In an article published by Geopolitial Intelligence Services (GIS), FairPlay founder Francois Baird said that there were huge opportunities for African countries to export food to China and Europe, but the success of the “mega farms” required would depend on investment and the rule of law.
The African Development Bank had estimated that food and agriculture production in Africa could grow from $280 billion a year in 2023 to $1 trillion by 2030.
“Yet about 80 percent of the continent’s food is still produced by small-scale or subsistence farmers, and more than 200 million Africans go hungry every day. Even in South Africa, its most agriculturally advanced and industrialized country, there are growing concerns about food insecurity.
“How, then, could Africa become a food basket for China and Europe while improving its own food security?” Baird asked.
“One path lies in a shift toward large-scale commercial farming, and ultimately to mega-farms. A mega-farm is a technologically sophisticated, mass-scale commercial agriculture enterprise. In addition to the usual agricultural needs, mega-farming depends on the rule of law, secure land tenure, adequate infrastructure, affordable energy access and well-functioning banks and financial markets.”
Mega-farms could provide employment for both educated people and unskilled labour, and offer a pathway to development and economic growth in rural areas.
“The case of mega-farming in South Africa illustrates the point. According to assessments by the University of Wageningen over several years, the country’s poultry industry is internationally competitive in terms of production efficiency. Raising poultry consumes almost all the country’s maize and soybean production, and poultry is now the preferred animal protein for two-thirds of South Africans, particularly lower-income people.
“Nearly 47,000 South African small-scale farmers have left poultry production due to the dumping of chicken by foreign producers (including in Brazil, the United States and Europe) as well as the collapse of electricity supply, infrastructure, municipal services and the effects of Covid-19 restrictions and avian influenza.
“Yet mega-poultry producers like Astral, RCL, Country Bird and Sovereign have remained competitive and helped the country avoid chicken shortages despite these problems,” Baird said.
