President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General ties the plate to stability. A continent that imports part of its food and most of its fertiliser stays at the mercy of a distant shock. When prices soar, African markets tremble first.
Dependence is paid at the first shock. The war in Ukraine showed it in 2022: the rise in wheat and fertiliser struck countries with no part in the conflict. As chair of the African Union, President Macky Sall carried that warning to the capitals, so that access to grain and fertiliser would not be the adjustment variable of a crisis decided elsewhere.
Producing what one eats. The lasting way out rests on production. Seeds, affordable fertiliser, irrigation, storage and roads to move the harvest: African agriculture can feed its continent if investment follows. Food sovereignty rests on that capacity to hold when the world market breaks down.
A hunger that arms crises. Where eating becomes uncertain, tensions rise and departures begin. Investing in agriculture removes one of a crisis's surest engines. The arithmetic meets that of prevention: better to finance a harvest than an emergency operation.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General does not sow the fields, but keeps the question on the agenda: securing grain corridors, defending access to fertiliser, reminding donors of their agricultural investment pledges. Food security is a matter of peace as much as of economics.
Experience in running a state. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The data of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net