The Last Africans

This painting hangs on my sitting room wall. The image does not do it justice. It is beautiful: an untitled impressionistic oil painting of a nomadic group of people in Northern Kenya. I bought it about 14 years ago at a small exhibition in Nairobi entitled "The Last Africans".

My main memory of the Last Africans exhibition is a brief and impromptu introductory speech delivered by my friend and and former colleague, Matthias Schmale. Matthias was a compelling speaker, not least due to his sincerity, and he took this occasion to speak eloquently about his sadness that the era of the pastoralist and nomadic life practiced across most of the African continent was coming to an end: that the traditions and modus vivendi of the Turkana, the Karamajong, the Rendille, the Samburu and, most iconic of all African pastoralists, the Maasai, were dwindling into scattered tourist exhibits amid the farms, settlements and towns created through population growth, the march of technology and urban development. His lament was not romantic: it was for the impoverishment to us all brought about by the reduction of cultural diversity.

My reading matter over the past week has been a collection of papers selected by Nigel Halford of the Rothamsted Institute in UK, entitled Plant Biotechnology. For a non-scientist, much of this book has been extremely difficult to understand, but I was keen to try to improve my understanding of transgenics/genetic modification and its impact. Included in the anthology is a short paper published by researchers from the University of Cape Town on the potential for inserting a "water-efficiency" gene into maize, the staple crop for most of East and Southern Africa. The authors are in no doubt that this would be a positive move, as it would allow the cultivation of maize to spread into areas hitherto too dry for farming.

In this connection, recent press publications in Kenya have reported that considerable applied research in WEMA (Water Efficient Maize for Africa) is underway - with the potential to open up new low rainfall areas in Kenya for the cultivation of maize. Kenya needs it: the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, recently forecast a shortfall of about 1 million tonnes (30% of Kenya's annual consumption requirements) due to patchy rainfall. This is nothing new: 8 years out of 10 Kenya struggles to grow enough maize for its burgeoning population - mainly due to reliance on rainfall for water requirements, depleted soils, and the widespread use of poor quality planting material.

Advances in agricultural technology over the last 100 years have supported massive population growth. Through effective selection and breeding programmes, plant breeders have produced ever more productive crop varieties. The Haber-Bosch process for utilising atmospheric nitrogen has provided the necessary source of nutrition for these varieties. And now, transgenic technologies offer the potential to accelerate conventional plant breeding through the production of uber-crops capable of resistance to herbicides, drought, soil salinity and who knows what sort of adverse conditions. But these advances carry a cost. One wonders what the consequences of WEMA's introduction will be for Kenya's pastoralists and biodiversity as the area under cultivation of maize expands.

Clinging on in ever more marginal areas, the pastoralist way of life appears to be an inevitable casualty of the modern world. As Einstein, in his wonderful 1949 essay entitled "Why Socialism" observed "The time—which, looking back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively small groups could be completely self-sufficient."

French beans to Tesco's

One of the great Kenyan success stories in recent years has been the growth of the horticulture industry, serving the European market with air-freighted fresh produce ranging from flowers to fruit and vegetables. The industry has its share of detractors - particularly from the environmental and health & safety lobbies - but its economic impact has been huge - to the extent that in the space of 30 years it has gone from zero to be Kenya's largest export industry.

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the AGRA/ILRI-sponsored conference on the subject of making agricultural markets in Africa work more effectively and efficiently. Among many interesting papers presented was one by Miet Maertens of Leuven University on the growth in high value export markets in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper stood out because it contained hard evidence of the economic impact of the horticulture industry at a household level (something which is all too often ignored in favour of the heart-warming but meaningless anecdotes which pervade the development world).

In brief, the paper concluded that high value trade in fresh produce has a significant and substantial quantifiable impact on rural development and poverty reduction. These effects occur both at the producer level (where farmers grow for exporters) and through the creation of rural labour markets - where there is also a substantial gender bias in favour of women.

My view is that there are numerous other benefits resulting from the fresh produce industry which may be more difficult to quantify than household incomes, but which are no less important. For example, without the massive injections of cash into rural economies brought through employment and the sale of produce, a whole network of small trading and service businesses would be at risk. Access to schooling and healthcare would be restricted. Because export standards are high, significant quantities of produce do not make the grade. Export reject produce is sold in the local market or consumed at home (with attendant nutritional benefits). Farmers have learned new skills and developed new farming techniques and greater exposure to crop protection products. Employees have access to training and advancement opportunities - and the precious practical experience of learning from systematic and organised business administration, agricultural technology, food standard compliance and so on.

