Crafting A Unique Partnership with Africa

Context: The future of India-Africa cooperation is agriculture, even as the China factor looms large.

India-Africa relations: ‘A historical solidarity is today a modern partnership’ – S. Jayashankar

• Multifaceted engagement: With projects implemented under Indian lines of credit, capacity-building initiatives, and cooperation in a range of sectors.
• Expanding Indian congruence with African countries in agriculture sector: India importer of fruits, nuts, grains and pulses from Africa.
• Capacity-building initiatives: India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural development in Malawi.
• Acquisition of farmlands: Indian farmers have purchased over 6,00,000 hectares of land for commercial farming in Africa.
• Emerging sub-national model of cooperation: E.g. Kerala government trying to meet its steep requirement for raw cashew nuts through jointly owned brand of Africa-Kollam cashews.
• Significance of agri-cooperation 
• Agriculture is critical to Africa’s economy: it has 65% of world’s uncultivated arable land, employs over 60% of workforce and accounts for 20% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP.
• African Continental Free Trade Area agreement: expected to improve cost competitiveness by removing tariffs.
• Post pandemic: Crucial due to unexplored potential, its centrality to global food security, business prospects and to provide credible alternatives to increasing involvement of Chinese stakeholders.

Critical analysis of China’s engagement with Africa

• Primary drivers : Access to Africa’s natural resources, untapped markets and support ‘One China Policy’.
• Building ‘brand China’: Chinese-built industrial parks and economic zones in Africa are attracting low-cost, labour-intensive manufacturing units that are relocating from China.
• Long term strategic view of dominating the market: pushing Chinese standards in host countries.
• China is among Africa’s largest trading partners: Also, Africa’s single biggest creditor, Chinese corporations dominate region’s infrastructure market and are now entering agri-infra sector.
• Tech-diplomacy: by laying critical telecommunications infrastructure, venture capital funds are investing in African fintech firms, while other smaller enterprises are expanding across the region.
• China’s reformatory agri-footprint in Africa: In Zambia, introduction of agri-tech to combat traditional challenges, such as using drone technology to control the fall armyworm infestation.
• Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centers (ATDCS) in Africa: Chinese agronomists work on providing skill training, developing new crop varieties and increasing crop yields.

• Rising concerns and complexities: growing, insular diaspora, lopsided trade, looming debt, competition with local businesses and a negative perception accompanied by greater political and socioeconomic interlinkages.
• Operating in silos: E.g. Chinese and African experts working in ATDCs.
• Gap between skills transferred in China and the ground realities in Africa: Technology taught in China is not available locally, inability to implement lessons learnt due to absence of supporting resources.
• Aggravating socio-cultural stresses: As larger commercial farms run by Mandarin-speaking managers and presence of small-scale Chinese farmers in local market is bound to have conflicts.

Takeaways for India

• Significant scope for expanding sub-national cooperation model: Similar to Africa-Kollam cashews.
• Promote entrepreneurship footprint: Incentivising Indian industries to tap into African agri-business value chains and connecting Indian technology firms and start-ups with partners in Africa.
• Need for impact assessment of existing capacity-building initiatives in agriculture: Evolve country-specific and localised curriculum making skill development demand-led.
• Collectively craft a unique modern partnership: i.e. not to deviate from India’s development partnership is which in line with African priorities.