THE AFRICAN CONTINENT IS THE ONLY REGION ON EARTH WHERE
FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE PAST TWO DECADES HAS CONSISTENTLY
FALLEN BEHIND POPULATION GROWTH. MANY EXPERTS BLAME THE
CONTINENT'S HARSH CLIMATE AND LIMITED NATURAL RESOURCES,
ESPECIALLY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, FOR THE FAILURE TO
BOOST PER CAPITA FOOD PRODUCTION. BUT ONE OF THE WORLD'S
BEST KNOWN AGRICULTURAL SCIENTISTS BELIEVES THAT WITH THE
RIGHT MIX OF NEW FARMING TECHNOLOGIES, BETTER PRODUCTION
PRACTICES, AND SOUND GOVERNMENT POLICIES, AFRICA'S FARMERS
COULD DOUBLE OR TRIPLE THEIR FOOD HARVESTS WITHIN THE NEXT
TWENTY YEARS:
IOWA-BORN PLANT BREEDER NORMAN BORLAUG IS OFTEN CALLED
THE FATHER OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION. IT'S A MONIKER HE
EARNED -- ALONG WITH THE 1970 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE -- FOR
PIONEERING THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-YIELDING VARIETIES OF
WHEAT. HIS REAL ACHIEVEMENT, THOUGH, MAY HAVE BEEN
CONVINCING SKEPTICAL FARMERS IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN TO
PLANT THOSE SEEDS, ALONG WITH NEW HIGH-YIELDING STRAINS
OF DWARF RICE, AS FAMINE LOOMED OVER THE SUBCONTINENT IN
THE MID 1960S. AS HE PREDICTED, MR. BORLAUG'S WHEAT AND
THE NEW RICE PLANTS TRIPLED GRAIN YIELDS IN ONE SEASON,
AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WERE SAVED FROM STARVATION.
A SIMILAR DRAMATIC TURNAROUND COULD HAPPEN IN AFRICA,
ACCORDING TO THE 83 YEAR OLD AMERICAN PLANT BREEDER.
THOUGH OFFICIALLY RETIRED, NORMAN BORLAUG HAS SPENT THE
PAST DECADE WORKING WITH THE GLOBAL 2000/AFRICA PROJECT.
THAT'S A PRIVATELY-FINANCED VILLAGE-LEVEL AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION PROGRAM NOW OPERATING IN NINE AFRICAN NATIONS,
WITH PROJECTS IN FIVE ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES IN THE WORKS.
ITS GOAL IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE TRANSFORMATION OF
AFRICAN FARMING, FROM TRADITIONALLY RESOURCE-POOR,
LOW-YIELD SYSTEMS TO A MORE INTENSIVE, HIGH-OUTPUT
AGRICULTURE CAPABLE OF FEEDING AFRICA'S GROWING
POPULATIONS. NORMAN BORLAUG IS CONVINCED THE
TRANSFORMATION CAN HAPPEN, IF IT'S DONE RIGHT:
"IT'S MY FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF THAT INSOFAR AS POSSIBLE,
AGRICULTURE SHOULD BE CONCENTRATED IN THOSE AREAS OF
EACH COUNTRY THAT HAVE THE BASIC RESOURCES THAT ARE
ADEQUATE FOR INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE, IN OTHER WORDS,
SOILS THAT ARE FAIRLY DEEP, AREAS THAT HAVE ADEQUATE
AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT TO SUSTAIN GOOD
AGRICULTURE. OTHER PARTS OF THOSE COUNTRIES THAT BECAUSE
OF ROUGH TOPOGRAPHY WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO BAD
EROSION, SHOULD BE LEFT IN EITHER GRAZING, OR FORESTRY,
OR NON CULTIVATED USES."
MR. BORLAUG RECALLS THE FIRST TIME, BACK IN 1985, WHEN
HE AND ANOTHER GLOBAL 2000 RECRUIT -- FORMER U-S
PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER -- TRAVELED THROUGHOUT CENTRAL
AFRICA SIZING UP THE POTENTIAL FOR FARMING DEMONSTRATION
PROJECTS. HE SAYS THEY SAW A HOST OF PROBLEMS WHICH
CONTINUE TO HANDICAP AFRICAN FARMERS TODAY. UNDERSTAFFED
RESEARCH FACILITIES. POORLY TRAINED AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION WORKERS. INADEQUATE ROAD AND RAIL
TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING SYSTEMS. LIMITED ACCESS TO
CREDIT. AND WORST OF ALL, SAYS MR. BORLAUG, FARMERS
LACKED A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF GREEN REVOLUTION
AGRICULTURE -- CHEMICAL FERTILIZER.
"THE BOTTLENECK, NUMBER ONE, IS FERTILIZER. THE SOILS
ARE WORN OUT, AND THE TENDENCY UP TO NOW HAS BEEN TO
FARM THOSE LANDS UNTIL THEY GO DOWN TO VERY LOW
PRODUCTIVITY -- IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG WITH THOSE SOILS,
TWO OR THREE YEARS. THEY ARE DEPLETED OF ONE OR MORE
PLANT NUTRIENTS."
MR. BORLAUG SAYS INORGANIC FERTILIZERS SUCH AS PHOSPHATE
AND POTASSIUM, TOGETHER WITH ORGANIC NUTRIENTS FROM
LEGUMES AND MANURE, CAN RESTORE FERTILITY TO AFRICA'S
SOILS AND UNLOCK ENORMOUS AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL.
