STORY: African scholars call for shift to realize green revolution
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 14, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:18
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the conference
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BLESSINGS CHINSINGA, Professor of development studies, University of Malawi
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TARIRO GWANDU, Head of Agronomy Research Institute, Department of Research and Specialist Services in Zimbabwe

STORYLINE:

The attainment of the green revolution in Africa could become a reality soon once countries adopt new farming technologies, innovations, adequate financing and enhanced market linkages, scholars said Wednesday at a forum in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have convened the Africa-China-CIMMYT Science Forum that runs on Aug. 13-16. More than 100 participants, including policymakers, scientists and industry executives from China and 12 African countries, attended the four-day forum themed "Transforming Agrifood Systems in Africa through Scientific Innovations and Partnerships."

Blessings Chinsinga, a professor of development studies at the University of Malawi, said Africa has no choice but to shift to capital- and technology-intensive farming systems to feed a growing population.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BLESSINGS CHINSINGA, Professor of development studies, University of Malawi
"As a continent, we need a green revolution. In fact we needed it yesterday. Now we have the benefit of learning from our previous mistakes and we just need to do things differently in order to set the continent on the right track."

The African continent should establish functional markets, enhance adoption of appropriate technologies by smallholder farmers, and ease access to inputs like improved seeds to boost crop yield, Chinsinga said.

In addition, the continent must invest in vibrant seed systems, tackle the fragmentation of arable land, and align priorities of the political and technocratic class as a means to boost agricultural productivity, according to Chinsinga.

Tariro Gwandu, the head of the Agronomy Research Institute at the Department of Research and Specialist Services in Zimbabwe, stressed that Africa should leverage its youthful workforce and digital platforms, revamp irrigation infrastructure, and act on climate change to achieve a green revolution. 

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TARIRO GWANDU, Head of Agronomy Research Institute, Department of Research and Specialist Services in Zimbabwe
"As a soil scientist, I also believe that investing in soil is very important if we are to achieve green revolution."

She called for the involvement of women and youth in agriculture, who form the bulk of the sector's workforce, to accelerate food systems transformation on the continent and tackle the endemic hunger and malnutrition crisis.

Gwandu suggested that governments should align their agricultural policies with Agenda 2063 (African Union's 50-year continental development blueprint) and other continents' socioeconomic blueprints in their quest for a home-grown green revolution that promises food security, ecological integrity, and improved rural incomes.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)