8 ways to sustainably boost food production in Africa

Published by:

FARM-D

Focus Region:

Middle East & North Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Focus Topic:

Nutrition / Food Systems

Website:

https://www.ifad.org/en/w/explainers/8-ways-to-sustainably-boost-food-production-in-africa

Intensive farming gets a bad rap, and it’s not hard to see why. Maximizing the food grown per unit of land too often ravages biodiversity, damages soils and overexploits resources.

Yet increasing production is critical in areas of Africa where undernourishment and hunger run deep. On average, the continent has half the cereal yields of India – and a fifth of those in the United States.

Luckily, there are ways to boost production without further damaging nature. And with decades of experience in East and Southern Africa, IFAD knows the key is small-scale farmers.

1. Safeguarding soil

By turning to conservation agriculture, farmers can nurture soil and save water. This can include keeping soil structure intact instead of tilling it, protecting its ability to absorb water.

For example, small-scale farmers in Malawi avoid tilling by digging small pits filled with organic matter. These hold onto scarce rainwater and attract beneficial insects, building the soil’s structure and conditioning it for cultivation.

2. Natural solutions

Organic inputs can be just as effective as harmful chemicals. For example, compost provides so many essential nutrients that farmers can limit inorganic fertilizer use to micro-doses that don’t damage the soil.

Similarly, push-pull technologies can control pests naturally. In Kenya, IFAD-supported small-scale farmers planted the lablab legume, which repels pests, and brachiaria grass, which attracts and traps pests, alongside their maize crops. This reduced the number of destructive fall armyworm by 40 per cent, protecting their harvests.

3. The right seeds

Crop varieties that are adapted to local conditions can be more productive, nutritious and resilient to climate change. After choosing these varieties together with rural communities, IFAD works with suppliers to ensure they are available locally at fair prices.

In Eswatini, IFAD supported farmers in introducing the orange-fleshed sweet potato, which not only thrives in poor soils but is also higher in vitamin A than white-fleshed varieties.

4. Making every drop count

More than 95 per cent of cultivated land in sub-Saharan Africa is entirely dependent on increasingly scarce rainfall. The potential to increase production by incorporating sustainable irrigation strategies – like water harvesting, drip irrigation and digital moisture sensors – is tremendous.

Just look at rural Ethiopia, where farmers who installed small-scale irrigation systems with IFAD’s support had double the yield of farmers who did not.

5. Managing natural resources

Farms have environmental impacts far beyond their boundaries. When farmers consider the broader landscape they work in, shared natural resources can be managed productively and fairly.

The Tana River is Kenya’s longest and supplies 95 per cent of Nairobi’s water, but it also provides a livelihood to the rural communities near its source. With IFAD’s support, they reduced the use of harmful fertilizers that contaminate the river, ensuring water quality for millions downstream.

6. Getting more from livestock

Livestock breeds that are adapted to local conditions can nurture the land rather than degrade it. The same communities that protected the Tana River in Kenya saw goat milk production increase eightfold after switching to better breeds and feed.

Similarly, farmers can use integrated farming to cut costs while reducing environmental impacts. For example, animals can feed on crop waste while producing manure to use as fertilizer.

7. Fishing for success

Aquaculture has great potential as a source of income and nutrition in many parts of Africa. By using the right mix of species and feeding them correctly, small-scale farmers can scale up fish farms sustainably and feed entire communities.

In Angola, rural households harvest about 900 kg of fish per year from their sustainable fish ponds with IFAD’s support. That’s twice the global average for similar aquaculture systems!

Luiza’s family is one of nearly 50 in Angola’s Malanje Province to have benefitted from fish ponds established by an IFAD-supported project. © IFAD/António Penelas

8. Preventing post-harvest losses

After harvest, storage and processing is essential to get food from farm to table. Refrigerating vegetables and dairy, drying fish and meat, and storing grains in pest-proof barrels helps ensure nothing goes to waste.

In Rwanda, where long distances used to prevent milk from reaching markets, an IFAD-supported project is ensuring it arrives fresh and ready to sell. Go-betweens called abacunda now gather milk from small-scale farmers and take it to collection centres for cold storage.

Small-scale farmers hold the key to sustainably intensifying agriculture. With the right knowledge, tools and inputs, they can feed the world while protecting our planet, in East and Southern Africa and beyond.