Fragilecologies Archives
December 17, 1998
In the early 1960s, colonial rule in Africa was drawing to a close. As independent governments emerged across much of the continent, there was great hope that these newly independent countries would fare well. There was even hope that the remaining colonial regimes would eventually give way to freedom for Africans in South Africa, Southwest Africa (now Namibia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique, Angola and Portuguese Guinea
Around the same time that independence was gained by these countries, it seems there was a downturn in the continent’s climate. The wet 1950s and 1960s gave way to multiyear droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. So at a time when new leaders were learning how to govern their countries, drought plagued their ability to feed their peoples.
Recurrent, devastating drought coupled with social, economic and political problems (such as war, corruption and problems generated by colonial rule), undermined the ability of many African countries to produce enough food to alleviate chronic hunger and occasional famine outbreaks.
At the same time, misuse of the fragile environment led to widespread soil erosion and deforestation. In order for people to cook their meals, they needed sources of energy, and the only energy around was wood from trees and shrubs. Sometimes animal dung would be collected and used as fuel, thereby depriving degraded soils of sorely needed nutrients. As a result of Africa’s “other energy crisis” (the need for firewood), much of the land around settlements has been severely degraded and, in many cases, abandoned as totally unproductive.
All of this has discourage those of us who a generation ago sought in our own ways to help the new countries become self-sustaining and well-fed. Many an African specialist has thrown up his or her hand in despair, suggesting the continent was a lost one. Many of them have shifted their research attention to Asia and Latin America, where there is a feeling of hope about the opportunities for economic development.
Recently, however, a report of the National Academy of Sciences suggested there is a chance for Africa to feed itself in the next century. This report, “Lost Crops of Africa,” identified grains more tolerant of drought conditions and various changes in climate factors – sorghum, finger millet, pearl millet, tef, fonio and African rice, among others. With colonial rule came plans to produce crops that were of interest to Europeans (e.g., corn, wheat, rice), not the food crops on which Africans traditionally depended.
Imported crop varieties demanded much more from the environment. They were less tolerant of high temperatures and low amounts of rainfall. These and many other crops called “cash crops,” such as sugar cane or peanuts, displaced traditional ones. They were grown for export to the world market and were not intended for use within the country growing them.
When I was in Nigeria several years ago, there was a major effort to grow wheat on land that had historically been used to grow millet and sorghum. Wheat was being imported in increasing amounts, and, to minimize the cost of those imports, the government wanted to grow its own wheat. There were billboards around the cities calling on people to “EAT WHITE BREAD.”
What if Africans were to return to growing their traditional crops? What if the international agricultural research centers were to put major emphasis on improving the yields and use of these traditional crops? What if the good soils that had been confiscated for cash crop production were to be given to farmers to produce sorghum and millet? Might this go a long way toward reducing the chronic hunger and malnutrition that plagues the continent? Might it serve to reduce the number of weather-related famines that appear several times a decade?
A wholesale return to the “lost grains of Africa” suggests that many countries on the continent could achieve food security by increasing production of their traditional food crops.
Those who are eager to help African countries out of their current state of dependence on humanitarian food assistance should read the Academy’s report. It will rekindle a feeling that Africa has a future.