President Salva Kirr of South Sudan at the sidelines of the African Union summit, which was held in Addis Ababa from Jan. 27 to 28. Credit: Elias Asmare/IPS

By Blain Biset
ADDIS ABABA , Jan 29 2013 (IPS)

The African Union summit failed to provide a breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan when it ended on Monday Jan. 28.

President Salva Kirr of South Sudan and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir met on the sidelines of the summit, which was held in Addis Ababa from Jan. 27 to 28, to discuss the implementation of agreements the two countries signed in September 2012.

On Jan. 25 Kirr called for the immediate implementation of the deals after the bilateral meeting, telling journalists at the AU headquarters that the two countries should “shift from rhetoric to action.”

Kirr and Al-Bashir signed nine agreements on Sep. 27, 2012, following the continued fighting between the two countries along their borders, disputes over oil fees and claims over oil-rich border states, including the Abyei region.

At the time, the United Nations Security Council threatened both countries with sanctions if no agreement was reached.

But the agreements are yet to be put into effect, as there is no implementation deadline.

Independent East Africa peace and security analyst Mehari Taddele Maru told IPS that U.N. sanctions might be helpful if the countries fail to implement the agreements. He said “sanctions have to be considered again, but then they should be well targeted so that (the sanctions) pressure officials and do not only effect the general public.”

However, AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) commissioner Ramtane Lamamra told IPS that sanctions are not needed: “I believe there is a clear expectation that failure should not be an option and patience is also part of the entire exercise.”

Chairperson of the AU Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told delegations from both countries that the South Sudanese/Sudanese conflict poses a set of challenges on “how to celebrate diversity while pursuing the goal of a united Africa.”

Negotiations between the two countries seem to be continuing indefinitely as the AUPSC extended the mandate of the mediation team, led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, till the end of July.

Mehari said that this was an issue for concern: “Every meeting comes with new conditions, new requests and even new documents that are tabled. The previous agreements are almost forgotten.”

South Sudan blamed its neighbour for the delay in implementing previous security agreements, which include implementing a buffer zone between the two nations, claiming that Sudan allegedly made new demands during the recent high-level security meeting.

The Sudanese delegation did not want to comment on the matter and told IPS on Sunday, Jan. 27,  “we agreed with the South Sudanese delegation in the beginning that we would not speak to the media while discussions are ongoing.”

Mehari said that the ongoing negotiation process was used as an excuse to not focus on democratisation and delivering basic services to the citizens of both countries. He said that Sudan’s Al-Bashir could use the ongoing border conflict for his own political gain, and could claim that he is the only leader who can stand against the threat of South Sudan and the international community.

Mehari added that the border issues were also used by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, the leading political group in South Sudan, to shift the focus from their lack of delivery of services to their people as they are still trying to transform from a liberation movement into a democratic political party.

African civil society groups at the summit urged the AU to act on the worsening humanitarian situation in places such as disputed border states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Both countries are engaged in armed conflict in civilian areas in both states. In 2012 Human Rights Watch accused the Sudanese government forces of being in violation of international humanitarian law.

Abozer Mohamed of the Sudanese NGO National Group for Human Rights, which has consultative status to the U.N., said that the current agreements between the governments are not about the people, but only about politics. He said that strategies between the two countries should be more about capacity building. “When you hear the politicians speak you will think a war will begin tomorrow between the two countries. That should be changed,” Mohamed told IPS.

Delegations from Sudan and South Sudan are expected to return to Ethiopia in February to continue negotiations on implementing existing agreements.

Oil-rich South Sudan shut down its oil production in January 2012 over disagreements about transport fees with Sudan. Oil revenues are essential to both economies and production is yet to resume.

Over 57 percent of maternal deaths occur in Africa. Credit: Patrick Burnett/IPS

By Blain Biset
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 27 2013 (IPS)

Every single day, 452 women in sub-Saharan Africa die from pregnancy-related causes; that’s 18 women every hour.

Against this backdrop, heads of state gathered in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit met at a side event on Sunday, Jan. 27 to renew their commitment to reducing the maternal mortality rate on the continent.

