By Andualem Sisay Gessesse / Djibouti – With vast arable land that has the potential to feed the world, Africa remains net food importer spending tens of billions of dollars every year, while some countries are dependent on foreign food aid.
Vanessa Adams, CEO of Level 4 International, who spent over two decades working in Agriculture culture sector in different African countries, suggests that with the right policies and speedy regulatory reforms that take into account the fast-changing global trade landscape and climate change, it is still possible for Africa to play key role in the global food industry and agribusiness.
Commenting on what kind of policies can boost investment in African agriculture, Vanessa said: “The inclination of many governments is protectionism. But success comes from the opposite by opening market and enabling trade. But there has to be protection where there is needed to protect the very vulnerable population. So, you have to have a very targeted strategies to support the very vulnerable populations.”
“The opportunity today is to leapfrog and move forward take the best practices and adapt,” she said to New Business Ethiopia journalist on the sidelines of Djibouti Forum held last week in Djibouti.
Indicating that necessity is the driver, she advised African governments to make necessary regulatory reforms within a short period of time to catchup with the dynamic global trade.
“…Today necessity is a driver. Global climate change is here and food and agriculture systems need to change. Financial markets and tools have to be much more efficient. In order to be competitive, you have to have efficient energy; you have to have efficient financing; you have to have necessary infrastructure for agriculture. We need functioning trade corridors because everybody requires some level of import and some level of export to be functioning,” says Vanessa.
“There are enough examples of successes. There are successes farming in deserts. Today the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and California are farming in deserts. They have large and efficient farming in deserts,” says Vanessa Adams, explaining to opportunities Africa has to boost its agriculture with the right policy and regulatory reforms that can make countries competitive in global food chain.
“Africa has a huge opportunity with the ratification of Africa Continental Free Trade Area. Agriculture doesn’t have to be in a way our grand fathers used to do. We want to see more mechanization, more irrigation, more green houses, efficient solar pumps and related technologies…With smart farming technologies, agriculture and food systems are being reinvented today,” she says.
With over two decades of working experiences in different African countries, Level 4 International provides a variety of consulting services, including marketing, strategy, operations.