Sunday, March 29, 1998

Our African neighbors need our attention and our help

By Tim Griffin / Guest Columnist

President Clinton's trip to Africa might prove to be epoch-making in character. It is the longest trip to Africa of any sitting president and gives the American people the opportunity to focus on a continent that has been long overlooked.

This past decade, civil war and ethnic violence have lent credence to the stereotypical picture of Africa as the "Dark Continent." Such a picture belies the fact that several African nations such as Mali, Botswana and South Africa have made strides towards democracy and that Africa represents a huge market that is just beginning to make its presence felt among the movers and shakers of the world's economy.

Several disturbing facts about Africa remain in place, however, and must be perceived in clear light.

Of the world's continents, Africa has the highest percentage of hungry people. Over the past 25 years the number of people in sub-Sahara Africa with inadequate access to food has doubled to 215 million. If current trends continue, that number will increase by 50 million in the next 12 years. So says the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

We hear that the president's emphasis is on "trade, not aid." Such an emphasis may be based on practical political considerations, as aid to Africa has declined in the past decade from a little more than $1 billion to about $700 million. The emphasis on trade is justified, as any improvement in Africa's overall economic situation must have increased trade as one of the elements.

However, many in the religious community feel that an increase in food and agriculture related aid is also essential. This is why Bread for the World, an interdenominational Christian organization, is pushing for Africa-related legislation called the "Africa: Seeds of Hope Act," which will be introduced in Congress this week.

This legislative package includes support for loans to help small farmers and rural entrepreneurs, especially women; continued U.S. contributions to international funds for agriculture and rural development; research and extension services focusing on the needs of small farmers and women farmers; and continued support for African "food security" reserves.

Bread for the World officials point out that unless agriculture can make it in Africa, Africans won't make it. More than three-quarters of the people in sub-Saharan Africa are farmers tilling no more than five acres of land, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development. Up to 80 percent of Africa's domestic food supply is produced by women farmers.

Because so many Africans depend on agriculture, both for their food and for their livelihoods, investments in small-scale farming could make a critical difference to millions on the continent.

Bread for the World is enlisting, in its effort to get "Africa: Seeds of Hope" enacted into law, thousands of congregations across the country -- evangelical, Catholic, Protestant, the Jewish and Islamic communities -- all persons of faith and goodwill who believe in the biblical doctrine of the neighbor ("They asked Jesus, 'Who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down the road from Jericho to Jerusalem ...' " -- Luke 10:29-30). If we let our African neighbors starve, what kind of a neighbor do we become?

I have written U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm of Abilene urging him to become a supporter and possibly a co-sponsor of "Seeds for Hope." I urge all the citizens of the Big Country to consider doing likewise.

The Rev. Tim Griffin is pastor of First Christian Church in Snyder.