Agri investments must help, not hurt
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director at the World Bank, former finance minister for Nigeria and Fellow TEDster, Speaking at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.
In Madagascar, she said, demonstrations against President Marc Ravalomanana involved unhappiness over a deal to lease half of the Indian Ocean island's arable land to grow food.
"What we need to do is look at the political and social consequences of this," said Okonjo-Iweala.
"As far as I'm concerned it is a good thing ... but you must make sure that you do it transparently and everyone in the country understands why is it being done, who is benefiting and how will ordinary people benefit," she added.
Okonjo-Iweala said such large commercial farming investments by foreigners could benefit local farmers by giving them access to new technology, irrigation and marketing.
Over the past few years a growing number of people in the TED community have become passionate about Africa, a continent that appears to be at an important tipping point. Its problems and challenges are well known. Less well known is that across the continent, change is afoot. Instead of relying on yet more aid bailouts, Africans are starting to take matters into their own hands. Ingenious solutions are being applied to tackle some of the toughest health and infrastructure problems. Businesses are being launched that are capable of transforming the lives of millions. New communication technologies are allowing ideas and information to spread, enabling markets — and governments — to be more efficient. And the numbers suggest that incomes are starting to nudge up and real growth is on the way. Africa: the Next Chapter.
As TED Global Africa fellow , and TED 2009 fellow I want to take my responsibility and want to be part of the solution for the announced Next Chapter.
With the project MEGASEEDS, Asian TEDsters and Africans get together to cristalise the discussion from TED Arusha and concreat it as real project since TEDsters are not only a thinkers but also Doers. We have planned a win win partenarship that will be a model to intiate something meaningful to the world.
Crisis in Madagascar shows that the way of partenarship with africa must change. One of the tipping point of this deception is the recent much-publicised plan of conglomerate Daewoo Logistics to lease a reported 1.9 million hectares of prime land in Madagascar to cultivate maize for export has fallen through.
Given the size and audacity of the the proposed deal, its astonishingly generous-to-Daewoo terms and the charges of 'neo-colonialism' from many quarters, it was probably doomed from the beginning.
Now that the heat has died down somewhat, perhaps it is time to examine it more calmly for the lessons that can be gleaned from it. It is one thing to criticise this particular attempted deal but African countries need foreign investment, and agriculture will for a long time offer the most realistic development options for Africa.
What we need in Madagascar is :
- A Leader who think not for people but with them. In certain way people who consult the population and make proposal to right channel investment in the country.
- we need government by the people for the people and certainly not a dictatorship.
- we have to energize youth people to keep in mind that investment in Madagascar has to be a ecological responsibility.
Madasgascar is a testimony of the very old ages, We want to keep it safe for common heritage - for the humanity . 80% of our population are farmers ... It is an opportunity for doing sustainable Agribusiness but please ask us what products to grow, and how to grow it properly.
Not imposing us Maize crops ...
May be we have more valuable plants wich are profitable for the business, human right respectfull and Environmental friendly? Madagascar in particularly have thousands more valuable plants than maize crops, including Food's and Medecine's plants.
At MEGASEEDS: With our Ravintsara tree, we are fighting deforestation, controlling erosion, we don't have to cut the tree but we are using the leaf to make essential oil. On top of that, ravintsara tree is an evergreen tree. In terme of profit the Ravintsara essential oil is arround $240 USD per liter on the global Market. $240 USD is nearly the average salary ANNUALLY in the country.
Let's plant ... every malagasy can have his TREE BANK in his piece of land and it is only $1 USD investment per tree. Good for the pocket and good for the environment.
The Ravintsara is an Endemic tree who has specific carracteristic when it's grow in Madagascar - Madagascar only monopoly by Nature and hurts noboby - our ravintsara raw material today is only 2% of the Global Market need... it's valuable essetial oil is used for Making Medicine ... but Ravintsara is only one tree among thousands existing in Madagascar.
Why Maize ? Maize pump loads of water scientists says. Our stapple food in Madagascar is Rice and it is what we eat daily and what we need, one malagasy eat 180 kg of Rice per year, some of our country mate eat rice three time a day. Untill today, Madagascar still import 25% of it rice consuption annually... It's not impossible, and we can do it ... agriculture sound like something very odd, but trust me, it's fit Technology, Entertainment, and Design.. and we are working daily to make it NEW.
To be continued ...
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