CAPE TOWN, May 7 (IPS) – Is small the new big when it comes to agriculture in Southern Africa?
As rising food prices place this sector firmly in the spotlight, there are compelling examples at hand to make the case for greater investment in small-scale farming. In an interview with IPS, Pedro Sanchez – director of tropical agriculture at the Earth Institute of the University of Columbia, in the United States – said that in Southern Africa it was possible to turn an economy around and improve food security by investing in small-scale farmers. The threat of severe food shortages in Malawi four years ago was averted when the United Nations, at the request of government, helped these farmers to obtain fertilizer, seeds and other farming necessities. “It costs 70 dollars to grow a tonne of maize as opposed to importing it at 700 dollars. In 2006, there was a surplus of 25 percent; in 2007 the figure shot up to 45 percent. Malawi is a country that has gone from (being) a food aid recipient to an exporter of maize; the beneficiaries are Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland,” Sanchez said. T
