A Strategic Approach and Business Model for Scaling Up Ecosystems-Based Adaption For Sustainable Development in Africa
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Richard Munang, Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme, Kenya
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A Strategic Approach and Business Model for Scaling Up Ecosystems-Based Adaption For Sustainable Development in Africa
- 1. A STRATEGIC APPROACH AND BUSINESS MODEL FOR SCALING UP ECOSYSTEM-BASED ADAPTATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
- 2. โDid you know that when spiders unite they can tie down a lion?โ
- 3. SUPPLEMENTING ADAPTATION COSTS Lion of climate Change Food Insecurity Poverty Ecological depletion Unemployment
- 4. Imagine with me for a moment, the perils in the Sahel, where as we speak, 12 million of our brothers and sisters are starving from droughts projected to only escalate. Children starving to death & mothers inconsolably grieving for them.
- 5. THE TWO FACES OF AFRICA agro-value chain projected to be worth an estimated USD 1trillion Africa holds 65% of worldโs arable land & 10 % inland fresh water Unemployed youth who account to 60% of the population 1300GW 0.3% of sunlight Energy Potential
- 6. AFRICA LOSSES & EXPENDITURE Malnutrition is killing over 50% of children before their 5th birthday. 240 million go to bed hungry and malnutrition is currently affecting about 200 million The continent is spending $35 billion annually to import food, and losses along the entire agro-value $48 billion worth of food.
- 7. EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE On degraded ecosystems, as much as 6.6 million tonnes of potential grain harvest are lost annually due to agro-ecosystem degradation31million people missing their calorific requirements
- 8. CUMULATIVELY LAND & ECOSYSTEMS DEGRADATION It is noteworthy that healthy ecosystems are the foundation of long term productivity underpinning food production through ecosystems goods and services such as water, soils, pollinators etc. For instance, insect pollination by bees is an ecosystem service that is necessary for 75% of all crops used as human food. Increasing the quantity and variety of pollinating insects can increase crop yields by over 20%. Ecosystems degradation costs sub- Saharan Africa an estimated $68bn annually For instance, insect pollination by bees is an ecosystem service that is necessary for 75% of all crops used as human food
- 9. Worse of all is climate change which is already defining the contours of the continent more dramatically than any other in this century -representing an ever increasing threat, projected to impact agro-productivity in ways that we have never seen before.
- 10. The majority of Africaโs population is youthful and up to 60% of them are unemployed. By 2035, the number of Africans reaching working age will exceed the rest of the world combined. Percentage of unemployed youth
- 11. Already, frustrated by the lack of opportunities, many youth are risking their lives on perilous journeys in search of a better life in other continents. Looking for practical solutions that can remedy poverty will also help realize the aspirations enshrined in the AU Agenda 2063.
- 12. Meaning a total paradigm shift is what is needed. A break from the traditional silos that have stifled productivity to innovative, integrated approaches that tag agricultural productivity to developments in relevant sectors for complementarity
- 13. STARTING 1ST JAN 2016, THE ARCHITECTURE OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGED 2015 was the year of connecting dots
- 14. AGRICULTURE DOCUMENTED TO BE AT LEAST TWO TO FOUR TIMES MORE EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING POVERTY Agriculture has been documented to be at least two to four times more effective at reducing poverty than any other sector (and to have the potential to catalyze achievement of all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and many of the Malabo Declaration goals Agricultural growth also stimulates productivity in other sectors Malabo Declaration
- 15. OPTIMIZING THE AGRO-VALUE CHAIN TO UNLEASH FOOD AND LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES Builds climate resilience while simultaneously conserving and enhancing the capacity of the very ecosystems that are the foundation
- 16. ------80cm------ SEA-LEVEL RISE If we want to achieve food security we must ensure that we look after the vital ecosystems that allow us to produce our food ECOSYSTEMS BASED ADAPTATION APPROACHES (EBA) ARE A SUREFIRE WAY.
- 17. ------80cm------ SEA-LEVEL RISE This means looking after the bees and insect pollinators- an ecosystem service that is necessary for the growth of 75 per cent of all our crops used as human food including in Africa ECOSYSTEMS BASED ADAPTATION APPROACHES (EBA) ARE A SUREFIRE WAY. 20% increase in yields
- 18. ------80cm------ SEA-LEVEL RISE This means, regardless of how vibrant our seeds are, or how much fertilizer we apply, if we destroy biodiversity and loose the pollinators, there will be no bumper harvest ECOSYSTEMS BASED ADAPTATION APPROACHES (EBA) ARE A SUREFIRE WAY.
- 19. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA THE BENEFITS OF AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED ADAPTATION APPROACH If we can do this โ if we can optimize food production by embracing an ecosystem- based adaptation approach to agriculture โ we can boost yields by up to 128% and accompanying farmer income increases and could potentially create as many as 17 million jobs annually for our youth and catalyze an agro-sector $1 trillion by 2030 17 million jobs annually for youth
- 20. OPTIMIZING THE AGRO-VALUE CHAIN TO UNLEASH FOOD AND LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES โa roaring lion kills no gameโ
- 21. MOVING FROM TALK TO ACTIONโ THE ECOSYSTEMS BASED ADAPTATION FOR FOOD SECURITY ASSEMBLY (EBAFOSA) What is needed for impact across the continent are policy and non-policy incentives and investments to upscale this paradigm. But for this to happen we must connect the dots. Connecting the dots can only happen within an inclusive framework that brings everyone together and this is what resulted in the establishment of the Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) an inclusive pan-African policy framework and implementation platform. Connecting the dots
- 22. THE PREMISE OF EBAFOSA IS ERECTED ON SELFLESSNESS AND ANCHORED ON COLLECTIVISM The premise of EBAFOSA is erected on selflessness and anchored on collectivism tailored to turn potential into reality for the collective benefit of all. Premised on a very simple idea - tapping into every skill, networks, partnerships, resources among others and directing them to a very specific objective to ensure what we produce in our farms use approaches that work with nature.
- 23. Innovative volunteerism is not blind optimism. It is already on the move, demonstrating that the strength of this paradigm can be channeled through voluntary, state-driven partnerships. The spirit of innovative volunteerism is mobilizing youth groups through EBAFOSA in countries across Africa
- 24. OPTIMIZING THE AGRO-VALUE CHAIN TO UNLEASH FOOD AND LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES FIVE KEY EBAFOSA PILLARS ICT Clean energy Amalgamation POLICY HARMONIZATION STANDARDIZATIONINNOVATIVE FINANCING
- 25. Climate change which will hit agriculture with up to 40% yield declines For example in the northwestern part of Cameroonโs Jakiri municipality, EBAFOSA is catalyzing partnerships at policy and ground level towards directly linking off-grid small- hydro to power cassava and Irish potato processing into varied product lines, and linking these to markets and supply chains using ICT mobile apps.
- 26. AFRICA INTER-REGION ACCESIBILITY Over 500 women have received training to reduce their post-harvest losses in Cassava, corn, Irish potatoes and Sorghum in the 10 pilot areas. This included also training on clean energy solutions, to reduce health problem of children and women in rural area due to indoor pollution.
- 27. AFRICA INTER-REGION ACCESIBILITY In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of graduate youthful "agripreneurs" have channeled their skills, networks and capital to optimize the cassava value chain. These young people process cassava into flour, package it, standardize it and sell to bakers. For this integration, the youth generate up to $4,000 as weekly income, translating to $16,000 monthly and $196,000 annual income. POCKETS OF SUCCESS AND MOVE FROM TALK TO ACTION
- 28. Industrialization ON POLICY HARMONIZATION TO MAXIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY Environment Lands Transport Agriculture Energy EBAFOSA is achieving this through ministerial-level collaboration across ministries of agriculture, environment, energy, industrialization and others that are forming interagency policy task forces. These policymakers are further joined by stakeholders from private sector and the development community to share knowledge and experiences in aligning policy โ all achieved through innovative volunteerism.
- 29. ON POLICY HARMONIZATION A key focus for the Sierra Leone task force is tax concession policies for agro-based industries in rural areas. EBAFOSA Sierra Leone task force has started building on some 4 ongoing policy initiatives for harmonization towards maximizing productivity of the catalytic areas.
- 30. STANDARDIZATION It is set to be applied universally across all the 40 EBAFOSA countries and enforced by National Standards regulators in each country. By implication, certified products automatically qualify to access a continental market. Gaining access to consumers in all the 40 EBAFOSA countries. This is the start of consolidating the continental food market valued at over $150 billion dollars.
