RIU-supported projects mentioned in House of Commons debate
9 November 2010

Heidi Alexander MP used her first adjournment debate in the UK's House of Commons to raise the issue of food security in Africa.

In September, Ms Alexander was one of five UK parliamentarians who visited Kenya as part of a group from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Agriculture and Food for Development.

During their visit the parliamentarians attended an event in Nairobi to mark the publication of the 5 millionth copy of the comic ShujaazFM. They also travelled to Western Kenya where they saw for themselves the work being done by FIPS-Africa. Both these projects were mentioned during the debate, with Ms Alexander describing FIPS-Africa as a "fantastic project".

Summing up the debate, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Stephen O'Brien, noted:

"Important evidence from such trips comes back to DFID, which we can incorporate into our thinking as we move forward, particularly as the foresight group will be reporting early next year."

Introducing the debate Ms Alexander said:

"I am pleased to have secured my first Adjournment debate and to be speaking about food security in Africa. I declare an interest: in September, I was lucky to be part of a parliamentary delegation to Kenya that was organised and paid for by the all-party group for agriculture and food for development. I am pleased to say that one of my fellow travellers, the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker), is in the Chamber...

My week in Kenya is undoubtedly one reason why I applied for the debate... I have called the debate because...emergency food relief has to be the last resort, and because I believe that Africa has the ability to feed itself and that we in the UK should be doing more to help African agriculture to realise its potential...

I have come here today to ask the Minister to put tackling hunger and malnutrition for millions of Africans at the heart of his Government's fight against global poverty... I also come to say that while maternal health, access to family planning and the fight against disease are all vital, so too is investing in smallholder farmers, most of whom are women. Ironically, it is those smallholder farmers who are most likely to face severe hunger and malnutrition.

I also wish to ask the Minister to increase the UK aid that we spend on helping African farmers so that they can improve their harvests and the productivity of their livestock, to increase the amount of agricultural expertise provided by his Department within African countries, and to use our influence within the international community to ensure that African Governments honour the commitments that they made at Maputo in 2003.

When the all-party group visited Kenya in September, we met family after family who told us that while their livelihood was their land, that land often did not produce enough for them to live on. They are not even subsistence farmers; they are sub-subsistence farmers, and there are millions of them in Africa. Given the effects of climate change and more irregular rainfall patterns, there are likely to be many more in years to come.

The sad thing is that it does not have to be that way. The use of better seeds, appropriate fertilisers and access to basic knowledge about planting and irrigation can have a dramatic impact on yields. The current agricultural output in Africa, measured in tonnes per hectare, is less than the UK's wheat output in 1680. Better storage, cross-breeding of livestock and access to micro-finance can mean the difference between feeding one's children or not, and the difference between having a small surplus to sell at market or not. None of that is rocket science, yet there is a huge challenge in getting the basics right, and getting the best seeds and right sort of agricultural knowledge to the farmers who need them.

There are fantastic projects, however, that have the potential to be scaled up in a way that could offer real results. Take FIPS in Kenya-Farm Inputs Promotions Africa - a Department for International Development-funded, not-for-profit company, which, through a network of village-based, agricultural advisers, works with the private sector to get new seeds and fertilisers out to the farmers who need them.

As the recently published Montpellier panel report says, however, there is a "potentially dangerous gap" between a rich patchwork of on-the-ground activities, such as those I have just mentioned, and a "top-down global response" to addressing food security, which is characterised by much-lauded international conferences and big set-piece policy statements. Do not get me wrong: the pledges of large-scale funding at L'Aquila last year are welcome, but they must translate into real improvements in the lives of the poorest in Africa.

I hope that I have been able to explain why I feel that a focus on food security and agriculture in Africa is so important. I ask the Minister, in the light of what I have said, to consider increasing the proportion of bilateral aid spent on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to 10% of total DFID money spent there. According to a recent reply to a parliamentary question, the sum for agriculture in that area amounted to £51 million in 2008-09. I calculate that that is just 3% of UK bilateral aid for the region in that year."

In reply to Ms Alexander, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Stephen O'Brien, said:

"I noted that the noble Lord Cameron-the leader of the all-party group on agriculture and food for development, of which the hon. Lady is a member-highlighted a particularly interesting point about ShujaazFM radio, which I think all the team must have seen. Important evidence from such trips comes back to DFID, which we can incorporate into our thinking as we move forward, particularly as the foresight group will be reporting early next year.

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for introducing the debate and raising the subject. I look forward to working with her and other hon. Members as we find the best way to support those concerned, particularly smallholder farmers, in playing a role in tackling hunger where it is most necessary to do so. We need to ensure that we do so on the basis of evidence and knowledge."

See also RIUtv film of the visit to Kenya by five UK parliamentarians, part of a group from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Agriculture and Food for Development.