Flood in Central Africa, drought in Uganda, fires in Central Africa ... Africa is particularly affected by global warming. Among the countless consequences of this global scourge: food insecurity, at the heart of all worries on a continent already affected by hunger, conflict or mass emigration.

The African Ministers of Agriculture are therefore meeting in Morocco on 4 and 5 November in the framework of the AAA Annual Conference - "Adaptation of African Agriculture" - where they will try to solve a quasi-impossible equation to produce enough to feed the continent by transforming its agriculture while preserving the environment.

It's urgent. According to experts, the African population, which today has 2.5 billion inhabitants, could double by 2050; At the same time, a 20% drop in agricultural yields is expected due to climate change, which aggravates sometimes inappropriate human practices (overexploitation of land, use of outdated techniques, insufficient irrigation, etc.).

The African paradox

Launched by Morocco at the COP22 in 2016, this conference brings together at the University of Ben Guérir thirty or so African states determined to stand up to better defend their interests. Because the project starts from a disturbing paradox: Africa is one of the first victims of global warming, while it is the continent that contributes the least.

"While it is responsible for only 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is the biggest victim of global warming," said Seyni Nafo, chairman of the Africa negotiators group.

Six of the ten countries most affected by global warming are from Africa, the continent already has more than 10 million climate refugees and, according to Seyni Safo, "two-thirds of the arable land will be lost by 2025, even if the rise in temperatures will remain limited to 2 ° C".

Yet agriculture remains a key sector of the African economy. It concentrates between 25 and 35% of direct jobs, depending on the country, and generates the income of nearly 70% of the population. In other words, the announced reduction of arable land would be catastrophic for the continent. "We need to make agriculture and livestock more resilient to climate, otherwise we are going to face major disasters," said Seyni Nafo.

A "huge potential"

During these two days of summit, ministers and representatives of African States will therefore floor on the implementation of concrete projects with the following areas of work improvement of soil management, control of agricultural water and risk management climate.

At a seminar held in July in Skhirat, Morocco, some 60 international experts had already addressed these issues. The result was a white paper identifying around 50 projects ranging from agroforestry development to land irrigation and the promotion of agricultural insurance. A mosaic of solutions that suggest that, despite the alarming climate, African agriculture can meet the challenges.

"Africa's production potential remains enormous, with 60% of the world's remaining undeveloped arable land in Africa, making the continent a potential field of application for innovative technology development approaches." argue the experts in the white paper. "Africa has the ability to pioneer tomorrow's solutions."

It remains to find funding to support the adaptation of African agriculture, estimated at some 25 billion euros per year until 2030. Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Morocco, and Zambia have already developed investment plans of $ 300 to $ 400 million each. Developed countries, for their part, pledged € 90 billion a year to support adaptation projects in developing countries. Only about 400 million have been released so far.