Back in May 2009, the African Union and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched CARMMA, the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa, with the aim of expanding the availability of reproductive health services and moving Africa closer to achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5: reducing the maternal mortality rate by three-quarters and ensuring universal access to reproductive health care by 2015.

Ahead of the CARMMA meeting, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged African heads of state to commit to the MDGs.

But although pledges and promises have been made, the continent still has a long way to go before it reaches the 2015 target – so far, sub-Saharan Africa has seen an average reduction rate of just 41 percent.

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin believes that, while sub-Saharan Africa has made significant progress, this high-level meeting with African heads of state is urgently needed.

“Africa knows what to do and how to do it,” he told IPS, “but there are still challenges.”

African Union Commissioner of Social Affairs, Dr. Mustapha Kaloko, is not convinced Africa will reach the set goal by 2015 but he does believes CARMMA has the capacity to accelerate the reduction.

“The unique nature of this campaign is that it is not asking for anything new,” Kaloko told IPS. “We are not developing new plans, but improving the instruments we already have.”

He added that most maternal deaths in Africa could have been prevented by using already existing practices and interventions.

A recent study by the renowned medical journal ‘The Lancet’ shows that a woman in sub-Saharan Africa is almost 100 times more likely to die because of pregnancy and childbirth complications than a woman in a wealthy country.

The same study also states that eight out of ten countries with the highest numbers of maternal deaths are in Africa with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo topping the list.

Another major challenge, according to Osotimehin, is the level of political commitment from nations to reduce the rate of maternal mortality on the continent.

He stressed,“This event is not about money but about commitment. We are here to ensure that no women dies giving life.”

A vast majority of maternal deaths – roughly 57 percent – occur on the continent of Africa, giving it the world’s highest maternal mortality ratio.

And the mortality rate is not the only thing of concern to development experts and local medical practitioners — for every pregnancy-related death, there are about 20 women who suffer complications before, during and after childbirth, leaving mothers and children alike with lifelong disabilities or medical conditions.

Severe bleeding after childbirth, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy and unsafe abortions are the most common causes for pregnancy-related complications and deaths according to the UNFPA.

According to Dorothee Kinde Gazard, Benin’s Health Minister, these numbers are exorbitant: “All levels of society, notably on the communal level, have to be involved and committed to making sure no woman dies or becomes handicapped unnecessarily.”

Benin has taken steps towards reducing pregnancy-related deaths by improving data collection services in clinics and hospitals. Gazard told IPS, “Every death is now registered so we can learn why women die and how we can prevent (unnecessary deaths).”

The increased use of family planning services has been successful in several countries such as Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.

Another solution is to reduce the maternal mortality rate by preventing child marriages, Osotimehin said.

“Early child marriages create a situation where children are bearing children, when they are physically and psychologically not ready.”

In Niger, over three-quarters of women get married in their teens. Pregnant girls between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times as likely to die during pregnancy than women in their twenties, according to a UNICEF rapport, while pregnant girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are twice as likely to die during pregnancy than women in their twenties.

Though CARMMA is primarily focused on women’s health, men do play an important role in this campaign. Osotimehin says everybody needs to realise that the high rates of maternal mortality are not acceptable.

“So we must talk to men because they are the ones who are causing all these problems,” he stressed.

Minister Gazard agreed that men’s participation is crucial. “Without them we will not be successful in reducing the maternal mortality rate,” she said. In a bid to involve men in these efforts, Benin recently started a project whereby men are encouraged to attend prenatal consultations with their wives during the pregnancy.

So far, Equatorial Guinea is the only African nation among ten countries worldwide to have reached MDG 5.

Leading experts like Michelle Bachelet, executive director of UN Women, are convinced that few, if any, African countries will be able to reduce maternal deaths by 75 percent in 2015.

“We have to focus on increasing the efforts but we should already start thinking about what is going to happen after 2015,” Bachelet told IPS.

Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation is once again stirring debate in this Horn of Africa nation as lawyer Temam Ababulga challenges the 2009 law in the highly-publicised “Muslim terrorism” case.

Ethiopia’s Federal High Court was meant to deliver the judgment in the case, where 29 Muslims were arrested in July on charges of terrorism, on Thursday Dec. 6. But the case was postponed till Dec. 17.