- 31. INNOVATIVE FINANCING For example, in Kenya, through the frame work of EBAFOSA we are working with the Kenya county governments to leverage county climate change funds for additional private sector resources. In the pioneering Makueni County, the fund is setting aside 50 percent of the portfolio so it can securitize up to 10 times the amount in private banks.
- 32. THE STATE OF TRANSPORT IN AFRICA The EBAFOSA ICT โdriven app EdenSys is expanding beyond the above operational aspects, to introduce a new layer covering strategic level data needs for policy & non policy investment decisions makers. EdenSys will utilize big data and its efficient, effective and seamless dissemination to a wide variety of stakeholders at policy & operational level, to inform optimal decisions on physical & policy investments towards establishment of the agro-industrial zones. EDENSYS Strategic Level data Policy & Non-policy Level data Investment decision makers
- 33. To work in complementarity in charting a new roadway that will banish to obscurity, the starvation, death and misery meted upon our people by the glaring productivity gaps. The silo approaches we have fostered haven not availed much. Let these be the lessons that usher us to complementary actions. โBy crawling, a child learns to standโ
- 34. AFRICA INTER-REGION ACCESIBILITY Insufficient food Sleeping hungry Lack of clean energy Unemployed youth EBAFOSA THE SOLUTION to African socio- economic challenges
- 35. โPAY-FORWARDโ SYSTEM Let us March forward in the Spirit of Innovative Volunteerism and seize the moment!
- 36. A STRATEGIC APPROACH AND BUSINESS MODEL FOR SCALING UP ECOSYSTEM-BASED ADAPTATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA Thank You! @RichardMunang Richard.munang@unep.org
Editor's Notes
- Did you know that when spiders unite they can tie down a lion?
- The promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is glamorous. But standing between us and this glamour is the lion of climate change & ecological degradation. The lion of poverty & youth unemployment. The lion of food insecurity and the list goes on. But no problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Together, in one accord, we can tie down this lion, and actualize the promise of the SDGs for ourselves and future generations. And I will tell you why and how this can be done.
- Imagine with me for a moment, the perils in the Sahel, where as we speak, 12million of our brothers and sisters are starving from droughts projected to only escalate. Children starving to death & mothers inconsolably grieving for them. This is just a tip of the iceberg of the untold sufferings of vulnerable families across Africa, where up to 38 million people are suffering this fate in 2017.
- What makes the situation even more frustrating- Lets face it, Africa is endowed with natural wealth more than any other. I am talking about 65% of the worldโs uncultivated arable land, and 10% of its inland fresh water resources. I Am talking about the abundant renewable energy potential which can complement agriculture to actualize an agro-sector projected to be worth an estimated USD 1 trillion in less than 13 years from today- creating millions of jobs for the unemployed youth currently majority unemployed at 60%.
- Amidst this seeming abundance, 240 million go to bed hungry and malnutrition is currently affecting about 200 million and killing over 50% of children before their 5th birthday. The continent is spending $35 billion annually to import food, and losses along the entire agro-value chain is costing the continent about $48 billion worth of food.
- On degraded ecosystems, as much as 6.6 million tonnes of potential grain harvest are lost annually due to agro-ecosystem degradation. This is food enough to meet annual calorific needs of up to 31 million people
- In financial terms, cumulatively land & ecosystems degradation costs sub-Saharan Africa an estimated $68bn annually. It is noteworthy that healthy ecosystems are the foundation of long term productivity underpinning food production through ecosystems goods and services such as water, soils, pollinators etc. For instance, insect pollination by bees is an ecosystem service that is necessary for 75% of all crops used as human food. Increasing the quantity and variety of pollinating insects can increase crop yields by over 20%.
- Worse of all is climate change which is already defining the contours of the continent more dramatically than any other in this century -representing an ever increasing threat, projected to impact agro-productivity in ways that we have never seen before. It is projected that climate change will cause up to 40% yield declines of key staples in Africa. Translating to a 25 โ 90% increase in incidences of undernourishment, not to mention economic losses.
