Biographies & White Papers | 145

Ben Freeth, MBe, is the executive Director of the Mike Campbell Foundation. he is from the farming district of Chegutu in central Zimbabwe. he studied at the royal Agricultural College in Cirencester (UK) and worked on farms in new Zealand, tasmania, and Zimbabwe where he was appointed the first regional executive officer for the Commercial Farmers’ Union in 1996.

In 2007, Ben and his late father-in-law, Mike Campbell, took President Mugabe’s government to the Southern African Development Community’s regional court, the SADC tribunal. they charged that Mugabe’s government attempted to unlawfully seize their farm, violated the SADC treaty by denying access to the courts, and engaged in racial discrimination and

violence against white commercial farmers and their farm workers. the lawsuit was chronicled in the award-winning 2009 documentary film, Mugabe and the White African.

Ben has authored two books: Mugabe and the White African, and When Governments Stumble: Lessons from Zimbabwe’s Past and Hope in Africa’s Future.

Ben’s main focus is on restoring justice, the rule of law, and human rights in Zimbabwe. As a committed Christian, he assists dispossessed and destitute farmers and farm workers. he works closely with Foundations for Farming, an organization that provides training in conservation agriculture and teaches impoverished farm workers and others how to feed their families.

Ben FreethExecutive Director | Mike Campbell Foundation

Zimbabwe

In essence, a spiritual revolution—through a spiritual revival—needs to take place in the hearts of Africans if an agricultural revolution can gather momentum. BEN FREETH

146 | Christian economic Forum 2016

REvolutIon, RIChEs, AnD GoDBY BEn FREEth

Last year my white paper was titled, “Justice, Poverty and God.” I looked at how justice—with property rights for all—was fundamental to creating a solution to Africa’s poverty problem.

Many people remember Bob Geldof’s Band Aid initiative for starving ethiopians in 1984 and the Live Aid concert the following year. Over 30 years have passed since that time and the world is still applying band aids to Africa. Over 2 trillion dollars of aid have been sucked into the “black hole.” But what has Africa got to show for it?

Africa remains the poorest continent on earth and despite glimmers of economic success, it is getting poorer.

Oil and gas account for 53 percent of Africa’s total exports. Africa produces 41 percent of the world’s diamonds; 21 percent of the world’s gold; 57 percent of the world’s cobalt; 85 percent of the world’s platinum; and the list goes on.

God endowed Africa with more natural resources than any other continent. By rights, with its vast potential in agricultural land, Africa ought to be the most fruitful and wealthy continent on earth.

In the early 1960s there were 1.5 million km² [150m ha] of agricultural land in production; now this has grown to 2.3 million km² [230m ha]. In addition, half the world’s fertile but unused land is in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of agricultural land relative to total land area of any continent.

Compounding this amazing potential wealth, 2 or even 3 crops can be grown on each hectare in a year. Growth rates are phenomenal: in our country of Zimbabwe, we have trees reaching 100 feet tall in 5 years, beating Guinness Book of World records rates! Crop yields per hectare were the highest in the world back in the 1970s,

and commercial maize yields were already recorded in Zimbabwe at over 20 tons per hectare before the millennium.

But despite being the most resource-rich continent on earth, less than 1 percent of the world’s stock exchange activity takes place in Africa. About 75 percent of this is on the Johannesburg Stock exchange, where US$27 billion is traded each month. to put this in perspective, every month the new York Stock exchange trades the equivalent of Africa’s entire annual GDP—US$2.6 trillion!

Sadly, despite having more agricultural land than any other continent, all of Africa’s 54 countries combined export less agricultural produce than the moderately small country of thailand, a country with less than 2 percent of the area of the African continent.

Map of thailand superimposed on Africa

Biographies & White Papers | 147

Depressingly, the situation has deteriorated dramatically from 50 years ago. In 1970, Africa produced 8 percent of world’s agricultural exports while thailand produced 1.7 percent. By 2009 Africa’s share of world agricultural exports was a quarter of what it was half a century before, and each year thailand exports more than the entire African continent.