Ethiopia has had Muslim demonstrations since the beginning of the year, as members of the religious community have protested against what they say is government interference in their religious affairs. Around one-third of the 84 million people in this predominantly Christian nation are Muslim.

The dispute reached a head in July when 29 leaders of the Muslim community were arrested during a meeting, and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Under the decree, peaceful protest and dissent can be considered terrorism, and critical reporting by the media is seen as encouraging terrorism.

“We believe that the proclamation is not constitutional,” Temam told IPS.

Human Rights Watch has also repeatedly criticised Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism decree. Leslie Lefkow, the rights watchdog’s Africa specialist, told IPS that there are a number of human rights concerns in the proclamation.

“The definition of ‘terrorist acts’ is so broad that it can be used to prosecute a wide range of conduct far beyond what can reasonably be considered terrorist activity, such as legitimate peaceful protest and dissent, and protected speech,” she said.

In addition to rights organisations, the United Nations and foreign governments have criticised the proclamation for its broad interpretations of terrorism. Almost 200 people were imprisoned under this proclamation in 2011 alone, mostly members of the opposition, journalists and activists.

Amnesty International’s Claire Beston agreed that the proclamation was unconstitutional. “The constitution guarantees the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of association, including, explicitly, the right to peacefully protest. As the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation places restrictions on these rights, it does violate Ethiopia’s Constitution,” she told IPS.

Under Article 25 of the proclamation, parliament has the power “to proscribe and de-proscribe an organisation as a terrorist organisation.” This is another violation of the constitution, according to Temam.

“By implementing this proclamation, parliament has given up on the separation of power,” he said.

Other constitutional provisions that have allegedly been violated fall under the article concerning the collection of evidence. Article 23.1 states that intelligence reports with information obtained by the police or secret services with evidence against terrorist suspects may be used in court “even if the report does not disclose the source or the method in which it was gathered.”

“The court has no choice but to release my clients,” said Teman, noting that article 13 of Ethiopia’s constitution specifically rules out charges that are not constitutional.

Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died in August after ruling the country for 21 years, defended the proclamation in February. He told parliament that the proclamation was copied word for word from other countries: “We took from America, England and the European model anti-terrorism laws. From these we have chosen the better ones…the proclamation in every respect is flawless. It is better than the best anti-terrorism laws.”

There are several other ongoing anti-terrorism cases. These include the cases of award-winning journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, who are currently appealing their sentences.

They were arrested in 2011 for alleged acts of terrorism and for trying to start an Arab Spring against the Ethiopian government. They were also accused of being active participants in terrorist groups such as the outlawed group Ginbot 7. Eskinder was sentenced to 18 years without parole and Andualem to life without parole.

A verdict is also expected soon in the so-called “Al-Qaeda trial” where 11 people are being prosecuted for alleged ties with the international terrorist organisation and its Somalia affiliate Al-Shabaab.

Meanwhile, Beston does not expect the court to declare the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation unconstitutional. “It is highly likely that the proclamation will continue to be used to silence government opponents and critics,” she said.

Lefkof said that continued use of the anti-terrorism proclamation would have a negative impact on Ethiopian society.

“This is part of a larger crackdown on independent voices in Ethiopia, and it is a profoundly worrying trend. Rule based on oppressing fundamental human rights is a precarious and short-term strategy that will only harm Ethiopia and its people over the long term,” she said.

Temam said he did not believe that Ethiopia needed the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to prosecute people allegedly involved in terrorist activities.

“The current laws should be sufficient to charge terrorists and therefore I believe we will succeed in proving that this anti-terrorism proclamation is unconstitutional,” he said.

Chinese workers in front of five star 90-million-dollar hotel in Malawi. Credit: Claire Ngozo/IPS

By Blain Biset
BISHOFTU, Ethiopia, Oct 13 2012 (IPS)

China could soon expand its involvement in peace and security issues in Africa, according to government officials, researchers and academics from both the Asian giant and resource-rich continent who met at the second China-Africa Think Tanks Forum in Ethiopia from Oct. 12 to 13.

