Kako Nubukpo : « L’Afrique sera la prochaine puissance agricole du monde » 

In his new book, “A solution for Africa”, Kako Nubukpo proposes solutions that respond to a major problem: the integration into a generation of a billion additional individuals in Africa by 2050. He notably defends a new economic model based on the sharing of common goods. "Africa has all the elements to become a power, not just an agricultural one, but a power in general.", explains the UEMOA Commissioner for Agriculture, Water Resources and the Environment, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the FARM Foundation. Interview.

FARM Foundation: For once, let's start at the end. In the final pages of the book, you talk about your childhood and pay tribute to your grandmother, evoking her resilience and strength. For you, she symbolizes what the African continent is all about...

Kako Nubukpo: Absolutely, the African elite often tends to forget that, going back two or three generations, we all come from a peasant background. This background, which gradually became urbanized, did not always have the elements of social protection, nor all the safety nets that we have today. This voluntary or involuntary amnesia perpetuates strong inequalities in the redistribution of wealth. That is why I take as an example my grandmother, illiterate, who sold small things, candy, beads, who got up at four in the morning to go forty kilometers to Lomé in difficult conditions. There are millions of equivalents today in my generation and we must not forget them.

The fight against poverty and inequality is essential if we are to successfully eradicate hunger in Africa. Our continent is the most unequal, both between and within countries. I am truly committed to drawing the attention of African decision-makers, of whom I am one, to the issue of wealth distribution.

FF: To achieve this, you propose so-called "realistic" solutions that address the major problem: the integration of a billion more people in Africa into one generation by 2050. In particular, you advocate a new economic model based on the sharing of common goods...

KN: This work is a bit like a sequel to "The African Emergency", my previous book published in 2019. After showing possible paths for Africa today and tomorrow, I wanted to propose solutions around a model other than the neoliberal model supported by the Bretton Woods institutions. This cannot solve our problems for a simple reason: it is conveyed by the idea that the individual is a rational being who must seek to maximize his well-being. If he is not happy in Senegal, then he should be able to leave for the Paris region.

We realize that capital is mobile and circles the Earth several times in a day. But labor is not mobile, and from that point on, we must imagine forms of production, life contracts, and societies that can allow this African population of 1.3 billion inhabitants to work locally, to live locally, and to preserve ecosystems.

Our continent provides the rest of the world with many ecosystem services for which it is not compensated at all. It is important to know that Africa only emits 4% of GHGs (greenhouse gases) while we constitute 17% of the world's population. Just that. The Congo Basin, with its tropical forest, is one of the two lungs of the planet. If we do not preserve this forest, the planet risks its end. Therefore, I insist on the notion of common goods because unregulated management can lead to depletion. And, today, we can clearly see, both at the micro and global levels, that there is a governance issue.

What I propose is the establishment of ecological protectionism with the establishment of environmental locks to avoid the predation to which Africa is subject today.

FF: In a chapter devoted to African peasants, you mention their structural abandonment over the past 40 years. This is due to the political priority given to feeding cities...

KN: Twenty-five years ago, I defended my doctoral thesis on the foundations of food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Even today, we are still experiencing an abnormal situation, while other continents – which face the same climatic hazards as Africa – have managed to manage the issue of hunger and food insecurity among their populations.

The main reason? The political priority of African leaders—at the time of independence—was given to urban populations to avoid food riots. We then opted for the cheap importation of products manufactured elsewhere. This was an "extra" version of the colonial model based on the cheap export of raw materials then processed in the metropolises. This is no longer the case because the factory of the world today is Asia.

In this story, peasants have been left behind, and in my opinion, the crucial issue is to put peasants back at the heart of the structural transformation of African economies and societies. Agriculture is a lifesaving activity for Africa because it allows both to feed the continent and to emancipate it.

FF: Do you think agroecology is the only way for African family farming to survive?

KN: What I observe is that the rest of the world is talking about ecological transition. In Africa, it's not really the central issue. We consume 20 kg/ha per year of chemical inputs, while the global average is 250 kg/ha per year. At the same time, the various crises we are experiencing internationally have led to an increase in the cost of chemical inputs. I give the example of potash, which went from $200 to $840 per ton in one year, a fourfold increase. So, what do we do? We don't have to follow in the footsteps of others.

It therefore seems obvious to me that Africa must mobilize its potential to achieve the intensification of these production systems. There is a field intelligence to promote that is fully compatible with the preservation of ecosystems. Agroecology is fully in line with all African philosophies.

FF: In order to try to feed the African continent decently and achieve the objectives mentioned, you therefore want to implement protectionism, which leads to better trade protection at regional borders, better remuneration for farmers and a support system... 

KN: Absolutely, we must take up the challenge of productivity! Because we can see that, even if there is an abundance of land – the INRA study conducted for the FARM Foundation clearly shows this -, the reality is more complicated because there are obstacles. There are productivity gains that can still be made in Africa by promoting research on varieties, on water management and on training farmers to respect technical itineraries. Because with the retirement of our farmers, the younger generations who have not had the chance to have been supported like the elders no longer fully master all the technical itineraries.

Finally, I am not forgetting the support of interprofessional organizations. This involves a better distribution of value in the sectors and greater structuring of farmers' organizations.

FF: So, if Africa manages to structure itself well, it would become a model that could inspire other continents? 

KN: Absolutely. Africa has everything it needs to become a continental power: the availability of land – 650 million hectares of arable land –, the availability of manpower – one billion young people – and the ability of this youth to seize all the latest innovations. The examples of Kenya, with the Mobile money (editor’s note: payment by mobile), or from Niger with all the drip irrigation systems that are developing are extraordinary advances.

It is for all these reasons that I am convinced that Africa will be the next agricultural power in the world, with a model different from the European evolutionary model. The only conceivable model for Africa, compatible with global stability, is built through income from work done on site.

This is not about disconnecting from the rest of the world—far from it. It is simply about recognizing that current constraints in terms of people's ability to migrate, in terms of global warming, and in terms of security must be integrated. This model has every reason to work.