinge on well planned higher education and research programs, that will create the enabling environment necessary for the development of improved agricultural technologies to thrive and survive in spite of the challenges of the next century.

Sustainable agricultural development - Professor Abdalla said sustainable agricultural development depends on a number of factors including the availability of natural agricultural resources, basic infrastructures, financial and human resources, appropriate technology and macro-economic policies.

According to him, agricultural development will be elusive in the absence of qualitative higher education that gives priority to research. He added: "Governments in the developing countries should therefore meet their commitments towards higher agricultural education, by providing the suitable structure to cope with the challenges of the 21st century". He said this will involve policies to determine the level of higher agricultural education, and the technical middle level linked with policies for training.

The IITA Distinguished African Scientist called for an overhauling of current curricula of agricultural education in the developing countries, to enable them to cope with the challenges ahead. These, according to him, will promote institutional and cooperation links, which will encourage staff exchanges, the establishment of communication networks among regional and international organizations, and the strengthening of institutional links between agricultural education and the private sector.

Professor Abdalla described technologies generated by research as "vital elements in increasing productivity and at the same time protecting the natural resources from degradation". For this reason he said, the developing countries must make funds available to sustain agricultural research, without which the challenges of the next millennium will become too overwhelming for effective developmental focus.

The IITA annual Distinguished African Scientist Lecture was initiated ten years ago in honour of a former deputy director general of the Institute, Professor Bede N.Okigbo, in memory of his immense contributions to tropical agriculture.

END

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