“Africa must leverage agro-biodiversity and ecological principles such as agroforestry to build resilience and harness natural capital,” writes Alex O Awiti, director of the East African Institute and assistant professor at Aga Khan University in an opinion piece in The Star.

Awiti tells the story of meeting a 75 year old woman from Western Kenya who recalled how things used to be: clear waters, abundant fish, green and lush hilltops and plentiful harvests. Now, she says, the climate is drier, the soils barren, the trees have gone and yields are poor.

While the Green Revolution in Asia doubled cereal production, stimulated the economy, increased incomes and reduced poverty and malnutrition, Africa has stagnated. In Kenya, 40 per cent of the population lives in extreme poverty, most in rural areas where they depend on subsistence agriculture.

This situation, says Awiti is “an indictment on African governments. It is an indictment on the international development and research community. It is an indictment on Africa's academic and research institutions. It is an indictment on all of us.”

He outlines how Africa needs more than an Asian-style Green Revolution. It needs integrated not formulated systems and “responsive fit-for-purpose institutions to support research, access to financial services, inputs, markets and value addition.”

Read the full story: We Need More Than a Green Revolution