== History ==

PROBLEMS, SOLUTIONS (essay style)

Farming in Africa began just as small-scale farming and did not become large-scale village farming until 5000 B.C.

In northern Africa and the Sahara between 9000 and 4000 B.C. there were grasslands along with forests, rivers, and lakes. The people of this area during this time began to have a more settled life and began to grow food with the help of stone and wooden tools.

The earliest agriculture in Africa is believed to be in Egypt and Nubia in 10,000 B.C. where wild barley was being cultivated. During the Stone Age, at least 10,000 years ago, in northeast Africa sickle blades were being used to cut grasses along with grinding stones used to process the grains. Then during 6000 BC along the Nile River the people began growing sorghum, millet, and also wheat, which is believed to be of African origin. After that between 5000 and 4000 B.C. the people were able to control the flooding of the Nile by building irrigation systems. Egypt depended on the annual floods of the Nile River, which came in early July and receded in October, to restore the fertility of the soil. The people called this area the Black Land because of the layer of fertile moist black soil the floods left. Around 3500 B.C. the people would trap flood water in basins that were lined with clay and built dikes and sluices, so that they would have water to use when the river receded. This allowed Egypt to grow food such as: wheat, barley, beans, lettuce, peas, onions, olives, dates, figs, and radishes, in a greater abundance than anywhere else in Africa.

Around 3500 B.C. the climate of North Africa began to change, areas that were once grass and woodlands became dry and the Sahara began to change into the desert we know now. This climate change made the people flee to wetter lands taking with them their knowledge of farming and cultivation of wheat, barley, and flax.

In Western Africa in 1000 B.C. people began clearing portions of tropical forest with stone axes where they began planting yams, and harvesting fruits and nuts.

Agriculture in Eastern Africa supported cultures like Mali, Ghana, Nok, Ife, and Benin where they grew cereals, oil crops, and vegetables along with medical plants used in the religions.

Africa's traditional farming practices are similar to those of other countries: crops are dictated by the climate and farmers generally plant two plant varieties per field working the field until it stops producing. When the nutrients are depleted the crop is burned (adding minerals to the soil) and another field is cultivated. What make Africa's farming practices different are the many spiritual beliefs surrounding their agricultural practices. David Millar, in his March 2004 paper, Interfacing Two Knowledge Systems: Local Knowledge and Science in Africa highlights the use of ancient traditions and rituals states, “in the general traditional African worldview, land, water, animals and plants are not just a production factor with economic significance. They have their place in the sanctity of nature.” Millar concludes that the integration of western modernization with traditional African beliefs is necessary if we are to include Africa’s agricultural growth.

Current Situation

The African continent spans nearly 12 million square miles (compared to the United States' almost 6 million square miles) and is second only to Asia in size. If we were to rearrange a geographically correct world map it would be possible to fit India, China, Argentina, the US, New Zealand, and Europe into Africa's land mass, and still have room left over.

Africa's climate is warm and the weather stable within its regions, but there are several variations of regional climates ranging from tropical with rainfall in excess of 100 inches a year, to desert with as little as 20 inches of yearly rainfall.

In African countries that do not export oil, agriculture is the most important segment of the economy. It accounts for approximately 30% of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product and about 50% of the total export value. Of Africa’s population, 70% depend on the agriculture segment for their source of revenue. Although such a large percentage of people count on agriculture for their livelihood, it is a sector that remains in crisis. Production cannot keep pace with the growth in Africa’s population which, in turn, results in food insecurity and widespread rural poverty. Policy reforms have not been effective and have caused varied results, while attempts to increase output have been damaged by declining support and low world prices for Africa’s most important agricultural exports. In order to relieve the perpetual food crisis in Africa, many African scientists are accepting the concept of genetically modified food. One scientist, James Ochanda, says: “We want to create an enabling environment where African people can participate and benefit from biotechnology in a responsible and sustainable agriculture.” Another scientist agrees that since Africa imports approximately 25% of its grain from wealthy countries and also relies on those same countries for food aid during famines that: “It would be a much higher risk for Africa to ignore biotechnology.”