Mulugeta Gebrehiwot, the director of the Institute of Peace and Security Studies in Ethiopia that organised the forum, told IPS that it should not come as a surprise that China is interested in peace and security on the African continent.

“There is nothing that is not touched by peace and security. Whether you’re (looking) for investment collaboration, economic operation or anything else. Peace and security has to be in place. Because that’s the central instrument that keeps the environment for any other interaction and collaboration together,” Gebrehiwot said.

Senior officials and prominent scholars including Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen and vice-president of the China Foreign Affairs University Professor Zhu Liqun attended the forum in Bishoftu, some 45 kilometres from the country’s capital, Addis Ababa.

Chinese officials pointed out that the Asian giant’s non-interference policy should not be interpreted as indifference to the continent’s peace and security.

“Our non-interference policy in Africa does not mean we have an indifferent attitude towards African issues. We oppose some countries that in the excuse of care for another, interfere with African internal affairs,” Director-General Lu Shaye from the Department of African Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry told IPS.

He said that China would not intervene readily in the affairs of another country and their involvement would be to merely support regional organisations and institutions on the continent.

“In the past we provided funds to support the African Union (AU), in the future we will strengthen this support. We’ll have cooperation with the AU and other regional organisations to have a better understanding on this issue. And we will accelerate our support to the AU and other regional organisations,” Lu Shaye said.

Until now, China’s role in Africa has mostly focused on economic development. Last year, China-Africa trade amounted to 166 billion dollars, according to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

China’s approach of non-interference has provided Africa with much needed funding without the strings that some western powers attach to loans for Africa, and has resulted in the fast construction of large infrastructure projects, according to experts.

A research article in Standard Bank’s Guide to Transactional Banking in Africa 2012 by Bridgette Liu and Richard Stocken titled “The role of China’s construction industry in Africa’s infrastructure development”, stated that Chinese companies now dominate the African construction sector, with a market share larger than those of France, Italy and the United States combined.

“Revenues of construction companies in central and southern Africa grew by 31.7 percent to 27.52 billion dollars in 2009. North Africa grew 30.8 percent to 29.29 billion dollars. At the same time, the share of Chinese enterprises in the African market rose significantly from 26.9 percent in 2007 to 42.4 percent in 2008 and back to 36.6 percent in 2009,” the article stated.

The article also noted “Chinese state-owned financial institutions such as China Exim Bank and China Development Bank have become large-scale lenders in Africa, rivalling the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in terms of development finance outreach.”

Much has been written about the World Bank and IMF loans to Africa. A 2006 briefing paper by Oxfam International titled “Kicking the Habit” stated that because the two organisations use their aid to push economic policy reforms such as privatisation and liberalisation on poor countries, in Mali, “where far from leading to economic growth and poverty reduction, conditions have hiked electricity prices and are likely to hurt cotton farmers as well as delaying aid flows and undermining country ownership of policies.”

China’s President Hu Jintao announced two months ago that his country would invest 20 billion dollars more in Africa. But he also stated that China would take new measures to support the cause for peace and development in Africa. Policies are already being drafted to indicate how China will improve is participation.

While China is Africa’s biggest trade partner, it already is the largest contributor of peacekeepers to Africa among permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

But the role of China in Africa is often seen as a controversial one. China’s funding of the new AU building headquarters in Addis Ababa has sparked debate among non-African critics about whether the new economic world power was buying its way into the continent.

Western countries have warned on frequent occasions that China’s participation in Africa has colonial tendencies. Or that the Asian country supports oppressive regimes and is trying to take advantage of Africa’s natural recourses.

United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said during her latest Africa trip in August, that the U.S. stands up for human rights and democracy “even when it might be easier or more profitable to look the other way, to keep the resources flowing.”

However, Dr. Mehari Taddele Maru, an independent peace and security expert in his conference paper titled “China-Africa Relations: Areas of Reform for a Sustainable Partnership”, disagreed and stated that China’s reputation in Africa is positive as African countries feel that their Asian partners respect other people, cultures and states.

While China’s improved role in peace and security in Africa could be beneficial for the continent, it could also be rewarding for China.

