HARARE, July 19 (Xinhua) -- It is crucial for African countries to strengthen their capacity especially in the context of the global challenges posed by sudden price hikes in food and crude oil, a senior official of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), one of the largest international institutions in Africa, has said.

    Dr. Edwin N. Forlemu, executive secretary of ACBF, told Xinhua on Saturday in an exclusive interview that for most African countries, there is a need to reflect together on the issue of sudden hikes in the prices of food and crude oil.

    He spoke highly of China's contribution to the solution of the food shortage in Africa. "When I was growing up as a child in Cameroon, we used to hear of the Green Revolution. It was a major initiative, and at that time it was famous because we were inspired by the trends in the People's Republic of China, which was putting much emphasis on the issue of growing food and making sure agriculture was the backbone of the economy," Forlemu said.

    "Of course at that time we didn't know that food prices would increase exponentially. But today, this has become a major issue. The reason why I think it's a major challenge is also because the way the world economy operates has evolved significantly," he added.

    Forlemu explained that most African countries started off by focusing on agriculture. Later on, they discovered that in terms of international trade, the revenue from these products did not really meet expectations besides a few countries like Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Tanzania.

    The revenues from these cash crops did not really compare with those from commodities such as crude oil. So, increasingly, many of these countries reduced their reliance on agricultural production. And this led to a situation in which, in the short term, they cannot grow enough food for their populations. One last point is that these countries have not demonstrated policy-making leadership and foresight in ensuring that food security issues are addressed before they degenerate into crises, he said.

    "Suddenly people wake up in the morning and there is a problem and governments are only reacting to the strikes on the streets whereas the phenomenon may be rooted in long-standing challenges that were not addressed," Forlemu pointed out.

    He indicated that ACBF is a regional institution which finances initiatives to build capacity in policy making in government and outside government, including think tanks, so that advice is evidence-based and rooted in facts.

    "We are encouraging these policy think tanks to analyze development issues dispassionately for governments to provide credible strategies for addressing the need to diversify the economic base of many African countries," he said.

    As regards the implications of bio-fuel production, Forlemu indicated that it is not a major issue for many African countries because they do not have robust bio-fuel industries that will consume much needed agricultural products. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund used to encourage African countries to concentrate on cash crops because they judged that African countries possess a comparative advantage in the agricultural sector, he said.

    For a while, these countries did so until they started experiencing declining terms of trade. Today, the governments of African countries, especially non-oil producing ones, are compelled to change their approach by focusing on producing enough food for their populations, Forlemu said.

    "You should not forget that the pressure of the need for loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund sometimes causes some of these governments to accept whatever the Bretton Woods institutions recommend," he said.

    This is often because many African countries do not possess the necessary capacity to negotiate from a position of strength. So they take what they can obtain, Forlemu continued.

    "My opinion is that, if African countries have enough capacity, they would be able to develop alternative visions on how to do things. The way the Chinese and some other countries have gone and have not fallen in the perpetual loan trap is a lesson to learn," he added.

    "I agree that some proposals from the global financial institutions have had a negative impact on our capacity to come up with our ideas. Hopefully, if African economies become strong enough and have the capacity to avoid loans for survival, they would have the capacity to make independent judgments and then flourish," Forlemu concluded.