Alex Rose-Innes
A scholarly paper predicts the future of the sub-Saharan (SSA) region in Africa to be in the hands of mostly agricultural innovation.
Although the study also highlighted other aspects of a greening revolution on the continent, it estimated that available cropland in SSA, with the assistance of techno innovation in the agricultural sector, could indeed spur economic growth and decrease poverty and hunger.
As much as 60% of the African continent could still be used for agricultural activity, but the study, supported by expert opinion from the World Bank, stated the importance of innovation to assist farmers to increase production and address climate change.
In order to embark on organic farming, natural crop cultivation and animal rearing, new green innovation would minimise pollution, waste, use of synthetic pesticides and petro-chemical fertilisers. Soil fertility would also increase with ecologically sustainable methods.
This of course means energy generated from alternative resources to ensure rising demand for reliable and affordable power on the continent while decreasing the carbon footprint. Projects in Morocco, Kenya and Mozambique are already proving to be the innovations of the future with innovation geared towards natural resources, especially benefiting rural farmers.
Bloomberg, a global media conglomerate and provider of financial news, information and research data, said that the world’s climate crisis could not be solved without the assistance of Africa. The continent had already seen the rise of green spaces and malls, as well as eco-friendly homes, resulting from innovative thought and technology in an effort to save the entire planet. This organisation had already called on developed countries to do their part to end Africa’s dependence on fossil fuels and support renewable-energy projects.
According to Bloomberg’s latest opinion piece, in a few years, the most populous continent on Earth will be Africa, which could by 2040 contribute to fossil-fuel demand fully equivalent to China’s. As such, lasting progress on the climate-change problem may depend on whether Africa can soon find a pathway to a clean-energy future.
Researchers at Oxford University said innovative African energy projects would provide a rapid shift to renewable energy, but it would need radical action. Many analysts believe that Africa could bypass traditional phase of carbon-intensive development and leap straight into cleaner technologies, but that would mean many governmental policy changes.
The study also showed that smaller, lower-cost innovative projects had been more successful, because of diminished financial risks and the complexities of large projects. The involvement of government-owned development finance institutions also reduces project risk, as governments can better absorb economic losses and delays during project development than private institutions.
Reducing emissions in developed nations is, of course, a necessary first step. However, expanding financial aid for renewable projects in African nations may be one of the most efficient uses of first-world resources, given the projected economic future of Africa over the next two decades.
With more than half of continent’s population under 25 years of age, innovative thinking is leading the way towards Africa’s expected prosperous future. The temperatures may be rising, but Africa’s innovative people are already leading the “cool trend” with hybrid vehicles and organic, ethical fashion and increasing green gadgets.
