Africa Should Be Feeding Itself

The amount of arable land in Africa is sufficient for feeding the people of that continent. According to the FAO, only 14% of Africa's arable land is under cultivation. So, what's the problem?

The first is good governance. Until there is a stable political environment in the various countries on the continent, there can be no long-term effort to alleviate the other issues that are faced.

The second is infrastructure. Much of Africa remains barely accessible by road and rail. Many of the roads are not all-weather surfaces and thus subject to seasonal usage. Grain handling facilities are inadequate. Water resources for irrigation are non-existent. Produce is generally brought to local markets and not easily transported to population centers.

The third is dependence on foreign aid. The problem with the aid is that it has been misdirected. The misdirection takes two forms. One is that corrupt officials sometimes seek to profit from the aid. The second is that it is a band-aid approach -- treating the symptoms and not the causes. The aid needs to be in the form of technical assistance to develop good governance and the necessary infrastructure for the country. It also should be targeted at developing farming technology suitable to local conditions and the necessary systems to move produce to market. Humanitarian aid will be necessary until Africa can feed itself.

The fourth major issue is outside interference. This often takes the form of political pressure from governments seeking access to natural resources such as oil. However, of greater concern to the local people are pressures from environmental and other do-good groups to "preserve" large tracts of land that could be feeding people. There is a need for good conservation measures and the preservation of bio-diversity, however, the needs of the people should be weighed in any measure aimed at soothing the misguided souls who would sacrifice the people of Africa to assuage their feelings of guilt over their Western lifestyle. It is a "we-got-ours" but "you-can't-have-yours" approach.

Africa needs to build on the resources of the continent. Land for agriculture is number one. Instead, many African leaders see a panacea by leap-frogging into a more industrialized economy. They need to capitalize on what they have first and then build from that.

There are many other issues. The above list is merely the beginning.

Somalia's Crisis Grows

Somalia is a Sunni Muslim country located in the Horn of Africa. It has experienced almost continual civil and political strife since its independence from Italy in 1960. The 2006 invasion from neighboring Ethiopia was only the most recent instance of conflict with its neighbor. The capitol city is Mogadishu of "Blackhawk Down" fame. Its people are dying of hunger.

In a story released today, the BBC indicated that the number of people in the country in dire need of food assistance will reach approximately 3.5 million in this year. That is about 1/3 of the population of the country.

The political and religious climate as well as the lack of a controlling governmental force makes it extremely difficult to provide aid to these starving people. Humanitarian groups are threatened and often attacked by various militant forces when they attempt to deliver aid. Such delivery is further complicated by the constant movement of people seeking refuge from those same militant forces and from the harsh, drought-prone climate. Many of them will die.

Humanitarian aid isn't the answer for the country. It only treats a symptom. Political stability is what is needed. The collapse of the government has led to widespread capitalism instead of the socialism that was present previously. It is the capitalism of survival through opportunism. It is also dominated by warlords whose protection is necessary for survival.

My question to you is this: Would it be a just war to invade Somalia for the purpose of bringing stability to the nation?

Pragmatically, we would have little to gain. The country contains no known deposits of oil or natural gas. There are no major natural resources for exploitation. The history of warfare between the various tribes is unlikely to ever result in a stable self-government. Stability might reduce the amount of humanitarian aid that is sent there every year. Yet, people there continue to die of starvation.

African Infrastructure and Agriculture

The food situation in many parts of the world is critical. Here in the U.S. we complain about rising prices yet our grocery shelves continue to be well-stocked with every imaginable item of food.

Africa is one continent that experiences chronic food shortages. In addition to the shortages, the rising price of food commodities makes it difficult to impossible for many of the poorest to purchase their food needs.

There are many reasons for the problems faced by Africa. The largest is the seemingly unending political unrest in every nation on the continent. The unrest is fueled by greed, corruption, inter-tribal warfare, religious persecution, inadequate infrastructure, difficult terrain and interference by external groups whose agendas often are at odds with the general welfare of the people.

The U.S. has been the largest provider of aid to Africa for many years. That aid is funnelled through various groups including both private and governmental charities. Much of the food aid is channeled through the World Food Program of the U.N. The trouble with such charity is that it does nothing to solve the cause. It merely treats the symptoms.

The U.S. Milleneum Challenge Corporation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa have formed an alliance focused on helping the small-scale farmers of Africa develop their farming enterprises rather than rely on outside capital to come into the various agricultural areas to develop corporate-scale farming. Part of their focus is to build the necessary infrastructure to allow the small-scale farmers to get their produce to market. It is estimated that 40% of the farm products are lost due to the inability to store properly or to transport food crops.

We take for granted the vast network of paved roads in the U.S. We forget how critical they are to keeping our grocery shelves stocked with an astounding assortment of food products. The realities in Africa are vastly different.