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| | | Title | THE STATE OF THE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY | | Author | KIBATI, Veronicah | | Subject | Agriculture | | Publisher | African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) | | Number of Pages | 47 pages | | Language | English | | Geographical Coverage | Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi | | Keywords | Agricultural Development, Food Security, Regional Food Balance Sheet, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), EAC, East African Community | | Abstract | Increasing agricultural productivity is critical to accelerating economic growth and improving the wellbeing of both rural and urban people in East Africa. Indeed, many strategies have been pursued in an attempt to increase agricultural productivity and enhance food security in East Africa. However, despite these numerous strategies, East Africa is repeatedly caught up in the vicious cycle of food insecurity which perpetuates poverty. This paper seeks to analyse the state of food security in East Africa, identify the constraints and suggest possible remedies for enhancing food security in East Africa. It seeks to examine how the region went from being a net food exporter to a net food importer and from food abundance to mass starvation. Data from the paper is drawn from literature review and analysis of various policy documents and food security and nutrition reports from the various institutions that attempt to address food insecurity in East Africa. The findings of this study indicate that despite the importance of agriculture to East Africa’s economy, the region has low agricultural yields and is still largely prone to food insecurity. This is largely as a result of the traditional and small scale nature of Agriculture in Eastern Africa characterized by reliance on rain fed agriculture; low diversification; low usage of modern technology; poor water management systems; land fragmentation; and high post-harvest losses among others. This coupled with an underdeveloped Agricultural sector, climate change effects, high population growth and low government commitment to agriculture further aggravates the problem. The study finds that addressing these constraints will be the panacea to the problem. Remedies such as increased investment in agriculture, improved seed and farm management techniques, integrated water management techniques, engendering agriculture, addressing climate change and population growth among others are proposed. The paper concludes that if Eastern African leaders truly commit to implementing the already known remedies, then food insecurity will be unheard of in East Africa. | | Copyright Holder | African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) | | Copyright URL | http://www.arrforum.org/ | | Filesize | 427746 MB | | File Format | PDF | | [ View / download original document ] |
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