Bullets for food policy?

 

 

For many decades now, Africa is suffering from prongs that exacerbate inequalities along with rhetorically following ‘African solutions to African problems’. Global powers like the US have suddenly increased Africa's military spending from $40 million (in 1997) to $130 million. Additionally, since the last five years, it is investing somewhere around $10 million per year on training African military personnel. But the paradox lies in the fact that even after promises from developed countries to help Africa by donating 0.7 per cent of their GDP as development aid, none of the countries have made any significant contribution. Africa is echoing its voice since long for more aid to finance their development and not for fortifying their military activities. Africa has already lost $300 billion (as per Oxfam) in the last 15 years due to its on-going civil wars.

The global forum is still flaunting its double standards and is promoting its age-old failed regulations for Africa. The World Development Report 2008 (Agriculture for Development) once again stresses on the two-decade-old failed logic that ‘government regulation should be eliminated so that the market can do its job of getting the prices right’. It is leaving no stone unturned to materialise this policy even after realising that despite decades of imposing these policies in Africa and Latin America, success stories are erratic.

To make the situation worse, global leaders are recommending Africa to undergo a mechanised agriculture under the guidance of the World Bank, even after witnessing that mechanised agriculture benefits neither the producer nor the consumer. If these bodies are actually concerned about agriculture, they should stop EU and US from dumping their cheap food in the African countries. All that is needed to devise feasible trade policies to safeguard these countries that can become food basket for Africa.

It is important for Africa to raise questions on the existence of US-backed AFRICOM (Africa Command) and ask policy makers to devise policy aiming on developing Africa and not military engagement. But the question still lingers – should the global powers help Africa or leave it on its own to handle its problems?