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I have read id21 insights #61, April 2006, and I decided to share with you my ideas.

I agree the CAADP developed by the NEPAD to achieve food security in Africa. But I think there is more to do in Africa before this. So NEPAD must consider more points which seem to be important if it wants to achieve development and food security in Africa.

1).Peace in Africa. You will agree with me that nothing is possible without peace, even development. So how people can work, cultivate, grow their maize, if there is no peace in African countries? Think about Zimbabwe: there is hunger, not because of a lack of land, or a poor climate, but because of bad government, bad politics and, in one
one word, a lack of peace.
What about Democratic Republic of Congo? DRC has a good climate so it can produce anything, even the apples it imports from South Africa. But because of conflict, bad government, a dictatorship, war...the lack of peace means that there is hunger in DRC. Think also about Sudan, Somalia...how can people work, given these exceptional measures?

So, I am not saying that NEPAD should play the role of the UN, AU, or act as a mediator of conflict in Africa. But NEPAD knows the importance of food security and so far it has not been possible to provide food (using the CAADP) in most countries in Africa, if war is present. If NEPAD does nothing, there is no way to achieve the mission it has. How can NEPAD bring peace in Africa? That is not the matter in this note. We can discuss this later. But I am sure it is possible.

2).A change in mentality and the participation of local people in development planning. This is another critical point which stops any process for development in Africa. Most African people are linked in their customs for a long time. So to change their mind needs to be done sensitively. For example, about new technology, new method of production, fertilisers and the impact on the land. We must not sit in our offices and start planning without associating people concerned by that planning. There must be a permanent relationship between researchers and the local (rural) population.

To complete my degree in Economics, I wrote a dissertation on the topic ‘The Impact of Development Actions in Rural Areas’. The main question I tried to answer was ‘Why do development actions in rural areas always fail, even if they start with success?’ Several reasons explain this: infrastructures (bad roads and transport networks), tribal conflict, and a lack of literate people ...but also, and critically: the exclusion of local people in the conception of development planning. In many countries in Africa, the land is owned collectively .Nobody is allowed to use the collective land as their own (no privatisation of land is allowed). So, how can we make big farmers abide with these rules? We are not without understanding that the privatisation of land is important if we want to develop agriculture. People in some villages can tell you that “our ancestors told us maize cannot grow in this forest, and we cannot breed cattle in this bush, because of war that took place here between our ancestors and the enemies”.

So, this is a ‘conflict’ land. Can you imagine! This is not a joke. It is for real. As I said, we must not sit in our office planning projects without associating local people. Another example: in the east of DRC many years ago, some foreign investors brought rice of high production (yield). They taught local people how to grow this to avoid hunger. But they didn't know that these people don't like rice. So, without asking local people their will and eating habits, they forced people to sow this rice. People took rice, but it was against their will to grow rice. They were not ready to change their eating habits.

Let me say one word about Food Aid. I think Food aid can help people in the case of emergencies, such as during natural catastrophes. But it is not what African people need and it is very far to the solution. Sometimes when experts talk about food aid, they mean give people rice, maize, soya beans, sometimes milk. So do we mean this is all for feeding these people? In DRC, people collect maize, rice and soya beans from HCR and other organisations, but they need fish, meat, cool drinks. They begin to sell food collected from the organisations. You can see all those things at the markets in Kinshasa and other towns and cities in DRC. Consequently, you can see many people who have received food aid many times, but they still suffer from malnutrition, and their children are still malnourished. The big problem is income. People can give them maize, rice , beans and other things, but as long as people do not have their own income, they will suffer from hunger and malnutrition, even if they still receive food aid for years.

Thank you.
Serges Baniama Mukiapini, from the Democratic Republic of Congo
CONTACT:
P.o.Box 388
Parow
7499
CapeTown, South Africa
Tel: +27(021)5927192
Cell: +27(0) 823629630
Email: bmukia@yahoo.com

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