The standards required by importers have also thrown up business opportunities. One of AAC's first investments was in a business called Africert. Africert is accredited by a number of international standard-setters to audit producers and issue a range of certificates confirming adherence to the required quality standards. This is an essential link in the export produce value chain, ranging from tea and coffee to fresh vegetables and flowers - since without it high value markets would be closed.

Like most agribusiness, it's easy to throw stones and criticise the fresh produce industry. In comparison to the ultimate $2 dollar selling price of a 500g pack of French Beans in Tesco's, the grower's share of a few cents is tiny - but it's a share, nonetheless, that wouldn't otherwise be there, and it's a share which offers an better income-earning opportunity than alternative crops (otherwise the grower wouldn't do it). Employees don't earn much, but they create a market price for labour and generate tax revenue for local and national Government.

So don't knock it. Support it.

Amaranth and the history of crops

AAC has recently made an investment in a Kenyan business called Amaranth International. This business buys grain amaranth from small farmers in Kenya and Uganda, processes it into flour and popped cereal and markets it under the “Ama” brand throughout Kenya.

Amaranth is a grain that didn’t feature on my childhood dinner table, but it’s becoming more and more popular. In Europe, it is being used increasingly as an ingredient in breads and breakfast cereals. Known as “Terere” in Kenya, it is gaining market share due to its nutritional qualities. It’s gluten-free, a significant source of protein, and has high levels of lysine (an amino acid rare in other grains). It’s also high in iron, with a 1/4 cup containing 60% of an adult’s recommended daily allowance.

Here’s a picture of the plant.

Quite apart from its nutritional qualities, it is also relatively easy to cultivate. In Kenya, farmers can produce three or even four crops annually. It is drought-resistant and currently sells at the farm gate for prices much higher than for maize (the principal staple food). Perhaps most importantly, from a business perspective, it also tastes good!

There are numerous different varieties of Amaranth around the world, many of which have been historically important as staple crops. Most famously, it was grown by the Aztecs in central America, where it formed a staple part of the Aztec diet. As a key part of Aztec religious ceremonies, it was banned by the Conquistadores, but luckily survived in the wild. It is now making a comeback in Latin America. At this point, I have a confession to make. Ever since I read a wonderful book called “Seeds of Change” by Henry Hobhouse, I have found the history of food crops incredibly interesting. This book, which sadly I think is now out of print, discusses five crops which changed the world: cotton, potatoes, tea, quinine and sugar. Each history is fascinating. Maybe some day, a scholar will tell the story of amaranth.

Oba-mania

There have been huge celebrations in Kenya, Uganda and (I'm sure) the rest of Africa following the election of Barack Obama. That a son of a Kenyan immigrant should have risen from humble beginnings to the most powerful position in the world is a remarkable achievement, and will undoubtedly be a source of great pride and inspiration to people everywhere, but most specially in Africa. Following two long campaigns, in which he first defeated the redoubtable Hilary Clinton and then the doughty John McCain, no-one can dispute his credentials.

For me, however, the most interesting thing about the election will be its reverberations across Africa in the next four years. For how much longer will Africans accept ageing leaders who cling to power through profoundly undemocratic systems? When will the simple message for change, embodied in the three words "yes we can", start to spread through Africa? Until recently, poor communications have stifled political campaigning by opposition groups, but the internet and the cell phone are changing that, and fast. The instruments of mass communication are no longer under government control. In winning the election, Obama may be the catalyst for change in Africa and for the transfer of political power to the new generation. Even more than elsewhere, support by the young in Africa is critical for change to take place. Population growth and demographics mean that the overwhelming majority of the African electorate is under 40 years of age. Leaders who are able to win and harness their support will create the future.

Many people I meet harbour negative perceptions about Africa. They complain about corruption and bemoan conflict. My response to this is to point to the remarkable tenacity and determination of most African people, who achieve great things in spite of all the obstacles placed in their path. Barack Obama is a shining example of this tenacity and determination, but there are many others like him in Africa, in commerce, in industry, in education and even in politics, who will shape the future of this young continent. Make no mistake, Africa's future is bright.