agricultural mechanization in africa · “sustainable intensification means a productive...

AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION IN AFRICA

Bassam A Snobar, JordanBrian G Sims, UKJosef Kienzle, FAO

Joseph Mpagalile, FAO

26th Members’ Meeting of the Club of Bologna

The 25 years of the Club of BolognaEvolution and prospects of agricultural mechanization in the world

12-13 November 2016

EIMA INTERNATIONAL – Bologna, Italy Sinfonia Hall

Africa:• The world’s second largest continent (Area & Population) • Wide diversity between its different countries, because:

• A few are fairly well developed but the majority are still developing

• There is noticeable difference in the degree of agricultural development between North Africa (NA*) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (see Table1)

*A UN definition of NA includes seven countries lying north of the Saharan Desert (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara)

26th Members’ Meeting of the Club of BolognaBologna, November 12-13, 2016

Comparisons of population and agricultural data for all of Africa and North Africa

Compared Items Africa North Africa

Population:

Total (2012) (billion)

- Rural (% of total) (2011)

- Agricultural (% of total) (2012)

1.0760.0%49.3%

0.17 (15.9%)

44.8%23.5%


Total GDP current US$ (2012) (trillion) 1.928 0.666 (34.5%)

Agricultural Land (% of total) (2011) Forest Land (% of total) (2011)Arable Agricultural Area (2011)Permanent Crops (% of total) (2011)Crop Land per Capita (ha/cap)(2011)

37.9%22.0%19.8%2.6%0.24

17.6%1.4%

19.1%2.8%0.17

Fertilizer Consumption/ha of arableland and permanent crops (kg/ha)(2011):

- Nitrogen

- Phosphate

- Potash

13.269.111.63

40.59 (300%)

34.43 (380%)

1.96 (120%)


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Rural 2000

Rural 2014

Agricultural 2000

Agricultural 2012

Rural and Agricultural Populations in Africa are decreasing, but still high compared to

other continents


Yields in Africa are significantly lower than the rest of the World

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Africa World The 9 DevelopingCountries*

CerealPulseCoarse GrainOil CropsRoot&Tuber


Use of fertilizers in Africa is considerably lower than the World average

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Nitrogen (kg/ha) Phosphate (kg/ha) Potash (kg/ha)

AfricaWorld


And compared with 9 developing countries**Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea,

Thailand, Viet Nam

0

50

100

150

200

250

Africa


Growth in tractor numbers between 1961 and 2000 for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) considerably

lower than other regions

0%

200%

400%

600%

800%

1000%

1200%

1400%

1600%

SSA

Asia

Latin America & Caribbean

Near East & North Africa


The use of tractors (especially in SSA) is very low compared to other regions (including the Near

East and North Africa regions)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Tractors/1000 ha

SSA

The 9 DC(Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Viet Nam)


Agricultural Intensification in Africa

• Green Revolution had little impact• Large areas are still not used for agriculture

(land-grabbers are on the way)• Mostly sandy soils or shallow stony soils• Exposure to soil degradation


Smallholders in Africa in 2015

Most of the smallholders are women


Mechanization in Africa• African governments tried to

introduce agricultural machinery• Structural Adjustment in the 1980s:

no clear definition of the respective roles of government and private sector

• Agricultural mechanization entered a vicious cycle of inadequate political and economic environment hindering emergence of private sector

• Lack of a clear strategy for mechanization


Mechanization demand• Harsh to extreme tropical and sub-

tropical climates, fragile eco-systems and highly degraded soils, but also un-developed land resources

• Mostly small-scale and subsistence farmers

• Lack of farmers’ skills and effectiveness of professional organizations

• High postharvest losses• Harsh business environment• Rural-Urban migration, shortage of

farm power26th Members’ Meeting of the Club of Bologna

Bologna, November 12-13, 2016

Low income of farmers

Low saving of farmers

Low AM demand

Low productivity


Improved income of

farmers

High saving

High AM demand

High productivity

Strategy for Sustainable Mechanization

Low AM demand

High AM supply

Low cost of AM

Low cost of AM

use

and….


Sustainable Intensification

“Sustainable intensification means a productive agriculture that conserves and enhances natural resources. It uses an ecosystem approach that draws on nature’s contribution to crop growth and applies appropriate external inputs at the right time, in the right amount. Our aim over the next 15 years is to assist developing countries in adopting save and grow policies and approaches”

Quote: Graziano da Silva, Director General, FAO


• Strengthen eco-systems and natural processes• to boost production and environmental services• avoid waste, use inputs only as required by the system

• Focus on soil and ecosystem functions

Healthy soils are the basis for sustainable crop production

Sustainable Intensification Paradigm


Policies and Regulations for better mechanization options

• Create conducive environment for successful agricultural mechanization

• Remove restrictions to choice

• Leasing or credit programmes for imported machinery as well as locally produced machines

• Provide information for better decision making by farmers

• Legislation for safe, durable and reliable machinery and equipment



Increasing land and labour productivity• Agricultural productivity is positively correlated with farm

power• More land can be cultivated• But this may not be an option for smallholder farmers• Africa has 600 million hectares of uncultivated arable land• Conservation agriculture (no-till/reduced-till, permanent

organic soil cover, crop rotations, associations and sequences)• Multi-cropping• Precision agriculture• Controlled traffic farming• Permanent raised beds with residue retention



Sustainable agricultural mechanization

• Improve timeliness of operations Insufficient farm power, especially at critical times of the cropping season can lead to delayed operations with consequent yield penalties.

• Reduce drudgeryThe drudgery associated with manual-powered traditional smallholder agriculture is a major reason driving young, able-bodied males into the urban sector in search of more rewarding work prospects.


• Historically, the focus of farm mechanization has been on crop production

• It needs to be expanded to cover the value chain from input supply through crop establishment to harvesting, storage, processing and marketing

Achieving sustainability by:• Promoting modernization and commercialization of the

small-scale farming sector• Improving productivity whilst conserving natural

resources – sustainable crop production intensification


Mechanization along the value chain

Mechanization potential Pr

oduc

tivity

Time efficiency


• Increasing land productivity (a sensitive but limited option even in Africa)

• Increasing labour productivity and soil fertility through sustainable crop intensification

• Mechanization innovations to make cropping systems more climate resilient

• Mechanization to reduce post-harvest losses along the value chain

• Organizing farmers into groups and networks• Enabling private sector mechanization service provision

The way forward and proposed actions


The way forward: Policy priorities

• Agricultural mechanization policies and strategies tofocus on: 1. Enhancing mechanization demand2. Stabilizing mechanization supply (infrastructure)3. Strengthening institutions needed for mechanization development

• Private-Public Partnerships for mechanization development

• Integrate mechanization and good agronomic practices for environmental sustainability (= sustainable intensification)

• Special focus on increasing agricultural mechanization among smallholders



Consultative Meeting on a Mechanization Strategy

New models for sustainable agricultural mechanization in sub-Saharan Africa 1st – 3rd December 2016; Nairobi, Kenya

Theme 1: New collaborative models on Private Public Partnerships (include finance for demand enhancing models for sustainable mechanization

Theme 2: Modalities, approaches for establishing a global sustainable mechanization knowledge exchange platform

Theme 3: Discuss the establishment of a Regional Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa

The way forward: the next step

Thank you for your attentionBassam A Snobar - [email protected] G Sims - [email protected] Kienzle - [email protected]

Joseph Mpagalile - [email protected]

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