However, many human rights groups in Africa and Europe have contested biotechnology because they believe that Africa has been targeted as a testing ground for Transgenic crops that have yet to be approved as safe. These groups assume biotechnology would force Africa to undergo manipulation by dominant multinational companies that utilize the “terminator-gene,” a sterilization process that results in sterile seeds. Because of this “terminator-gene,” African farmers would have to purchase new seeds every planting season; this opposes their previous cultural practices that involved passing sacred seeds from generation to generation.

Problems

African agriculture itself is in crisis: according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, 200 million people on the African continent are malnourished. From 1975 to 2005, the African population more than doubled, rising from 335 to 751 million, and continues to grow at a rate of 2.2% a year. This has forced farming families to subdivide their land time and again, leading to tiny plots or families moving onto unsuitable, overworked land, leaving the formerly fertile soil unworkable. As a result, a continent that was more than self sufficient 50 years ago now relies on imported food. The book, The African Food Crisis, states that in less than 40 years the sub-continent went from being a net exporter of basic food staples to relying on imports and food aid.

One of the primary reasons for the deterioration of the African ecology is that poverty is so rampant that African farmers have no choice but to strip the land in order to feed their people: when given the choice of sustainable farming--looking at the big picture--or feeding their hungry children now, they of course--as we all would--choose to feed their children. Because of this they are blamed for poor ecological practices as if they had other choices; they are too poor to adopt even simple innovations like adding fertilizer or to even think about soil and water conservation. The immediate need of providing food trumps sound enviornmental practices.

Another immediate problem is the battle for good land between livestock farmers and crop farmers. Feuding between farmers and nomadic livestock herders in Western Sudan led to fighting and the slaughter of innocents.

Solutions

There is a lot of focus on Africa, and many of the solutions offered are based on technological advances. There are other ideas, though, that offer simple--almost elegant--solutions based on the culture itself, encouraging and bolstering traditional practices that both help and empower the African people.

Fonio (Acha) or "hungry rice" is a native species with over 300 varieties, is rich in amino acids, and in 1974 The National Academy of Sciences identified Fonio as one of Africa's "most underexploited tropical plants with promising economic value." It has been used for thousands of years in Africa, yet--until recently--it is virtually ignored as a potential solution. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute is currently conducting studies on the usefulness of this plant, and how to apply it to Africa's current problems.

Another simple, yet elegant solution is incorporating donkeys back in to traditional African farming cultures through a non-profit organization called Heifer International. Donkeys--it is believed--originated in North-West Africa and have migrated across the world. The use of donkeys are often dismissed because of the association with backwardness, but donkeys have played a role in traditional life for centuries: Maasai women offer warm donkey's milk to children to ward off infections and build the immune system, and donkey's ears are used to help with colds. Traditional equipment such as water and food carriers are already a part of the culture, and farmers too poor to afford gas powered vehicles use donkeys as transportation and to carry the harvest. Donkeys have the added benefit of being an ecologically sound alternative.

While Africa's problems are vast, so--still--is its resources. Many solutions to Africa's problems lie within the continent itself; rather than importing and forcing Westernized solutions into an alien culture, those who genuinely want to help the African people might be best served if they investigated its current resources, building from within, rather than without.

See also

Africa

Technology

Agriculture

External links

History:

http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch02.htm

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/history1.htm

http://www.adbio.com/science/agri-history.htm

http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/farm-city/africa1.htm

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/bridging/papers/millar.david.pdf

Current Situation:

http://www.nhm.org/africa/facts/index.htm

http://www.worldbook.com/we/browse?id=ed/atw/afr/around_climate

http://www.ceepa.co.za/Climate_Change/

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/112agri1.htm

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/30/102.html

Problems:

http://www.agbioforum.missouri.edu/v2n34/v2n34a05-woodward.htm

http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80964e/80964E03.htm#Indigenous Sustainable Farming Systems

The African Food Crisis: Lessons from the Asian Green Revolution, Edited by G Djurfeldt, University of Lund, Sweden; H Holmen, Linkoping University, Sweden; M Jirstrom, University of Lund, Sweden; R Larsson, University of Lund, Sweden. May 2005.

http://www.damanga.org/press_05_04_03.html)

http://www.atnesa.org/donkeys/donkeys-fernando-socioeconomic.pdf

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