Africa Needs Structural Transformation Of Its Agriculture

Pierre Jacquemot is a former French ambassador to Ghana and Kenya and a former director of development at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his new book, Se nourrir, le dfi de lAfrique Feeding itself, Africas challenge , Jacquemot looks at what has gone wrong in African agriculture - and what the continent can do to fix it. He talks to Hichem Ben Yache.

Why publish a book on the question of food, an issue addressed by many African academics and institutions?

The idea came from the realisation that Africa will have to feed a population of two and a half billion over the next few decades. There are already major food-related challenges, particularly in terms of child malnutrition.

Ive tried to answer this question: How can we produce more healthy quality products in sufficient quantity for a growing population, but on land that is limited in terms of land ownership and has little scope for expansion? In fact, this land is often degraded and can fall victim to climatic hazards, as is currently the case with flooding or insects.

W hat has gone wrong, despite Africas resources and wealth?