End Hunger and Extreme Poverty in Africa

The United Nations together with all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institution agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015.

MDG 1 calls for the proportion of people who suffer from hunger to be halved between 1990 and 2015. In other words, MDG 1 is about eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. In a continent like Africa, where escalating food prices result of a 23 percent increase (in US dolar terms) in the FAO Food Price Index from 2006 to 2007, the number of people left hungry has increased. Nearly one billion people – equal to the populations of both the USA and Europe – do not have enough to eat.

A country where their people are starving and farming is the main industry, rural prosperity would be a development catalyst in Africa. But in order to create a prosperous rural Africa the promised aid is vital, which, in turn, can provide a springboard for development across the continent.

Farm Africa is a NGO supporting farmers from dry rangelands to lush forests in five east African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Farm Africa’s impact has benefited 30.000 people in Babati, Tanzania from doubled crop yields, doubled the number of children going to school, 770.000 hectares of forest now protected in Ethiopia, increased by 600% the value of wild coffee harvest in Bale, Ethiopia, and by 249% in sorghum crop harvests in Kitui County, Kenya.

Nguuzi, his wife and three children didn’t have enough food to eat when his crops were badly affected by drought. But with FarmAfrica’s help, he learned how to water his crops by using the drip irrigation techniques and a water tank built to him. He earns money by selling his green gram crop through a farmers’ group, his family can eat porridge now, and he is able to pay for school uniforms so that his children can attend school.

Nguuzi is only one example out of many others benefited from NGO’s help. By setting up water points to improve access to clean, safe water, for families, livestock, FarmAfrica added five dams and four boreholes, which improved farmers’ access to water and allowed drip feed irrigation sites to be established close to these water sources. Eight farmers are already benefiting through the sale of vegetables grown on these drip irrigation sites.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is proud of initiatives of NGOs such as that of FarmAfrica, wich are crucial to help farmers get out of situations of extreme poverty and hunger. Shanghai Metal Corporation is specialized in aluminum alloy tubes/pipes widely used in irrigation pipes such as the ones used in the irrigation system build by FarmAfrica. For our full list of products that we offer check out our website here. Be sure to join the conversation in our LinkedIn group,Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Try also our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

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Source: un.org, theguardian.com

Pictures: stephenleahy.net, theguardian.com, echwaluphotography.wordpress.com, norad.no, africanbusinessreview.co.za

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

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Ethiopia; Export Extraordinaire

Although it is the second most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia has the lowest ratio of merchandise exports to GDP in the world. Historically, Ethiopian industry has been unable to develop into a world player, held back by a variety of economic problems. This is now changing however, as a World Bank report published this week reports positive statistics.

Ethiopia’s development model is partly inspired by the East Asian experience that realised high economic growth through the development of new export sectors and government-led development investments. Benefiting from a global commodities price windfall in the 2000s, Ethiopian exports grew at one of the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. In tandem, GDP grew 9.7% in 2012/13.

According to this study, a large part of this comes from the comparative advantage Ethiopia possesses in over 80 goods and services in Africa. Many of these, such as horticultural goods, sesame seeds, soy beans and footwear, have seen considerable export growth over the last year. Ethiopia’s nascent manufacturing industries are also beginning to grow rapidly from a low base, after being positively affected by changes in the global trade regime and
the introduction of new trade preferences.

Exports and imports of goods and services as a share of GDP increased from 37.5 percent in 2001/02 to 48.7 percent in
2011/12. This figure remains low, though, considering the projected growth curve, so it is safe to assume that it can only go up from here. The major investor in Ethiopia today is China,  which which the value of trade topped $200bn last year.

Indeed, China is completing changing the dynamics of trade within the entire region. Premier Li toured 4 major East African nations last year, where he renewed an offer of $20bn in loans to Africa between 2013 and 2015. In Ethiopia, Chinese firms have invested heavily in recent years with their worth swelling well over $1bn in 2014, according to official figures. Beijing is also a key partner in Ethiopia’s bid to expand infrastructure such as roads, railways and telecom services.

The growth of Ethiopia thus, looks to signal a change in global trade patterns, with a new axis of development avoiding Western nations altogether. Rarely has such growth been sustained, yet the future looks bright for now, particularly in light of the slow and asymmetric recovery in the EU & US. The core of this growth will require steel, particularly the construction industry, which accounted for 25% of all economic activity in China over the last 10 years. Chinese steel firms eager to develop relations with this part of the world to fulfill this promise mutual growth.

For more information about SMC, follow us on twitter @Shanghai_Metal

Lloyd P.//SMC Editor