Harvesting Hope Small Farmers Take on Food Insecurity in West and Central Africa
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
Web resource
Harvesting Hope Small Farmers Take on Food Insecurity in West and Central Africa. Any smallholder farmer should be inspired to dream big and secure a better life for their family and their community, like Tatiana, a farmer in the conflict-affected region of Bambari, Central African Republic (CAR), or in other hotspots for food insecurity in Western and Central Africa.
In CAR like in many countries across the region, more than 80% of people work in the agriculture sector. Greater agricultural yields are, therefore, at the heart of the countries’ economic transformation.
With the right reforms and investments to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and the development of the fertilizer sector, the region could feed 418 million of its people.
However, in the heart of the Western and Central Africa region across CAR, Togo, and the Sahel, people are bearing the brunt of the compounded impact of the food and fuel crisis, conflict in the region and in faraway Ukraine, and more frequent climate shocks.
West Africa is facing its worst food crisis in ten years. Cereal prices have increased more than 30% over the past five years.
More than ever in the region, the future of agriculture, food security, and development are intertwined.
Through the Emergency Food Security Response project (PRUCAC in French), Tatiana and 329,000 smallholder farmers have received seeds, farming tools and training in agricultural and post-harvest techniques to help them boost their crop production and become more resilient to climate and conflict risks. As a result, local food production increased by 250%, from 28,000 tons in September 2022 to 73,000 tons in June 2023.
Togo:
Feed the soil to feed the people
Togolese farmer Victoire Dabla, watching the green paddy field where she spread the fertilizer purchased at a subsidized rate from the government Center for the supply and management of agricultural fertilizers (CAGIA in French), hopes for a good harvest this time.
“Fertilizer is essential for us because our soil is poor. Without fertilizers, the rice leaves turn yellow, and then they turn red. But when we spread fertilizers, they are all green,” says Victoire.
Just in Togo last May 2023, a shipment of 34,000 metric tons of fertilizers has been distributed from the port of Lomé to meet the urgent needs of Togolese producers. READ further from the source
In CAR like in many countries across the region, more than 80% of people work in the agriculture sector. Greater agricultural yields are, therefore, at the heart of the countries’ economic transformation.
With the right reforms and investments to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and the development of the fertilizer sector, the region could feed 418 million of its people.
However, in the heart of the Western and Central Africa region across CAR, Togo, and the Sahel, people are bearing the brunt of the compounded impact of the food and fuel crisis, conflict in the region and in faraway Ukraine, and more frequent climate shocks.
West Africa is facing its worst food crisis in ten years. Cereal prices have increased more than 30% over the past five years.
More than ever in the region, the future of agriculture, food security, and development are intertwined.
Through the Emergency Food Security Response project (PRUCAC in French), Tatiana and 329,000 smallholder farmers have received seeds, farming tools and training in agricultural and post-harvest techniques to help them boost their crop production and become more resilient to climate and conflict risks. As a result, local food production increased by 250%, from 28,000 tons in September 2022 to 73,000 tons in June 2023.
Togo:
Feed the soil to feed the people
Togolese farmer Victoire Dabla, watching the green paddy field where she spread the fertilizer purchased at a subsidized rate from the government Center for the supply and management of agricultural fertilizers (CAGIA in French), hopes for a good harvest this time.
“Fertilizer is essential for us because our soil is poor. Without fertilizers, the rice leaves turn yellow, and then they turn red. But when we spread fertilizers, they are all green,” says Victoire.
Just in Togo last May 2023, a shipment of 34,000 metric tons of fertilizers has been distributed from the port of Lomé to meet the urgent needs of Togolese producers. READ further from the source
Keywords
food insecurity
West Africa
Central Africa
small-scale farmers
Central African Republic
Togo
human story
fertilizer use
agriculture
facts and figures