Reply #29: "africa can feed itself quite well given the chance."

[GliderGuider]

Will they get that chance in the next 5 years? If not, it may be too late for many. Cash cropping is an established part of the economy. How do you change that system in 5 years without massive social disruptions that precipitate the very outcome you're trying to avoid? There are extremely powerful natural, logistical, political and economic impediments that stand in the way of such a program. Just saying there's enough land to make the problem go away doesn't address any of those impediments.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try and break through those obstacles, but we need to be realistic about the current situation, the time that's left before it becomes unsalvageable, and the resources available. We (or rather they) need to ensure those resources are put to work in the areas where they will do the most good in the shortest possible time. Africa doesn't have a couple of decades left to shift their course.

It may be that non-violent internal, grass-roots revolutions are the only restructuring mechanisms that will be effective under the circumstances. I expect we will see more of those as the African situation deteriorates. Will they stay non-violent? Will they make the right changes? Will they succeed in the face of international vested interests? Lots of "known unknowns" there, even before you factor in the "unknown unknowns" arising from Peak Oil and Climate Change.