- Though these challenges may seem insurmountable, there is one challenge which if left unaddressed could have more dramatic consequences. This is the youth bulge. The majority of Africaโs population is youthful and up to 60% of them are unemployed. By 2035, the number of Africans reaching working age will exceed the rest of the world combined.
- Without affordable, practical and innovative solutions to address the socioeconomic challenges which drive youth unemployment and migration, actualizing the SDGs will be elusive. Already, frustrated by the lack of opportunities, many youth are risking their lives on perilous journeys in search of a better life in other continents. Looking for practical solutions that can remedy poverty will also help realize the aspirations enshrined in the AU Agenda 2063.
- As we resolve to act, let our ambition draw wisdom from an insightful proverb from the Igbo people of Nigeria โ โa bird that flies off the earth and lands on an anthill is still on the groundโ. Meaning a total paradigm shift is what is needed. A break from the traditional silos that have stifled productivity to innovative, integrated approaches that tag agricultural productivity to developments in relevant sectors for complementarity.
- Starting 1st Jan 2016, the architecture of global development changed and Africa, like the rest of the world, woke up to newer, promising opportunities building on what the global community of nations did in 2015. 2015 was the year of connecting dots. In September, the world unanimously adopted the SDGs and Agenda 2030, unequivocally endorsing the promising roadmap to a more environmentally sustainable, socially & economically inclusive world, where No One is Left Behind. In December 2015, the global community negotiated and adopted the Paris COP21 agreement providing the global policy anchor for environmentally sustainable growth. These global initiatives, dovetail with Africaโs own AU Agenda 2063 with intent to create the Africa We Want and provide the high level strategic and policy framework that could will potentially transition the continent into economic, social and environmental progress in the next 15 years.
- Agriculture has been documented to be at least two to four times more effective at reducing poverty than any other sector (and to have the potential to catalyze achievement of all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and many of the Malabo Declaration goals .Agricultural growth also stimulates productivity in other sectors, such as processing and transportation, whose value chains link with the agricultural value chain, resulting in economy wide impacts. An overriding theme implied in these blueprints is the need to modernize and optimize Africaโs agriculture while at the same time ensuring that the productivity of the ecosystems that underpin agricultural productivity are safeguarded for future generations. At the global level, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs align with these noble continental aims. Specifically, SDG 1 aims for poverty eradication. SDG 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, with targets to be achieved by 2030. SDG 13 calls for action to combat climate change. SDG 15 calls for sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems. SDG 5 aims to empower women in areas including agriculture, where they produce up to 80 percent of the food. These goals overlap considerably with the Malabo Declaration goals, which include commitments to end hunger and halve poverty by 2025, to supporting agriculture-led growth, and enhancing resilience of livelihoods and production systems to climate variability and related risks. These development blueprints and policy declarations provide the first principles and theoretical solutions for transforming Africaโs agriculture. Their implementation constitutes an impactful practical solution.
- While it is clear that enhancing agricultural productivity is one of the fastest ways out of poverty and achieving inclusive growth for Africa, under the changing climate, it is critically important to go about it in a way that builds climate resilience while simultaneously conserving and enhancing the capacity of the very ecosystems that are the foundation, underpinning food productivity through their ecosystem goods & services
- Ecosystems Based Adaptation approaches (EBA) are a surefire way. Today, we already have the knowledge to do this. Simply raising agricultural productivity is not enough. If we want to achieve food security we must ensure that we look after the vital ecosystems that allow us to produce our food.
- This means looking after the bees and insect pollinators- an ecosystem service that are necessary for the growth of 75% of all our crops used as human food including in Africa, and increasing the quantity and variety of pollinating insects can increase crop yields by over 20%.ย
- This means, regardless of how vibrant our seeds are, or how much fertilizer we apply, if we destroy biodiversity and loose the pollinators, there will be no bumper harvest. The same goes for optimal soil structure, water, erosion prevention among other crucial ecosystem services that are critical to optimizing agro-productivity. It means looking after our soils and our water sources. It means protecting the rich biodiversity in our forests. It means building climate resilience. And it means sharing the knowledge and the technology that allows us to do all of these things.