“China’s cooperation with Africa will become a problem in the future if civil wars continue to exist,” Professor Liu Hongwu, the director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, told IPS.

Experts at the forum pointed out that peace and security was broader than security focused around violent clashes. It also focuses on food security and fighting the epidemic HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Hongwu added that the Chinese are not only focused on maintaining peace by training soldiers: “We can also improve the ability to keep security by training countries in sectors such as finance, education and technology.”

China currently trains more than 6,000 African personnel in various sectors and provides over 5,500 government scholarships to African countries.

According to a new report, 16 million girls in Africa are denied access to education. Only around 8 percent of women in South Sudan are literate, giving it one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world. Credit: John Robinson/IPS

By Blain Biset
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 11 2012 (IPS)

While in the last decade an additional 52 million of sub-Saharan Africa’s children enrolled in primary schools, with girl’s enrolment increasing from 54 percent to 74 percent, a large majority of girls – 16 million – are still being denied access to education.

This is according to a report by Plan International titled “Progress and Obstacles to Girls’ Education in Africa” released in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Oct. 11 – the first International Day of the Girl Child.

The report says that school enrolment in Sub-Saharan Africa remains the lowest in the world, with boys being more likely to attend school than girls.

It warns that if the situation does not change immediately, the Millennium Development Goal to achieve universal primary education by 2015 will not be reached. (The MDGs are a series of development and anti-poverty targets agreed by U.N. member states in 2000.)

Luther Anukur, deputy regional director of Eastern and Southern Africa for Plan International, told IPS that culture was one of the root causes of the problem: “We have to engage with communities to discuss the issue of girls not attending school.”

Several factors are preventing girls from studying, such as the cost of education, violence in schools, or families that prefer to send their sons to school instead of their daughters.

The report states that while many countries on the continent have national policies guaranteeing free primary education, the reality for children and their parents is very different.

“Whilst official school fees may have been abolished, many schools continue to charge other fees, such as for enrolment or examinations. Added to the costs of uniforms, books, transport, stationary and other ‘hidden costs’ of education, sending a child to school remains a significant financial investment for families,” the report states.

Early marriage and pregnancy is another crucial reason for girls dropping out of school. In Uganda, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia, almost 60 percent of school-going girls halted their studies because of early pregnancies, according to the report. And in countries such as Niger, Chad and Mali, two-thirds of girls are married by age 18.

Isabel* is a 19-year-old girl from Mozambique who has already been married twice, and was recently forced by her family into a third marriage with an older man. She has no education or diploma, and depends solely on her family.

“They warned that if I defied their word, they would chase me away with (my two) kids. Because I am not employed, I was obliged to face this new challenge,” she told Plan International.

Fifteen-year-old Latifa* from Ethiopia did stand up to her family when her stepfather wanted to marry her off to a 40-year-old ex-soldier. It was not easy for Latifa to challenge her family as she was subjected to severe harassment. She told Plan International: “When it became too much to bear, I ran off to live with an aunt 60 kilometres away.” Raising funds for school fees has been difficult for her, but with a part-time job at a hair salon she is managing.

But many girls like Latifa end up in transactional sex relationships to cover school fees or to purchase basic but unaffordable necessities such as soap, food and clothes, according to the report.

The International Day of the Girl focuses on girls such as Isabel and Latifa, but men and boys will also have to play their part, Anukur said. “The decision whether a girl can go to school is mostly made by men. So we will target families that send their girls to school, so that they can become role models for the community.”

While Africa is poor, governments use this argument sometimes for their failure to take responsibility for the situation, Anukur said. He argued that the continent was not short of resources.

“It’s all about how these resources are used. Governance is a big issue in Africa; it is important that governments are committed to change.”

Professor Jean-Pierre Onvehoun Ezin, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, told IPS that the organisation was committed to ensuring that girls in Africa grow up safely with the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.

“Because they are both young and female, girls more than any other group are marginalised, exploited and abused.” He added that ensuring girls reach their full potential “is not just a moral obligation, but the most powerful solution we know of to eliminate poverty.”

Ezin told IPS that while policies were good on paper, implementing them remained an obstacle on the continent.

“As an organisation or an institution alone, you can speak a lot and loud, but you won’t make a change by yourself.”

