The tour of ‘Old Europe’ by the African Development Bank (AfDB) president has largely set the tone for his second term. Upon his return from the International Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Akinwumi Adesina says he is prepared to travel to “wherever Africa’s cause needs to be advocated”.
In fact, he had been in Rome at the beginning of October, where he gave a keynote speech at the Italian Senate, to representatives from the G20 countries.
He stayed at the same Paris hotel as US Vice-President Kamala Harris, with whom he attended a reception at the Élysée Palace on the evening of 20 November. At the French president’s invitation, he prepared his speech for the Paris Peace Forum, which took place the following day.
In between two meetings – and signing an agreement with Rémy Rioux, his counterpart at the French Development Agency (AFD) – Nigeria’s former agriculture minister (2011-2015) told us about his concerns regarding the institution that he leads and his vision for addressing Africa’s current hot topics.
After spending 10 days in Glasgow, attending many meetings during the COP and bilateral meetings with African leaders, do you feel that this edition has fulfilled its mission?
Akinwumi Adesina: I certainly do not consider it a failure. We are talking about a complicated situation. I think everyone in Glasgow collectively realised that climate change has a massive impact on African countries, developing countries and island nations, and that they need to be prioritised. This is good news.
Africa, which is highly vulnerable to drought, heat and floods, is now losing between $7bn and $15bn a year (according to UN data) due to climate change. We don’t have the resources to cope. Therefore, COP26 provided a platform for these countries to express their needs, which, I would remind you, are more than $30bn per year, for the continent alone.
What do you think are the main lessons for Africa?
First of all, as the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points out, we are in a danger zone! Africa is going to experience the effects of climate change sooner than others.
Secondly, focusing on adapting is important. Africa needs to adapt and the necessary resources must be made available for this. Developing countries cannot adapt and make their energy transition without the $100bn that developed countries pledged back in 2009.
But this promise has not been kept…
Even though this promise was postponed by three years back in 2020, this does not materially change anything. For our part, we have continued to work in Africa to try to mobilise the necessary resources. In conjunction with the African Union (AU), we have launched the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP). Under this programme, the Bank will mobilise an additional $25bn to help Africa adapt.
Many promises have been made, particularly by international donors. Has any real progress been made?
I think the announcements made in Glasgow that directly concern Africa are satisfactory. Some states, in particular, have provided significant support. For example, the British government – which hosted the COP – offered the AfDB a new guarantee mechanism. This facility is expected to unlock up to $2bn in new financing for projects on the continent, half of which will help countries adapt to the effects of climate change.
Projects such as ‘desert to power’, initiated to develop solar energy in the Sahelian countries and give 250 million people access to electricity, were restored to the heart of the discussions. The Green Climate Fund has pledged $150m, the Rockefeller Foundation has signed a $100m commitment, the French Development Agency has pledged $100m, the Swedish government has announced $28m, etc.
We believe that the resources mobilised for this project are very concrete.
On the subject of desertification, you are actively involved in the Great Green Wall project. It was revived by President Macron last January and was the subject of a mini-summit on the sidelines of the COP. Is it likely to see the light of day?
The Great Green Wall (GGW) project directly addresses what I call the triangle of disasters: structural and high poverty, youth unemployment, as well as climate and environmental degradation. This triangle almost always leads to conflict.
This 8,000km long and 15km wide wall of trees, grasslands, vegetation and plants should provide a bulwark against insecurity, guarantee a more resilient climate and prevent migration to Europe.
At the same time, the populations must be guaranteed access to energy through projects such as ‘desert to power’, otherwise the GGW will merely become a wall of coal! If they don’t have energy, the populations will be forced to cut down trees for firewood…
You also advocate for modernised agriculture, which will be the engine of economic transformation in Africa. After a year of recession in 2020, linked to the Covid-19 crisis, does the sector still have a card to play?
Low-income populations and rural areas must be involved in the recovery of African economies and agriculture must be at the centre of this. However, as I have often said, agriculture must be modernised. Agriculture is a business, and Africa’s biggest one.
By 2030, agriculture and agribusiness will be worth $1,000bn in Africa. This means that – if properly managed – the sector would provide the continent with the means to diversify its economies, create jobs and transform rural areas into centres of prosperity.
What will help achieve this?
Just as an example, more resilient agriculture that can withstand drought, heat, and the pests that devastate African crops. For instance, thanks to the TAAT (Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation) programme, which the AfDB launched five years ago, more than 11 million farmers in 29 African countries have benefited from technologies such as drought-resistant maize and heat-resistant wheat.
At the last UN Food Systems Summit, heads of state decided to create a food security and nutrition facility for Africa. Rediscussed in Glasgow, and renamed the ‘1 in 200 mission’, it aims to spend $1bn to lift 200 million Africans out of hunger.
The facility will deploy resilient agriculture to 40 million farmers, double productivity for nine of Africa’s most important food crops and produce 100 million tonnes of food. That’s enough to feed 200 million people.
In Africa today, 283 million people are suffering from hunger. With this facility, we will be able to reduce this figure by 80%.
