New Africa-Europe Partnership: the agricultural sector must be at the heart of priorities

In his speech of 19 January 2022 to the European Parliament, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that “Europe has a duty to propose a new alliance to the African continent. The destinies of both shores of the Mediterranean are linked”. At a time when the post-Cotonou Agreement is opening a period of renewal in intercontinental partnership, developing a modernised vision of the Africa-Europe alliance is essential. This shift will serve the shared ambition of driving sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

Joseph Owona Kono is the President of Afruibana, the Association of African Producers of Banana and Other Fruits. Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana is a Member of the European Parliament (Greens/European Free Alliance Group).

The African Union-European Union Summit represents an important milestone in the redefinition of our relations, and an opportunity to place agriculture at the centre of the projects championed by our governments. As the European Union has resolutely committed to shifting from a development-aid logic to an investment logic on the African continent, it is high time to consider the concrete applications of building a partnership of equals between Africa and Europe.

The economic and social asymmetries that characterise the two continents must not, however, be overlooked. The latest demographic study published by the World Bank in 2020 reminds us that in sub-Saharan Africa, 58% of the population lives in rural areas, which all too often struggle against near-endemic poverty. The ability of our leaders to develop an ambitious strategy in support of agricultural development will be decisive in eradicating hunger, given that 82% of the continent’s poor lived in rural areas in 2019. In the face of these realities, the Africa-Europe partnership must give primacy to the consolidation of sustainable agricultural systems.

Agriculture is indeed the primary source of income in rural territories across Africa, and agricultural enterprises play an essential role in anchoring populations by offering local employment opportunities. Recent United Nations projections predict that the African continent will grow from 1 to 2.4 billion inhabitants by 2050, by which point half of its population will be under the age of 25. The capacity of the African economy to absorb the millions of new entrants who will swell its labour market will depend largely on our ability to implement, from now, a genuine rural development plan. This is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations for 2030, foremost among which is the promotion of full productive employment and decent work for all. The benefits in terms of job creation, territorial balance, and food security justify massive investment in the agricultural sector, in a context where the latest assessments by the FAO estimate that Africa holds 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land.

To this end, European support for the transformative initiatives of African farmers is indispensable to progressing towards sustainable agri-food systems. In 2018, the Rural Africa Task Force convened to propose an “Africa-Europe Agenda for Rural Transformation”, which resulted in a report that deserves to be revitalised as a basis for dialogue between African and European stakeholders. Among the recommendations put forward, notable proposals include the establishment of innovation hubs to support “agri-entrepreneurs”, the development of an Africa-Europe platform for young farmers, and the acceleration of financing for projects linked to food security and the fight against climate change. These are all proposals that warrant thorough follow-up within the framework of the restructuring of the Africa-Europe partnership.

The European Union finds itself at a pivotal juncture for the future of its agri-food sector. With its Farm to Fork strategy, placed at the heart of the European Green Deal, the European Union is promoting organic farming and continually raising its sustainability standards. Today, Europeans and Africans share this common aspiration for products derived from responsible agriculture. This objective can only be achieved through combined efforts: from producers to retailers; the entire value chain must play its part in creating shared responsibility. The sustainable cocoa initiative recently launched by several European countries, bringing together industry operators, trade unions, NGOs, and distributors, is a fitting illustration of this. Such projects involving all stakeholders to work towards fairer and more equitable trade would greatly benefit from being multiplied and rolled out across sectors, so as to make concrete use of Africa-Europe cooperation.

To echo the conclusion of the report by the association Agriculteurs Français et Développement International (AFDI) on agriculture in our intercontinental relations: “the consolidation of the Europe-Africa partnership cannot be effective without genuine consideration of rural populations and shared food security challenges”. Now that this assessment has been made, it is time to take strong commitments together in support of sustainable agriculture as a common foundation for prosperity.

Co-signed by Joseph Owona Kono, President of Afruibana, and Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament.

Published in Euractiv on 28 February 2022.