Act for Africa International, Inc.

Sustainable Agriculture

Food Security.

Food security is a growing concern in most countries in Africa. Countries are vulnerable because their food security depends on food imports with an annual food import bill of $35 billion. The import of food weakens African economies, decimates its agriculture and exports jobs from the continent. Our mission in supporting farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa is to provide solutions to build a strong rural economy that will sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition.

Sustainable Agriculture

Youth Unemployment.

Youth unemployment in Africa remains a major political and socioeconomic challenge despite the growth performance of most countries. Focusing on agricultural entrepreneurship will tackle youth unemployment. Agriculture is the most immediate means of generating income and employment for large numbers of young people. If young people can gain access to resources and use them in conjunction with strategies to make agriculture more productive, the results could be transformative for livelihoods and economic growth.

Sustainable Agriculture

Modern Farming.

Small African farmers stand on the frontline in the battle for agricultural development, a struggle they still are fighting not with tractors but with traditional low-tech: hoes. African agriculture needs to massively ramp up its productivity in order to tackle the challenge of creating jobs and producing more food. There is a need for modern farming methods in African small farming because small farmers lie at the heart of the solution. They need to stay up-to-date with the latest training and production techniques. This could be achieved through improving existing agricultural practices.

Sustainable Agriculture

Socioeconomic Change.

Social and economic change can be achieved in a positive way through agriculture. It will make possible the implementation of community projects such as the creation or improvement of educational infrastructures (schools, libraries) or medical facilities (health center), drinkable water and sanitation facilities.

Sustainable Agriculture

Training & Education.

The acquisition of knowledge in agriculture and business management through training workshops for young people and other knowledge such as literacy is necessary in enhancing productivity. In addition to basic education, high productivity farming requires specific skills, such as skills in processing, marketing, machinery operation and repair, transport, logistics, and quality control. Approaches such as farmer field schools that involve participatory methods of learning, technology development, and dissemination appears to be successful in building skills. Business incubators and rural alliances that bring together commercial buyers with producer organizations are further ways of boosting agricultural incomes.

Sustainable Agriculture

Rural Migration.

One of the main causes of rural migration is the search of high paying non-agricultural employment. Young people migrate in urban areas where opportunities of employment are high due to location of industries in these areas. Consequently, it deprives rural areas of labor in agricultural areas, makes remote rural areas less secure and declines economy because the resources are not utilized due to labor shortage. It also increase the rate of unemployment in urban areas since all not all people who come to town to seek employment will be employed. Modernizing agriculture will reduce rural migration because young people will find a professional and lucrative activity that they will hardly find in urban areas.