Today many people are saying that the gap in productivity between an African farmer and his French or Agentinian or American counterpart is so great that it is imposible for him to live by his labor and to invest in improvements to his productive capacity. This is so even while the price paid for local foodstuffs have been very low for decades and the African states do not have the means to grant compensating subsidies as do the Americans and the Europeans.

As a result many countries are experiencing an agricultural and rural crisis of extreme gravity: poverty and malnutrition (paradoxically three-quarters of those suffering are farmers), the erosion of the soil, heightened social tensions, depopulation, the possibility of civil war,

How to assure that farmers realize a sustainable agriculture, increase their yields and invest (collectively and individually in: storage warehouses, roads for transport, processing facilities, etc...) in order to guarantee food security and self-sufficiency for their countries?

From a strictly agronomic point of view, research (scientifically-supported or otherwise) is being carried out on seeds to improve productivity and resistance to the effects of climate change, but it is important at the same time not to neglect all the knowledge and empirical methods used by African farmers who historically have known how to cope with unpredictable rains, poor soils, insects...

Finally, as we often read and hear, new rules for international trade (free trade agreements) as well as some consideration supported by facts concerning the debt of countries would be welcome!

Today many people are saying that the gap in productivity between an African farmer and his French or Agentinian or American counterpart is so great that it is imposible for him to live by his labor and to invest in improvements to his productive capacity. This is so even while the price paid for local foodstuffs have been very low for decades and the African states do not have the means to grant compensating subsidies as do the Americans and the Europeans.

As a result many countries are experiencing an agricultural and rural crisis of extreme gravity: poverty and malnutrition (paradoxically three-quarters of those suffering are farmers), the erosion of the soil, heightened social tensions, depopulation, the possibility of civil war,

How to assure that farmers realize a sustainable agriculture, increase their yields and invest (collectively and individually in: storage warehouses, roads for transport, processing facilities, etc...) in order to guarantee food security and self-sufficiency for their countries?

From a strictly agronomic point of view, research (scientifically-supported or otherwise) is being carried out on seeds to improve productivity and resistance to the effects of climate change, but it is important at the same time not to neglect all the knowledge and empirical methods used by African farmers who historically have known how to cope with unpredictable rains, poor soils, insects...