Over 200 agricultural experts gathered last Saturday, September 7, in Kenya, to discuss food security with emphasis on the green revolution as a solution to boost the sector.

The meeting was held at a time when agricultural policies in Sub-Saharan countries are not conducive to the expansion of small-scale farmers, which would enable them to meet huge demand from consumers who are already choked by the high prices of basic commodities such as cereals.

In this context, experts concurred that there is a need for African countries to adopt protectionist policies to enable their already poor populations to cope with external competition. In addition to this proposed solution, it is important for the private and public sectors to invest in the development of Agriculture which has an estimated global finance gap of approximately 450 billion dollars, with only 10% of African farmers having access to funding to boost their production.

At the end of this important meeting, major declarations were made on agriculture in Africa, namely:

• The transformation of agriculture in Africa, and reduction of food insecurity and poverty can only be effective, if small farmers are provided with the funds they need to increase their crop yields and bolster their businesses,
• the green revolution cannot materialize if funding for agriculture is not increased,
• 2014 is “the year for Food Security and Agriculture in Africa”,
• 2014 shall be a crucial year for agricultural development. To this effect, African governments should set investment objectives and design plans to develop agriculture over the next decade.

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