Can Indian Farmers Help Solve Africa's Food Paradox?

A proposed agricultural partnership could open new opportunities for Africa, India & a generation of young farmers.

Africa has roughly 60 percent of the world's uncultivated arable land. Yet the continent is a major importer of food.

(Photo: Akhil Bakshi/Altered by Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

This is the second part of a two-part series. In the first part, the author explores the tragedy of abandoned farms in Zimbabwe and the continent’s untapped agricultural potential. You can read it here. The second part proposes a partnership between willing African countries and Indian farmers to develop suitable farmland, strengthen food security, and create opportunities for young Indian farmer-entrepreneurs.

As I drove from Cairo to Cape Agulhas, across 11 African countries, I saw the extraordinary agricultural possibilities of this part of Africa—and the obstacles that stand in the way of realising them.

What struck me repeatedly was the sheer amount of land. Africa is vast. There are enormous areas with good soil, plenty of sunshine and, in many places, adequate rainfall. And yet, alongside this potential, one sees poverty, food shortages and people trying to make a living from agriculture with very little capital or machinery. 

I began wondering whether India could play a role here.

Why shouldn't an Indian farmer, or a group of Indian farmers, be able to take a long-term lease on agricultural land in Africa, invest his own money, bring in machinery and modern farming methods, and farm it?

I am not talking about buying African land. Nor am I suggesting that African farmers should be pushed aside. The land would remain under African sovereignty and local land rights would have to be fully protected.

I am talking about a commercial lease—perhaps 30 to 50 years—under which an Indian farmer becomes a tenant and investor, rather like an Indian company establishing a factory abroad.

Africa's Extraordinary Agricultural Paradox

The Economist has pointed out that Africa has roughly 60 percent of the world's uncultivated arable land. Yet the continent is a major importer of food. It is an extraordinary paradox: a continent with so much agricultural potential that still struggles to feed itself.

There are, of course, many reasons. Traditionally, most Africans have been herders—not farmers. Inadequate irrigation, poor roads, expensive credit, insufficient machinery, unreliable electricity and weak supply chains have also played a part in the underdevelopment of agriculture. 

Take Zambia for example. Its investment agency estimates that the country has about 42 million hectares of arable land, while only around 1.5 million hectares are cultivated annually. The Zambian government is itself looking for farmland that can be made available for long-term lease or partnership. 

The author in Africa.

(Photo: Special Arrangement)

Then there is Tanzania, with an estimated 43 million hectares suitable for agricultural production, of which only a fraction is cultivated.

Mozambique has identified about 10.56 million hectares in a land-suitability exercise as suitable and available for commercial agricultural, forestry and livestock investment. The provinces of Tete and Niassa alone accounted for nearly 4.7 million hectares in that exercise.

These figures tell us that the potential is there. The question is how to unlock it.

Why Not Start with a Million Hectares?

India needn't arrive in Africa with a grandiose scheme covering tens of millions of hectares. Let us start, over time, with one million—working with five willing countries—like Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi.

Farms could be of different sizes according to the crop and the local conditions. Some might be 50 or 100 hectares; others could be 500 hectares.

The leases could run for 30 or 50 years, with renewal dependent upon performance. That would give an investor enough security to put serious money into irrigation, machinery, warehouses and processing.

And there should be no ambiguity about one thing: land should not be leased for speculation. Farm it, or give it back.

What Would Indian Farmers Grow?

Zambia could be particularly suitable for maize, soya, wheat, sunflower, cotton and livestock. Mozambique has possibilities in rice, maize, soya, sugar, cotton, sesame and horticulture. Tanzania could produce rice, wheat, maize, pulses and sunflower. Ghana has opportunities in maize, rice, cassava, soya, oil palm, and vegetables. Malawi could concentrate on irrigation-intensive crops, horticulture, pulses and other high-value agriculture.

An agricultural ecosystem would grow around these farms. The grain produced would need to be stored and processed; some enterprises would manufacture animal feed, while others would transport produce to markets. Horticulture would create demand for cold-storage facilities, and local farmers could become suppliers to larger operations.