- If we can do this โ if we can optimize food production by embracing an ecosystem-based adaptation approach to agriculture โ we can boost yields by up to 128% and accompanying farmer income increases at minimal to no environmental cost. And this is not all. If we further link ecological production to clean energy based value addition and ICT enabled market & supply chain linkages coupled with complementary policies to unlock sustainable agro-industrialization such as clean energy for processing, efficient access to markets through effective transport links and storage facilities so that we donโt waste so much food after it is harvested. Access to affordable financing could potentially create as many as 17 million jobs annually for our youth and catalyze an agro-sector projected to be worth $1 trillion by 2030. Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Food Security: Positioning EbA and CSA Strategically Rather than being viewed as a silo climate adaptation technique not directly connected with socioeconomic priorities, EbA, including CSA, must be strategically positioned as a key element in a composite solution to eliminate the leading inefficiencies along Africaโs agricultural value chains in order to accelerate socioeconomic transformation and achieve the SDGs and Malabo Declaration goals. EbAโs compatibility with the approaches of smallholder farmers , who produce up to 80 percent of the food in SSA , coupled with its ability to increase yields by up to 128 percent under the changing climate and to safeguard long-term production, makes it pertinent to such integration as part of a potential composite solution. Such strategic positioning of EbA as part of a broad solution to address a leading socioeconomic challenge in Africa has potential to create incentive for scaling up this approach. .
- As the African proverb goes, โa roaring lion kills no gameโ. However promising these frameworks are- they will only be as good for Africa, as their level of implementation. And that is why we are here today.
- Moving from talk to action โ The Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) What is needed for impact across the continent are policy and non-policy incentives and investments to upscale this paradigm. But for this to happen we must connect the dots. Connecting the dots can only happen within an inclusive framework that brings everyone together and this is what resulted in the establishment of the Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) an inclusive pan-African policy framework and implementation platform. EBAFOSA is a solutions space that bridges gaps in financing, in policy processes, in techniques, in technology among others to achieve implementation through fostering partnerships between solutions providers- ensuring EBA driven agricultural approaches are linked to commercial value-chains, especially access to affordable financing, efficient access to markets and accessible clean energy to catalyze agro-processing industry and up-scaled to being the norm in policy and practice across the entire continent.
- The premise of EBAFOSA is erected on selflessness and anchored on collectivism tailored to turn potential into reality for the collective benefit of all. Premised on a very simple idea - tapping into every skill, networks, partnerships, resources among others and directing them to a very specific objective to ensure what we produce in our farms use approaches that work with nature. That on-farm production is not sold in its raw form, but linked to clean energy for processing & value addition to fetch higher market prices. That our operations โ both on-farm & value addition are linked to financing, extension & advisory among other key services through our mobile phones for efficiency. That our products are standardized to access high value markets in the Gambia and across Africa. That these products are linked to high value markets in the Gambia and across Africa using our mobile phones for efficiency. Simply put, these are the building blocks and we call this Innovative Volunteerism.
- Examples of Innovative Volunteerism in Practice Innovative volunteerism is not blind optimism. It is already on the move, demonstrating that the strength of this paradigm can be channeled through voluntary, state-driven partnerships. The spirit of innovative volunteerism is mobilizing youth groups through EBAFOSA in countries like Nigeria
- And our efforts to escalate Innovative Volunteerism will not be in a vacuum. They will be guided by the EBAFOSA pillars. Which cover actions at the policy level where the aim is to ensure favorable policies to maximize the catalytic area are in place, and the operational level where we ensure: there is efficient financing for the catalytic area. his will set the Gambia and Africa as a whole on track to actualize the dream of the SDGs. Where the present challenges will be a distant memory, never to be experienced again
- For example in the northwestern part of Cameroonโs Jakiri municipality, EBAFOSA is catalyzing partnerships at policy and ground level towards directly linking off-grid small-hydro to power cassava and Irish potato processing into varied product lines, and linking these to markets and supply chains using ICT mobile apps.
- As a result of the above ongoing actions; -Over 500 women have received training to reduce their post-harvest losses in Cassava, corn, Irish potatoes and Sorghum in the 10 pilot areas. This included also training on clean energy solutions, to reduce health problem of children and women in rural area due to indoor pollution. Women also showed big interest in the apps for marketing and clean technology access, and this will probably be very useful for the up-scaling. By this, they are increasing their incomes & food security of communities.
