Africa’s turn: a new Green Revolution for the 21st century

The &lsquo;Green Revolution&rsquo; originated in initiatives in Latin America and Asia, which were made up of a combination of philanthropy, agricultural research, training of scientists and farmers, and government policy. This paper argues that it is now time for a Green Revolution in Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa where per-capita food production continues to worsen year by year.<br /><br />Although a typical African smallholder farmer faces numerous challenges and constraints, one major inefficiency discussed in the paper is that the crops on the majority of small farms are not the high-yielding varieties in common use on other continents. It is suggested that by using better seeds, the risk of food shortages could be reduced, which could be undertaken by developing many niche environments in Africa, due to the diversity of climate, soil and suitable crop-types, in collaboration with local farmers. <br /><br />To show the realistic possibilities for such an initiative, the paper gives an example of an African rice cultivation called "New Rice for Africa" or Nerica. The authors argue that the gap Africa faces could be closed by further advancing in science, training of local practitioners, public-private cooperation, and improvements in government policy and practice.<br /><br />The paper concludes by suggesting a number of steps to meet the challenges ahead. These include:<br /> improving seed varieties for a larger, more reliable harvest training of a new generation of African agricultural scientists better inputs and practices through &lsquo;agro-dealers&rsquo; development of stronger off-farm systems and markets development of infrastructure and larger irrigation systems forging strong and expanding partnerships, with a decisive leadership from institutions and governments.