Brazil and Africa: A historic partnership against hunger

By Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Mankind has no right to leave 733 million people to the scourge of hunger. In a world that annually produces almost six billion tonnes of food, this is inadmissible. In a world where military spending reached $2.4 trillion last year, it is unacceptable.

Hunger and poverty do not result from shortages or natural phenomena; often they are outcomes of political decisions that perpetuate exclusion of a major portion of humanity.

It is within this understanding that, this week, Brazil received representatives of 42 African countries and nine international organizations for the second Brazil-Africa Dialog on Food Security, Combating Hunger and Rural Development. This meeting is part of Africa Week in Brazil, preceding the State Visit of João Lourenço, President of Angola, on May 23.

Brazil wants to be a partner on the path toward sovereign insertion of the African Union, which entails an agricultural development strategy that aims to achieve a 45% increase in food production on the continent by 2035. Brazil has much to contribute in this regard.

We have become a farming and food-production powerhouse, thanks to science, technology and incisive State-sponsored actions in promoting agriculture. It is based upon this experience that we wish to foster exchanges of knowledge, the sharing of solutions, and the formation of partnerships.

During their visit to Brazil, African representatives, among them many Ministers of Agriculture, learned about successful Brazilian experiences. They learned about the work of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and of cooperatives that supply initiatives such as the School Meals Program that reaches 40 million children. They saw how semiarid areas of Brazil have been transformed into food-export hubs, through adaptation of water-scarcity technologies, adopting solutions that could be useful in certain regions of Africa.

The Dialog taking place this week is part of a broader agenda. Last November, during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, we launched the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. In the six months since then, the Alliance has gained more than 180 members, including 95 countries.

Benin, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia were selected for accelerated implementation of Global-Alliance projects. These programs will focus on areas such as family farming, school meals, access to water, income transfers and sustainable livestock. During this week, we aimed to identify means for expanding engagement of African countries in this initiative.

I am convinced that cultural, economic and political affinities between Brazil and African nations are essential elements for building of the more egalitarian world we all seek. Africa, after all, has always been a presence in the formation of Brazil. I have often said that Africa is part of Brazil and that Brazil is part of Africa. More than half of the 212 million Brazilians acknowledge African ancestry. We share the Portuguese language with six African countries. Africa’s contribution to the ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazil is immensurable. We owe our very way of being to Africa.

My relationship with Africa runs deep. In Addis Ababa, last year, I completed my twenty-first visit to the continent. With each journey, my admiration for Africa and its peoples is reinforced.

The Dialog currently underway between Brazil and Africa is a landmark in the historical and strategic relationship that unites our peoples. Strengthening of relations with the countries of Africa is a priority of my administration, reflecting historic ties, shared values, convergent interests and a commitment to cooperation based on solidarity, mutual respect, and the promotion of social inclusion and sustainable development.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil