The EU and Africa are closely bound by geography, history and increasing economic ties, not least in agriculture. The EU-Africa summit held in Brussels on 2-3 April 2014 was an opportunity to redefine the strategic relationship between the two continents for the period up to 2020. Agricultural policy cooperation featured prominently in the summit declaration, which is fitting as this year marks the African Union's 'year of agriculture and food security'. EU-Africa policy cooperation on agriculture is about more than being the largest development donor, it is about creating trade opportunities and stimulating agri-businesses from Africa and Europe to create growth, jobs and prosperity for the 60 per cent of Africans that live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their subsistence. The focus on farming continued during the African Union agriculture ministerial meeting on 1-2 May 2014 in Addis Ababa.
The last EU-Africa strategic partnership, which ended this year, was drawn up just before the food price hikes of 2007-08. For a long time, there had been a regrettable lack of focus on agriculture in the global debate, and some African countries were affected by civil unrest, including food riots. The EU's substantial and flexible response - the €1bn food facility - contributed to the improvement of smallholder agricultural production in direct response to the food price crisis. The European Union was awarded the food and agriculture organisation of the United Nations Jacques Diouf prize for the food facility, which is acknowledged to have been a major signal in renewing the global policy focus on agriculture.
"The case for agriculture policy cooperation with Africa is overwhelming"
The case for agriculture policy cooperation with Africa is overwhelming. Estimates of population growth from the UN show a doubling of the African population by 2050 to over two billion. There is much common ground on the challenges and opportunities this increase presents for the agricultural sector in Africa: to produce more food; to reduce rural poverty by boosting wealth creation, especially the incomes of small farmers; and to do so in a sustainable way that secures the productive capacity of the natural resources for future needs. Governments should set the policy environment, but businesses - large and small - will deliver the results.
In the days before the summit, a business forum was held to highlight the need for EU and African private sectors, with public authorities, to increase their cooperation through joint ventures and public private partnerships. A specific roundtable on agri value chains took a hard look at how improvements in market functioning are needed for inclusive and sustainable development.
Among calls for higher investment, more research and development, financing, and capacity building, the business leaders pointed to innovations already happening on the ground. The use of mobile phone technology as a vehicle for farmer information on prices, extension services, and banking services, such as in Nigeria, is transformational.
African farmers also need to be able to take advantage of trade and market opportunities to increase revenue. This requires market opening, especially within Africa, and capacity building to ensure farmers can produce to the standards required. The continent is gradually increasing trade opportunities through regional integration, and an ambitious initiative to create a pan-African free trade area.
"For a long time, there had been a regrettable lack of focus on agriculture in the global debate"
The agriculture roundtable of the business forum concluded with a blueprint for action focused on sustainable and inclusive models of agricultural investment with the aim of meeting future food demands while alleviating poverty and generating economic growth. Investor confidence is increasing, but the investment climate remains fragile in many countries: businesses still need and expect government support in the form of public-private partnerships. In return, the public authorities call for European businesses to enter into partnerships in Africa, combining finance and technology with local knowledge to participate in the world's fastest growing continent.
Agriculture now plays its rightful and central role in the global debate on development, trade and growth. The world has come a long way from the shock of discovering in 2007-08 that research, policy and investment in agriculture had all been put on the back-burner. Africa has a dynamic future in agriculture and a wealth of opportunity. Enhanced cooperation between European and African business is needed to fill the gap in funding, including on technology, that has until recently been a major constraint to sustainable agriculture and agri-food development.