- In DRC, a group of graduate youths have channeled their skills, networks and capital to optimize the cassava value chain. These young people are using clean energy to process cassava, into flour, packaging for sell to higher value markets. With this integration, the youth generate up to $4,000 as weekly income, translating to $16,000 monthly and $196,000 annual income. Through EBAFOSA, these youth are set to train youth groups across the continent on the business models to develop cassava value chains, hence build capacity of youth to replicate this success continentally.
- On policy harmonization to maximize productivity, EBAFOSA is achieving this through ministerial-level collaboration across ministries of agriculture, environment, energy, industrialization and others that are forming interagency policy task forces. These policymakers are further joined by stakeholders from private sector and the development community to share knowledge and experiences in aligning policy โ all achieved through innovative volunteerism.
- The EBAFOSA Sierra Leone task force has started building on some ongoing policy initiatives across four complementary ministries. A key focus for the Sierra Leone task force is tax concession policy for agro-based industries in rural areas. These are set to incentivize investment in clean energy power plants dedicated to adding agro-value near farming areas, and the task force work is another example of what innovative volunteerism is doing at policy level..
- It is set to be applied universally across all the 40 EBAFOSA countries and enforced by National Standards regulators in each country. By implication, certified products automatically qualify to access a continental market. Gaining access to consumers in all the 40 EBAFOSA countries. This is the start of consolidating the continental food market valued at over $150 billion dollars. This is how we will create the jobs for our youth & combat poverty in our homes.
- For example, in Kenya, through the frame work of EBAFOSA we are working with the Kenya county governments to leverage county climate change funds for additional private sector resources. In the pioneering Makueni County, the fund is setting aside 50 percent of the portfolio so it can securitize up to 10 times the amount in private banks. These securitized monies will be loaned through low interest microfinance institutions, to entrepreneurs engaged along the targeted catalytic areas towards establishing the envisaged clean energy powered agro-processing industries
- In addition, the EBAFOSA ICT โdriven app EdenSys is expanding beyond the above operational aspects, to introduce a new layer covering strategic level data needs for policy & non policy investment decisions makers. EdenSys will utilize big data and its efficient, effective and seamless dissemination to a wide variety of stakeholders at policy & operational level, to inform optimal decisions on physical & policy investments towards establishment of the agro-industrial zones. Among key aspects covered include spatial data, including physical attributes to rate the potential of various locations where zones could be established. This is to inform policies and ground actions for most optimal location for the zones. Location will for instance need to balance nearness to source of raw materials, nearness to collection points, markets and supply chains. So spatial data on land use suitability, data on crop value chains, market & raw material locations etc., will be archived in this new layer to inform lands, planning, energy, roads development, agriculture, incentives policies and physical investment decisions to ensure they are harmonized and complement establishment of these agro-industrial zones. The above paradigm will be expanded to cover all the 40 EBAFOSA countries
- Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, All the above actions are driven in countries through voluntary mutual partnerships between and among complementary stakeholders that bridge gaps in the above Areas. By crawling, a child learns to standโ โ contained in this simple African proverb is the wisdom that should guide us forth. To work in complementarity & mutuality towards the common end goal of maximizing productivity of our food systems. To work in complementarity in charting a new roadway that will banish to obscurity, the starvation, death and misery meted upon our people by the glaring productivity gaps. The silo approaches we have fostered haven not availed much. Let these be the lessons that usher us to complementary actions.
- 1. If there is a mother who cannot feed her new-born child with the proper food to live beyond the age of five, that should matter to us. If it matters to us we MUST usher ourselves to action. 2. If there is an African who go to bed with a stomach aching from hunger, that should matter to us. If it matters to us we MUST usher ourselves to action. 3. If there is an Africa who doesnโt have the required clean energy to process what he or she process, to add value to what he or she produces, that should matter to us. If it matters to us we MUST usher ourselves to action 4. If there is an Unemployed youth whose skill could be tapped to drive the agro value chain for jobs and food security that should matter to us. If it matters to us we MUST usher ourselves to action
- By ushering ourselves to Action through the spirit of innovative volunteerism, we can ensure that Africa will never again experience the fear of want or need! The future is in our hands and we have everything it takes to shape it for the collective benefit of all. Let us March forward in the Spirit of Innovative Volunteerism and seize the moment.