The AU commissioner believes that basic education is the responsibility of individual countries.

“Civil society, NGOs and governments have to work together to push education policies,” he said.

Jundi Hajji is a wheat farmer in Ethiopia. Experts say that Africa could become a food basket to the world for a number of crops, in addition to wheat./ Credit:Omer Redi/IPS

By Blain Biset
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 11 2012 (IPS)

Africa can ensure food security by producing wheat. New research presented in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week shows that the continent has the potential to be self-sufficient.

The demand for wheat is growing faster than for any other crop, according to statistics of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Researchers are looking into the possibility of making Africa a major wheat producer, as the continent is the biggest wheat importer worldwide. It is expected that this year alone, Africa will spend 12 billion dollars on importing 40 million tonnes of wheat.

Researchers at the CIMMYT Wheat for Food Security Conference being held in Addis Ababa from Oct. 8 to 12 say more production on the continent and fewer imports will eventually ensure increased food security for Sub-Saharan Africa.

In particular, farmers in communities which are reliant on rain-fed agriculture have the potential to expand wheat production. This could contribute to ensuring food security, as less money will be spent on importing foodstuffs.

A report released at the conference focused on 12 countries on the African continent where wheat is traditionally produced. The study was done in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

These countries have enough natural rainfall for the yields required to become self-sustaining. The study showed that 20 to 100 percent of the farmland in these countries is suitable for profitable wheat farming.

Nicole Mason, assistant professor of International Development in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University, and a keynote speaker at the conference, told IPS that there are several factors driving up demand for wheat.

Wheat, primarily in the form of bread, pasta and cereals, is the number two staple crop in the developing world. It is also a primary source for protein in most third world countries. While maize currently holds the top position, the demand for wheat is rapidly growing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“We mainly find improved affordability of wheat products, population growth and rising incomes are key drivers. Urban consumers tend to spend more on wheat than rural ones, so rapid urbanisation in Africa might be another key factor.”

The changing lifestyle of African women also has had a significant impact on the demand for wheat, said Mason. “As women are working more outside of their home, they have less time to prepare food and they seek convenience foods that are quicker to prepare. Bread and pasta are key convenience foods.”

As urbanisation is one of the key factors behind the increasing demand, alternatives need to be investigated in order to cope with expected urban population growth of 300 percent in Africa in the coming 40 years.

If farmers in the region increased their production by 10 to 25 percent, it would be economically profitable according to researchers from the CIMMYT.

Hans-Joachim Braun, the director of the Global Wheat Program at the CIMMYT, told IPS that Africa is the biggest importer of wheat in the world and that it has the potential to produce what it consumes.

“Africa is very favourable for a lot of crop production, but what is missing are water and fertiliser,” he said.

Investments in seed and technology are needed to turn African into a self-sustaining wheat producer. He explained that if water, including dams for irrigation, and fertilisers were provided, Africa could become a food basket to the world for a number of crops, in addition to wheat.

But more changes are needed if Africa ever wants to reach that goal. Tariffs on imports create difficulties in the agricultural sector. Many of the issues the sector faces in becoming a major wheat producer have to do with the policies of the sector itself, said Braun. “These issues need to be changed and they have a lot to do with policy. Because the yields are extremely low in Africa, also for other crops.”

Many African countries used to produce wheat on a larger scale until the 1980s. Because of the tonnes of food aid that was donated during this period of time, international prices declined sharply.

Smallholder farmers in most Sub-Saharan African countries do the majority of agricultural production. Braun pointed out that these farmers often need better varieties and access to seeds to make wheat production truly viable. But he added that this is just the technical part, while the infrastructural component is equally important: “It also needs to be ensured that the wheat can be processed and reach the end users as well.”

Poverty reduction can be a positive side effect in the long run for smallholder farmers producing wheat, said Mason. She told IPS that “if the product of the small scale farmers is demanded by urban people, they will earn more money and that will help to reduce poverty.”

Braun believes African farmers have to be shown that there is a significant market for their products, without pushing wheat into Africa or on to the farmers: “What counts is what is in their pockets, to provide them with an alternative with a higher income.”