Dr. Kisanja Musoke castigates economic hemorrhage, calls for value addition to raw commodities at African Union Day Commemoration

The Senior Presidential Advisor on Agri-business & Value Addition, Dr. Hillary Emmanuel Musoke alias Kisanja has criticised the tendency of economic hemorrhage by the majority of African countries.

Economic hemorrhage is the rapid, uncontrollable, and damaging loss of wealth, capital, or financial resources.

According to Dr. Kisanja, 70% of Africa’s agricultural exports are raw commodities such as coffee beans, cocoa beans, and raw hides.

“We export jobs. Post-harvest losses in sub-Saharan Africa hit 30-40% for perishables. We grow food to rot it,” he said.

Dr. Kisanja made the remarks today while delivering a presentation during the commemoration of African Union Day at Edge Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

He cited an example of Uganda, which he said the country alone loses over $1.5 billion annually in potential revenue by exporting unprocessed agricultural products.

“We give away our organic advantage. European firms buy our raw vanilla and coffee, certify it, package it, and sell it back to us at 5x the price,” he noted.

“We export raw cotton in containers and import branded pure cotton clothes and garments at 10x the price. We discard hides and skins, then import leather shoes, belts, and wallets made from our own raw material and we import second-hand leather and textile products, and in some cases, even second-hand cooking oil while we have abundant palm, soya, sunflower, and simsim right here.”

Dr. Kisanja added that economic hemorrhage is not just about a loss of money, but also a loss of industry, a loss of dignity, and a loss of future for the young people.

“The most painful symptom of this hemorrhage is migration. Our young people, Africa’s greatest asset, are risking everything to go to the U.S., Europe, and the Gulf for odd jobs. Why? Because we have not built the industries at home that turn raw maize into flour and oil, raw milk into cheese and yogurt, raw hides into finished leather, raw cotton into garments,” he stated.

“Imagine an Africa that unilaterally conducts a value chain analysis of all its agricultural products. Imagine mapping every step from farm to factory to shelf and asking: how many industrial parks can emerge from this? How many jobs can we keep here? How many dollars can we keep circulating here?”

He however noted that under the leadership of H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Uganda has made agribusiness and value addition a national priority.

“Our approach is anchored on 4 pillars: Commercialization of Agriculture
Through the Parish Development Model, 10.5 million Ugandans are being organized into SACCOs to access capital, inputs, and markets. The goal: every household becomes a production unit, secondly, Agro-Industrialization & Organic Premium, thirdly, standards and market Access as well as youth as technology,” Dr. Kisanja said.

On the other hand, he said if Agenda 2063 is to succeed, Africa as a continent needs four continental shifts which include; Policy Harmonization, Finance for Agro-Industry, Skills Revolution and “Own Our Value Chains”.

Agenda 2063 calls for ‘a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development’.

“No more exporting hides and importing shoes. No more exporting cotton and importing second-hand clothes. No more exporting sovereignty in containers,” he said.

“With 1.4 billion people, 30 million km² of land, virgin organic soils, and waters teeming with tilapia and Nile perch, Africa has no excuse for hunger, unemployment, or dependency.”

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