After emerging from years of donor sanctions, plummeting harvests and persistent food shortages, Togo has pledged to invest US$178 million to revive the agriculture sector, which employs two-thirds of the population. Farmers who lived through 1970s agricultural reforms told IRIN they hope this time the effects last longer.
“As overjoyed as we are by the government’s promises, it is very important that the government be vigilant in managing this programme so as to not repeat past errors,” said Baba Djabakatié, president of the National Federation of Cotton Producers.
Take one
After a series of droughts and resulting food shortages in the 1970s, then President Eyadéma Gnassingbé launched what he called a “green revolution” to increase local production. Radio broadcasts and street signs promoted the “return to the countryside”, with slogans “Produce more - the land will not let us down” and “Each Togolese will depend less on imports.”
In the early 1980s the reforms helped boost Togo’s agricultural production enabling it to start exporting cotton, according to government reports.
But the improvements did not last long, according to former Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Anani Akakpo-Ahianyo, who served during the reforms. “The land was still not cultivable, producers not trained and rural roads not constructed to link the countryside to markets.” He added that political turmoil that broke out in the 1990s curtailed agricultural reforms.
Political violence led to donors cutting back or pulling out in protest of widespread human rights abuses, including security crackdowns during the 2005 presidential polls.
But for Akakpo-Ahianyo, the agriculture sector was a victim not only of political violence but also of “poor planning and bad management” under the former president.
Take two
In the latest push, the Togolese government on 30 January convened donors in Kara, 420km north of the capital Lomé, to remind them of the “funds, technical assistance and materials” needed to launch agricultural changes, said Minister of Cooperation Gilbert Bawara. Donors represented included the World Bank, West African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, European Union, UN Development Programme, French Development Agency and Islamic Bank of Development.
Donors have agreed to give Togo $57 million for agriculture in 2009, for fertilisers, research, training for farmers, creating producer associations and improving yields - with a focus on rice, according to Minister of Agriculture Messan Ewovor.
Rice grower Paul Ahianyo told IRIN his field, 45km northwest of Lomé, is cut off from the closest market and has no equipment. “We do not have any roads to transport our products [to market].”
The Agriculture Minister said 90 tractors have been sent to rural zones for shared use and that farmers will receive 25,000 metric tons of fertiliser in early March - the beginning of the 2009 growing season.
An estimated four million people work in agriculture based on the 2006 government census.
In its agricultural production strategy for 2008-2010 the government targeted cocoa, coffee, fish and rice as ways to improve livelihoods and reduce malnutrition. A 2006 government study showed 26 percent malnutrition among under-five children. The UN is working with the government to update this survey.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has said unless major changes are made with the way food is produced and handled around the world, food crises could worsen in the years to come.
To download UNEP report, click here.
In Matékpo, 95km northeast of Lomé, IRIN spoke with farmer Sam Kossi in February as he prepared for the planting season. “I am praying this agriculture revitalisation is a real success,” he said. “Perhaps we will have a real chance to escape poverty this time.”
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“As overjoyed as we are by the government’s promises, it is very important that the government be vigilant in managing this programme so as to not repeat past errors,” said Baba Djabakatié, president of the National Federation of Cotton Producers.
Take one
After a series of droughts and resulting food shortages in the 1970s, then President Eyadéma Gnassingbé launched what he called a “green revolution” to increase local production. Radio broadcasts and street signs promoted the “return to the countryside”, with slogans “Produce more - the land will not let us down” and “Each Togolese will depend less on imports.”
In the early 1980s the reforms helped boost Togo’s agricultural production enabling it to start exporting cotton, according to government reports.
But the improvements did not last long, according to former Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Anani Akakpo-Ahianyo, who served during the reforms. “The land was still not cultivable, producers not trained and rural roads not constructed to link the countryside to markets.” He added that political turmoil that broke out in the 1990s curtailed agricultural reforms.
Political violence led to donors cutting back or pulling out in protest of widespread human rights abuses, including security crackdowns during the 2005 presidential polls.
But for Akakpo-Ahianyo, the agriculture sector was a victim not only of political violence but also of “poor planning and bad management” under the former president.
Take two
In the latest push, the Togolese government on 30 January convened donors in Kara, 420km north of the capital Lomé, to remind them of the “funds, technical assistance and materials” needed to launch agricultural changes, said Minister of Cooperation Gilbert Bawara. Donors represented included the World Bank, West African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, European Union, UN Development Programme, French Development Agency and Islamic Bank of Development.
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Rice grower Paul Ahianyo told IRIN his field, 45km northwest of Lomé, is cut off from the closest market and has no equipment. “We do not have any roads to transport our products [to market].”
The Agriculture Minister said 90 tractors have been sent to rural zones for shared use and that farmers will receive 25,000 metric tons of fertiliser in early March - the beginning of the 2009 growing season.
An estimated four million people work in agriculture based on the 2006 government census.
In its agricultural production strategy for 2008-2010 the government targeted cocoa, coffee, fish and rice as ways to improve livelihoods and reduce malnutrition. A 2006 government study showed 26 percent malnutrition among under-five children. The UN is working with the government to update this survey.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has said unless major changes are made with the way food is produced and handled around the world, food crises could worsen in the years to come.
To download UNEP report, click here.
In Matékpo, 95km northeast of Lomé, IRIN spoke with farmer Sam Kossi in February as he prepared for the planting season. “I am praying this agriculture revitalisation is a real success,” he said. “Perhaps we will have a real chance to escape poverty this time.”
ea/pt/np
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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