The African Union (AU) - European Union (EU) Summit comes at a time when humanity finds itself in the midst of a pandemic, a climate crisis, food shortages, violent conflict, and a myriad other socioeconomic and geopolitical challenges. These challenges, however grave their immediate effects, are creating an opportunity to re-examine the values underpinning the relationship between Africa and Europe.

This relationship is often described as a partnership. The summit represents an important opportunity to examine what the concept of partnership entails and to strengthen its foundations. A flourishing partnership between the two continents can be founded only on the fundamental principle that humanity is one. This implies that the progress, prosperity, and well-being of one continent is inextricably bound up with the welfare of the other, indeed with the welfare of humanity as a whole.

While many endorse this proposition at the level of principle, the current structure of the global order does not give it full expression. Many of today’s political and socioeconomic systems were created at a time when the primacy of one part of the world over others was considered a basic fact. While efforts have been made to overcome some of the most blatant expressions of this assumption in recent decades, patterns of inequality remain stubbornly resistant to change. 

Reshaping international structures and relationships according to the principle of humanity’s oneness is a challenging task that will require effort over generations. However, there are some initial steps that can be taken towards this goal in the context of the partnership. 

First, the principle of oneness implies a reordering of priorities in the process of making policy and devising strategy. The advancement of the global common good must be approached as a primary objective, one no less important than securing national or regional interests. Leaders and policymakers are confronted with a critical question in considering the merits of any proposed action, be it national or international: will a decision advance the good of humankind in its entirety? In policy areas as diverse as agriculture, trade, and finance, the starting point for both the design and the evaluation of any program or policy must be consideration of the impact it has on all segments of society in Africa, Europe, and across the world.

The EU has developed a set of tools to facilitate effective policy development and to assess the impact of its policies. The Better Regulations Guidelines, for instance, express the need to “assess impacts from the point of view of society as a whole,” stating that “the basic rule is to consult broadly and transparently among stakeholders who might be concerned with the initiative, seeking a whole spectrum of views”. In an interconnected world, EU policies and strategies have global impacts. As a result, policy guidelines should incorporate a commitment to thoroughly understand, and then act upon, the effect of European policies on other continents, including Africa.

A second implication of the principle of oneness is in terms of postures and attitudes. Whatever the current difficulties and limitations facing Africa and Europe, at the heart of effective engagement between both continents must be ongoing, sincere, and consultative reflection about the development of their relationship. In a consultative process that goes beyond transactional bargaining and does not advocate for pre-conceived and pre-determined solutions, both parties view their conversation partners as having the capacity to offer a significant contribution to the forging of a just intercontinental relationship. Humanity, ultimately, is on a common journey in which all regions of the world are meaningful protagonists.

One practical dimension of these implications is the need to create spaces that allow a variety of African and EU actors to engage jointly at different levels, spaces in which an open and rich conversation about respective needs, challenges, and opportunities can unfold. It is especially important that those at the grassroots have opportunities to engage with institutions at various levels, to ensure that policy and strategy made at the intercontinental level is consonant with the reality of communities and societies on the ground. After all, increased understanding about the needs of a particular place can only be gained through including those who have insights into their immediate socioeconomic reality, appreciate cultural dynamics, and are able to identify and draw on existing local networks.

The challenges facing Africa and Europe are only likely to increase in complexity and indeed will often involve other continents. Wholeheartedly acknowledging and applying the principle of oneness will have profound effects across different components of the Africa-EU relationship. Indeed, we respectfully submit that beyond the adjustments described here, any joint declaration emerging from this or future summits make explicit reference to the principle of the oneness of humanity as the bedrock of a sincere and mutually beneficial relationship between both partners.

Bahá’í International Community,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Brussels, Belgium

February 2022

“It is fitting to begin with the farmer in matters related to economics, for the farmer is the first active agent in human society.”

~  the Bahá’í holy writings

At the heart of the United Nations Food Summit, and indeed any conversation on food security, is a well-known paradox. On the one hand, quantities of food sufficient to feed the entire global population are produced every year. On the other, food systems continue to fall short of providing food security for all humanity. Why this is the case, and what can be done to change it, are questions that have received significant attention. Yet that process of inquiry has largely excluded a set of actors unparalleled in their proximity and insight into the actual realities of food production: farmers and their rural communities. Ensuring their potential is harnessed must become a priority if the international community is to deliver on the promise of a hunger-free world. 

The way farmers and other smallholder agricultural actors are viewed is complex. Their work and livelihood constitute an indispensable foundation on which virtually all other productive processes rest. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization notes, for example, that agriculture is “the world’s biggest employer”, the “largest economic sector for many countries,” and that it provides “the main source of food and income for the extreme poor.” Beyond productive capacity, the knowledge and experience of farmers and rural communities serve as necessary complements to the information generated through modern scientific inquiry. While the value of highly sophisticated centers of research is undeniable in investigating the ways and requirements of a food-sufficient world, farmers witness firsthand the utility of specific techniques and practices as well as the social and environmental implications of adopting them. The farming systems that produce much of the world’s food, especially smallholder farms, have also been built in large part on methods and practices that were developed by indigenous farmers over thousands of years. Yet the bulk of decisions on agricultural policy and food security take place far from rural settings and those on-the-ground realities that shape how policies will be implemented in practice. 

When deliberations related to agricultural innovation are not inclusive of relevant actors and are left to a privileged few, decisions often become primarily based on strict profit motives or are divorced from local realities. Consequently, the exploitation of workers and natural resources, or the further deepening of inequalities, persist. Many modern innovations, for example, have required farmers to purchase significant amounts of external inputs, which can lead to dependencies that ultimately disempower local communities. The pressure to adopt certain technologies without adequate consultation has often resulted in the degradation of once fertile plots of land. One way to address these challenges is to create conditions that allow for the perspectives and experiences of farmers to be connected and interlinked with the knowledge generated through centers of research and technological innovation. Mechanisms and structures that are then devised as a result of this integrative approach can help smallholder farmers improve yields and sustainability while bolstering their agency to determine and advance their path of development in ways that allow them to retain important elements of their cultural heritage. 

Laying the foundations for such arrangements calls for a profound and widely inclusive process of learning and knowledge generation that prioritizes experiences emerging on the ground. At the local level, developing new systems and community structures tasked with systematizing insights gained through agricultural research—assessing results, identifying and describing patterns, and applying lessons learned to subsequent endeavors—will be critical. Equally important will be efforts to build capacity among those directly engaged in food production to become active designers in related processes. At the international level, mechanisms will need to be created to both encourage and allow for this source of insight to directly inform policy making. Traditional assumptions of the top-down diffusion of techniques and information, whether from North to South or urban to rural, will need to give way to a far more multidirectional paradigm characterized by reciprocity and joint endeavor. 

Humanity has yet to devise an environmentally sustainable system of food production and distribution that responds to the needs of all. Bringing about an arrangement that ensures the just production and distribution of food for every member of the human family will require a more sophisticated approach to the generation of knowledge and the formation of systems that are tasked with supporting community prosperity.  When policy considerations are shaped by a concern for humanity’s well-being, rather than by the interests of a few, more equitable solutions become apparent. The inclusion of a wider range of sources of insight will create possibilities for sustainable and resourceful approaches that are more reflective of local and global realities. By taking concrete steps along these fronts, the central paradox of food security can begin to be addressed more holistically and productive capacity be translated into universal prosperity.