Africa has become a continent in transition. Transition from continuous economic mismanagement and social fabric deterioration compounded by a debilitating increasing external debt, from unconvincing and uncoordinated drive to genuine democracy, towards a permanent market oriented economic system. This transition period will need 15 to 20 years. The region will be challenged even more to increasingly rely on the generation of its own resources for development purposes, instead of waiting for foreign aid. Outside assistance can help but it must be teamed up with African resolve.
Hunger is evil, and it is worse when hunger and loss of hope or faith to take action go together.
Meeting food production demand in years to come suggests the importance of appropriate policies and approaches. A 5 per cent growth rate is ambitious, but not impossible. To achieve the growth target, all the African countries will need to create an enabling environment, control population growth, harness new technologies, build and strengthen considerably their own capacities, and safeguard natural resources, and strengthen regional economic cooperation and integration. The present report is organized in four chapters.