Background
Pioneering a green revolution in West Africa with modern commercial farming
INCREASING DEMAND
African and global demand for agricultural commodities is being driven by:
- Â Population growth
- Â Increasing wealth and calorific intake
- Â Policies to promote use of biofuels
This has resulted in food price inflation, and a growing imbalance between supply and demand for most arable crops.
SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS
Meeting demand by increasing supply is limited by:
- Â Decline in productive arable land
- Â Reduced ability to improve yields
- Â Lack of sufficient crop inventories
- Â Impact of climate change & water scarcity
- Â Lead time and cost of farm investment plus credit restrictions in emerging markets
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Yields on captive plantations and outgrower plots will be massively increased by:
- Â Education in good agricultural practice
- Â Supply of high quality inputs, e.g. seeds, fertilsers, pesticides etc.
- Â Mechanisation
- Â Agricultural infrastructure
Agro-processing facilities enable production of higher value products for domestic consumption and export.