New Report Finds Agriculture Promotes African Economic Growth

March 22, 2012

Montpellier Panel's 2012 report calls for growth with resilience in African agriculture.

A new report says African agriculture can contribute to sustained global economic growth. But it says there must first be greater investment in farming, markets and social development.

The Montpellier Panel, made up of European agricultural experts, is calling for “growth with resilience” in Africa.

“If you look at African countries now you’ll see that large numbers of them are growing very well. The average growth rate for the whole of Africa is about six percent. But there are many that are growing faster. And a key component of that growth is agricultural development. So that is all very good,” said Sir Gordon Conway, panel chair and professor of international development at Imperial College London.

On the other hand, Conway said, there are threats to that development.

“There are some terrible pests and diseases that destroy crops virtually overnight in Africa. There are all the problems arising from global warming. There are likelihoods of increased drought, of rising temperatures and of course extreme events of major flooding or heat waves. And all of these mean that the growth by itself is not going to be enough,” he said.

Resilience

The Montpellier Panel is recommending a three-part strategy: resilient markets, resilient agriculture and resilient people.