The Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA) is a U.S. Presidential Initiative that aims to halve the incidence of hunger in Africa by 2015 through improving the livelihoods and increasing the options available for young African farmers. The guiding hypothesis is that, with most of the national economies of sub-Saharan African countries heavily reliant on agriculture and with approximately 70% of the population dependant on farm income, increased investment in the agricultural sector will enable this sector to serve as the engine for economic growth.

The problem of hunger is widespread in Africa. It is estimated that about 30 percent of the people in Africa are undernourished, and according to a recent USDA study, Africa will account for 73% of the world’s malnourished people by 2015. IEHA was therefore launched at a workshop during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002 in South Africa in order to address this development challenge. IEHA is implemented by USAID and relevant partners.

The IEHA will reach its ambitious goal through the following results:

• Increased agricultural productivity through enhanced institutional capacity and development and dissemination of appropriate technologies;
• An improved agricultural policy environment through enhanced human and institutional capacity for policy formulation and implementation;
• Increased agricultural trade through improved agricultural market infrastructure, institutions, and trade capacity.

There are six focal themes and interventions under IEHA, of which the first two will be given priority during the initial five years of IEHA’s implementation because of their importance as well as their direct and indirect influence on the four other themes.

Advancing Science and Technology: Technological change is necessary for successful agricultural growth. In West Africa, research networks implemented by National Agricultural Research Services (NARS) but coordinated by sub-regional organizations and international agricultural research centers have developed improved, high-yielding varieties of crops and constitute a source for the dissemination of technology. Biotechnology holds enormous long-term potential to address impediments to increased agricultural productivity by addressing product quality problems created by pests, diseases, and drought, product shelf-life, nutrient deficiency, phosphorus and micronutrient deficiency, and salinity. It will therefore be a major part of the Agency’s science and technology agenda. USAID/WARP will therefore look for innovative ways of collaborating with these and new partners.

Developing Efficient Agricultural and Trade Market Systems: Markets and trade contribute to agricultural growth in West Africa by raising farmers’ competitiveness in domestic and export markets, connecting them to consumers, and integrating them into global markets through the delivery of high-quality and safe products. WARP will continue to work with and strengthen the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other relevant institutions by helping remove current impediments to the unhindered movement of goods and services in the region.

Strengthening Community-based Producer Organizations: These organizations contribute to agricultural growth in two ways: first, by providing a range of business, training, and leadership development services to their members and second, by lobbying decision-makers, traders, and business enterprises on important policy and economic interests affecting farmers. WARP will therefore work with relevant organizations including the West African Businesswomen’s Network (WABNET) and the Reseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA) in strengthening their effectiveness.

Human and Institutional Capacity Building: Although many West African countries have made significant policy reforms, there needs to be corresponding upgrading in the level of competence in human capacity and institutional reforms commensurate with liberalized market economies.

Sustainable Environmental Management: Small-scale farmers in West Africa have to grapple with both a fragile agro-ecology as well as with increased population and encroachment of urban areas onto arable lands that are forcing them to grow crops on steep slopes and highly degraded soils. These are policy and research and development challenges that will require WARP and its partners to (1) strengthen regulatory controls, (2) undertake participatory farmer training for integrated pest management, and (3) build capacity for monitoring environmental and health impacts by the relevant regional and international institutions.

Ensuring that Vulnerable Groups and Countries in Transition are Inclusive: Because substantial amounts of resources are used in responding to crises, the opportunities for making longer-term improvements are often greatly diminished or lost. The result is significant economic and social costs in the long-run. WARP, therefore plans to work with the Agency’s Food for Peace unit and its Bureau of Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade and relevant implementing institutions to ensure that, as disasters and conflicts are brought under control, activities to promote peace, income-generation, and minimize vulnerability are initiated to ensure a smooth transition from relief to development.

Finally, it must be emphasized that IEHA is a smallholder-driven agricultural strategy. To implement its program, WARP therefore plans to work with institutions operating across a number countries, and with public and private sector national partners in the Agency’s three focus countries of Mali, Ghana, and Nigeria. This two-level approach builds on and strengthens existing sub-regional platforms, creates alliances, and generates the necessary synergies and spillovers that will benefit large numbers of beneficiaries in the West Africa region.

Some of these partners, in addition to those already mentioned, include the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Sahel Institute (INSAH), West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research (CORAF), West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the International Fertilizer Development Center.