Invest in food crops, Africa told

African MPs called for increased investment in agriculture to ensure food security on the continent.

The members of Parliament called for a review of existing treaties governing international trade to “allow African farmers to compete effectively with those from the West.” Currently, food products in Europe are far much cheaper than those in Africa because of the huge subsidies that governments in developed countries give to the farmers, the MPs said.

The MPs were addressing a forum on sustainable development and aid effectiveness in Nairobi.

Support farmers

Muhoroni legislator Ayiecho Olweny, the only Kenyan MP who attended the three-day conference, called on the Government to support farmers to cushion them against unfair competition from foreign products. “There is no way we are going to have food security, with the current trade imbalances between the West and Africa,” Prof Olweny said.

The AU recommends that 10 per cent of the national budget be reserved for agriculture and rural development.

However, the MPs did not back a proposal by Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula to shun foreign Aid. Instead, they resolved to closely monitor the use of the aid to ensure it is well utilised.

The MPs were unanimous that legislators be involved in international policy forums on aid effectiveness.

Parliaments, they said, were important in “effective aid delivery”, adding that this should be taken into account when the Paris Declaration is revised in 2010.

Ms Eudia Kwizera, an MP from Uganda, also urged African leaders to ensure that food production was improved alongside processing and marketing.

This, Ms Kwizera said, would ensure that farmers made money from their effort, unlike the current case where “the little they make goes to school fees and medicine.”

The meeting concluded that African MPs should educate their constituents on the “basic facts” of climate change. They should also lobby for policies to help fight global warming.

The parliamentarians came up with the African-European Parliamentary Action Plan, whose recommendations they would be presenting to a climate change meeting in Accra, Ghana, for action.

According to an official from the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Dr Andrew Kanyegirire, the recommendations would only succeed if accompanying laws were enacted to support their implementation.

Mr Par Granstedt, the secretary-general of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), said the legislators had the duty to scrutinise all policies regarding development support.

He said focus should shift from simply gaining political mileage to increasing awareness on development and climate change issues.

Remove subsidies

On Thursday, a proposal by a delegate to have Western countries remove agricultural subsidies was thrown out after an Irish delegate objected. However, an amendment was added to push the countries to phase out subsidies to their farmers.

Mr Granstedt said that only subsidies that brought about unfair trade relations should be removed.

Donors were also urged to balance resource allocation between sustainable development, food security and energy “in consultation with the private sector and other players” in the society.

But even as the proposals were adopted, there was a glaring absence of Kenyan MPs in the meeting that was being held in their backyard. Apart from Prof Olweny, other legislators who have attended the meeting are VP Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr Wetang’ula and Speaker Kenneth Marende.