Machinery dealers and repair workshops would spring up to service the farms. In time, the farm itself could become the nucleus of a much larger agricultural economy, generating employment and business opportunities far beyond its boundaries.

A New Opportunity for India's Young Farmers

India's agricultural holdings have become increasingly fragmented. A young Indian who wants to become a serious farmer may have ambition, education and even access to finance, but finding 50, 200 or 500 contiguous hectares on which to build a modern commercial farm is another matter.

Why shouldn't he look beyond India's borders?

Imagine a 30-year-old agricultural entrepreneur taking a 200-hectare lease in Zambia. He, perhaps along with some of his Indian friends, raises the money, installs tubewells, buys machinery and improved seed, and starts farming. He doesn't become a Zambian citizen. He doesn't own Zambian territory. He is simply an Indian entrepreneur operating a farm under a legal lease.

If we eventually had several thousand such farms, the opportunities for young Indian farmers could be considerable. There would be farm managers, agronomists, irrigation specialists, machinery experts and agricultural entrepreneurs. And behind them would be Indian companies supplying equipment, seeds, fertiliser, finance, insurance, software and processing technology.

And most of the jobs actually created on the farms should, quite properly, go to Africans.

China Has Already Noticed Africa

There is no reason for India to imagine that we have discovered something that nobody else has noticed.

China has been involved in African agriculture for years. Chinese companies and state-linked organisations have established farms and agricultural projects in countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Chinese investment in Mozambique, for instance, has included substantial rice-growing operations.

But look at the scale of China's involvement in Africa overall. The Chinese presence is far more visible in infrastructure—roads, railways, ports, power stations, telecommunications and mining. That is where China has made its mark. India need not imitate China.

We have our own experience to offer. We have learned to grow food with small farms, limited water, expensive inputs and uncertain weather. We have developed irrigation techniques, low-cost machinery, dairy cooperatives, seed technology and horticultural expertise. We have an enormous agricultural research establishment. There is no reason why some of that experience cannot travel to Africa.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) could play a major role. It could establish agricultural training centres in partner countries, modelled on India's Krishi Vigyan Kendras. Africans could be trained as tractor operators, irrigation technicians, farm managers and agricultural extension workers. Women could be trained in poultry, piggery, dairy and kitchen gardening. 

That would make the relationship much more than a land-lease arrangement.

The African Farmer Must Benefit

Indian farmers cannot arrive, fence off thousands of hectares and treat Africans simply as cheap labour. Apart from being unacceptable, that model would ultimately fail. Any agreement should require local employment, training and technology transfer. 

And there is no reason why neighbouring African smallholders should be left out. They could supply produce to larger farms. They could participate in contract farming. They could gain access to machinery, seed and irrigation. Their children could be trained in agricultural technology.

The success of the experiment should therefore not be measured by the number of hectares leased to Indians. It should be measured by how much additional agricultural capacity is created for Africans.

From Building Roads to Growing Food

Africa's population is growing rapidly. Its cities are expanding. The demand for food will rise enormously in the coming decades.

At the same time, India has millions of young people who would like to build something of their own. Not all of them will find enough land to do so at home.

Why not connect the two?

I would like to see the Government of India approach a handful of African governments—Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi to start with—and propose an India-Africa Agricultural Partnership Initiative.

If the pilot project of one million hectares or less succeeds, expand it.

The idea stayed with me after the Gondwanaland Expedition because Africa and India are connected in a way that goes far beyond trade. We were once part of the same landmass. Today the Indian Ocean separates us, but the economic possibilities between the two regions are enormous.

China has built roads and bridges across Africa.

India should start growing the food that crosses them.

(The author is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Explorers Club USA, and Editor of ‘Indian Mountaineer’. He is also the founder of Bharatiya Yuva Shakti, an organisation that ensures good leadership at the village level. He tweets @AkhilBakshi1. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)