HE FUMES AT ENVIRONMENTAL CRITICS IN THE
DEVELOPED WORLD WHO WARN THAT EXPANDED USE OF CHEMICAL
FERTILIZERS COULD DAMAGE AFRICA'S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
BORLAUG SAYS SMALL, INCREMENTAL INCREASES IN FERTILIZER
POSE LITTLE OR NO ECOLOGICAL RISK. IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH,
HE ADDS, TO WAKE AFRICA'S TIRED SOILS:
"WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS THAT VIRTUALLY
WITHOUT EXCEPTION, IT IS POSSIBLE WITH MODEST INPUTS OF
FERTILIZER AND IMPROVED CROP MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO
DOUBLE YIELDS, BUT MORE OFTEN TRIPLE THEM."
SINCE 1985, MR. BORLAUG AND THE SCIENTIFIC TEAMS RUNNING
THE GLOBAL 2000/AFRICA PROJECT HAVE GONE FROM RURAL
VILLAGE TO RURAL VILLAGE. THEY SET UP TINY DEMONSTRATION
PLOTS TO SHOW GROWERS -- AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS -- THAT
GREEN REVOLUTION TECHNOLOGIES DO WORK IN AFRICA.
"IF WE ADDED ALL OF THOSE UP, IT MUST BE 350 THOUSAND,
MAYBE CLOSER TO 400 THOUSAND PLOTS NOW. THESE ARE
ESSENTIALLY PLOTS OF HALF AN ACRE TO AN ACRE, ON
FARMERS' FIELDS, WHERE WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER WITH THE
INFORMATION THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE WE
ARE WORKING, THE DIFFERENT CROPS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT
TO THE ECONOMY. IN OTHER WORDS, THE IMPROVED SEED -- THE
HIGHEST YIELDING VARIETIES, THE RIGHT DATES AND RATES OF
PLANTING, HOW TO RESTORE THE FERTILITY TO REASONABLE
LEVELS WITH THE PROPER FERTILIZER, PROPER CONTROL OF
WEEDS -- WHICH IS GENERALLY MECHANICAL -- A HOE! -- AND
TRYING TO GET SOME SENSE INTO POLICY, ESPECIALLY AS IT
RELATES TO CREDIT FOR THAT LITTLE FARMER."
NORMAN BORLAUG SAYS THESE GRASS-ROOT AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION EFFORTS ARE BEARING FRUIT -- ESPECIALLY IN THE
ONCE FAMINE-STRICKEN ETHIOPIA. HE OBSERVES THAT WHEN
GLOBAL 2000 BEGAN ITS WORK THERE FOUR YEARS AGO,
ETHIOPIA WAS STILL WIDELY REGARDED AS A HOPELESS CASE --
MUCH AS INDIA AND PAKISTAN WERE IN THE 1960S. MR.
BORLAUG BELIEVES THE EXCITEMENT GENERATED AMONG FARMERS
BY THE GLOBAL 2000 DEMONSTRATION PLOTS ENCOURAGED THE
GOVERNMENT IN ADDIS ABABA TO BOLSTER ITS AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND IMPROVE FARM EXTENSION SERVICES.
THOSE CHANGES SPARKED A SURGE IN ETHIOPIA'S FARM OUTPUT.
"A YEAR AGO, THEY BECAME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN CORN
(MAIZE). RIGHT NOW THEY ARE EXPORTING 600 THOUSAND TONS
OF CORN TO KENYA, WHICH HAS A FOOD SHORTAGE SITUATION.
IF THEY HAVE AVERAGE RAINS THIS YEAR, THEY WILL BE SELF
SUFFICIENT IN WHEAT AND BARLEY, AND IN TEFF (A NATIVE
FOOD GRAIN) IN TWO YEARS."
NORMAN BORLAUG BELIEVES ETHIOPIA'S "BREAKTHROUGH" AS HE
CALLS IT, WILL ENCOURAGE FARMERS AND FARM MINISTERS IN
OTHER AFRICAN NATIONS TO ADOPT HIGH-YIELD, GREEN
REVOLUTION APPROACHES IN THEIR FARMING SYSTEMS.
HE CAUTIONS, HOWEVER, THAT UNCHECKED POPULATION GROWTH
REMAINS THE WILD CARD IN AFRICA'S FUTURE. UNLESS STEPS
ARE TAKEN NOW TO CURB WHAT HE CALLS "THE POPULATION
MONSTER," NORMAN BORLAUG FEARS IT COULD OVERWHELM EVEN
THE MOST DRAMATIC GAINS IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE OVER THE
NEXT TWENTY YEARS.
COUNTRIES IN WHICH THE GLOBAL 2000 TEAMS HAVE
WORKED, IN ADDITION TO ETHIOPIA, INCLUDE: GHANA, SUDAN,
ZAMBIA TANZANIA, NIGERIA, BENIN, TOGO, AND MOZAMBIQUE.
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ARE IN THE WORKS FOR BOURKINA
FASSO, ERITREA, GUINEA, MALI AND UGANDA. GLOBAL 2000 IS
FINANCED BY JAPANESE INDUSTRIALIST RYOICHI SASAKAWA.
05-Mar-97
Source: Voice of America