Up to 1973, agriculture in Africa was growing at a steady rate. Food exports from the continent were larger than imports. But every year since then, imports have exceeded exports, and the gap continually widens. By 2007, Africa needed US$40 billion to import food, and we only exported US$17 billion worth of agricultural produce.

to put this in perspective, the USA, a single country, exports 7 times more than the African continent each year. the netherlands, as a major horticultural producer and trader, exports 5 times more than Africa—from less than a million hectares—much of which is reclaimed from under the sea!

Map of the netherlands superimposed on Africa and pasted within Zimbabwe

Map of the USA superimposed on Africa

Africa has more people farming in proportionate terms than any other continent—over 60 percent of its population works the land. Sadly, Africa’s farm yields are the lowest in the world. Sub-Saharan agricultural GDP per capita per year is less than a third of the world’s average.

Dramatic strides are being made in crop yields around the world. In maize [corn] yields, the world record was 22.7 tons per hectare by 1975; last year David hula in the USA grew a crop of 35.8 tons per hectare. Average maize yield worldwide by 2008 had increased to 5.11 tons per hectare. even so, Africa’s average was only at 1.8 tons per hectare. Currently the nation of Zimbabwe averages approximately half a ton per hectare. In view of this, it’s not surprising that nearly 60 percent of world food aid cereals go to Africa.

148 | Christian economic Forum 2016

But despite the appalling level of food insecurity, Africa’s population is increasing dramatically. In 1900 it was 100 million—half of europe’s population at the time. By the year 2000 it was 800 million and had exceeded europe’s

population. now the population is 1.1 billion and is increasing by 3.5 million per month. By 2100, Africa’s population is projected to rise to between 3.5 and 4 billion—more than 6 times that of europe.

SouthSudan

Libya

It costs as little as US 25 cents a day to feed a hungry child

and change her life forever.

About 795 million people, or 1 in 9 of the

world’s population, go to bed hungry

each night.

Together we are making progress

in reducing the number of hungry people in the world. We can achieve

Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.

***

Prevalence of undernourishment in the population (percent) in 2014-16

Very low

<5%

Moderately low

5-14,9%

Moderately high

15-24,9%

High

25-34,9%

Very high

35% and over

Missingor insufficient data

***

State of Palestine

The map shows the prevalence of undernourishment in the population of developing countries as of 2014-16. The indicator measures the probability that a randomly selected individual in the population is consuming an amount of dietary energy, which is insufficient to cover her/his requirements for an active and healthy life.

Source: FAO, IFAD and WFP. 2015. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. Meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. Rome, FAO. Further information is available at www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/Undernourishment data: FAO Statistics Division (ESS) - www.fao.org/economic/ess

© 2015 World Food Programme

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this map does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WFP concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

* A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

** Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

*** Final boundary between the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan has not yet been determined.

BruneiDarussalam

Comoros

Seychelles

Hunger Map 2015

World Food Programme (WFP) Hunger Map 2015http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/communications/wfp275057.pdf

SouthSudan

Libya

It costs as little as US 25 cents a day to feed a hungry child

and change her life forever.

About 795 million people, or 1 in 9 of the

world’s population, go to bed hungry

each night.

Together we are making progress

in reducing the number of hungry people in the world. We can achieve

Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.

***

Prevalence of undernourishment in the population (percent) in 2014-16

Very low

<5%

Moderately low

5-14,9%

Moderately high

15-24,9%

High

25-34,9%

Very high

35% and over

Missingor insufficient data

***

State of Palestine

The map shows the prevalence of undernourishment in the population of developing countries as of 2014-16. The indicator measures the probability that a randomly selected individual in the population is consuming an amount of dietary energy, which is insufficient to cover her/his requirements for an active and healthy life.

Source: FAO, IFAD and WFP. 2015. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. Meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. Rome, FAO. Further information is available at www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/Undernourishment data: FAO Statistics Division (ESS) - www.fao.org/economic/ess

© 2015 World Food Programme

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this map does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WFP concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

* A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

** Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

*** Final boundary between the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan has not yet been determined.

BruneiDarussalam

Comoros

Seychelles

Hunger Map 2015

Biographies & White Papers | 149

Although Africa has such a large and rapidly growing population, the continent currently represents only 5 percent of world agricultural trade. Its people are getting poorer and hungrier.

What Has Gone Wrong?

Africans have minimal laws to protect them and their property. Indexes for property rights and the rule of law show Africa is by far the lowest of any continent. As a result, farmers cannot capitalise. they live in fear because strong men can take their property if they want it. they cannot “sit under their own fig tree” (Micah 4:4).

the world’s average fertiliser usage is 124 kg per hectare. But in Africa it is a paltry 15 kg per hectare.

the world averages 200 tractors per 100 km². But in Africa the average is only 13.

the world average percentage of irrigated agricultural land to total agricultural land is 18.4 percent. But in Africa it is only 3.6 percent, despite great rivers such as the Congo, the nile and the Zambezi, as well as the massive fresh water lakes of the rift Valley. In Lake tanganyika alone, over 16 percent of the world’s fresh water is stored, while Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe remains the largest fresh water reservoir in the world.

On a recent trip to Malawi, I was astounded and deeply depressed to see crops dying from

drought on the shores of Lake Malawi where 7 percent of the world’s fresh water was no more than a hundred metres away!

Zimbabwean farmers, due to secure property rights in the past, developed nearly 10,000 irrigation dams. the rest of the continent north of South Africa, because of the lack of property rights, has only a paltry 2,000.

Irrigated crops on former commercial farms in Zimbabwe

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150 | Christian economic Forum 2016

Owing to the lack of security, capital flight was US$187 billion in 30 African countries between 1970 and 1996—an amount that exceeded those countries’ national debt.

Foreign direct investment in African agriculture, despite its vast potential, is only US$200 million per year. Yet in Latin America it is US$700 million and in Asia it is US$1.8 billion.

What is the Solution to Bring Hope and a Future?

the solution has to come from both the top (the government) and the bottom (the individual).

From the top it is simple: property rights need to be established for all and the rule of law needs to protect that property. this will allow the God-given potential of the individual farmer to be unleashed.

Security of Property Rights: Comparison between Zimbabwe and The Netherlands

Zimbabwe:Global rank : 122 of 129regional rank : 26 of 27

The Netherlands:Global rank : 10 of 129regional rank : 6 of 19

From the bottom, at the individual farmer level, it is more complicated. A fundamental shift needs to take place. the “dark continent” needs the freeing light of Jesus Christ. the spirits of envy, fear, entitlement, and lawlessness need to be deliberately cast out and replaced by the godly qualities of self-sacrifice, love, faithfulness, and obedience.

In essence, a spiritual revolution—through a spiritual revival—needs to take place in the hearts of Africans if an agricultural revolution can gather momentum. the aid agencies that pour in billions every year do not understand this. they cannot understand why agricultural aid projects continue to fail.

International Property Rights Index 2015: World Maptop scoring countries in blue: bottom scoring countries in red

http://internationalpropertyrightsindex.org/

Biographies & White Papers | 151

Of all the professions, farming is the closest to God’s laws and God’s justice. God’s laws in his creation are immutable. When farmers do not properly recognise and are not faithful in working with the physical laws God set in place at the beginning of time, individual farmers and entire continents end up hungry. there are all sorts of other reasons as well; but essentially and fundamentally, Africa is hungry because its leaders and its farmers are in bondage and are not faithful to God’s laws.

the evil spirits of envy, fear, entitlement, and lawlessness are the spirits that hold African agriculture in poverty. Anyone who begins to break out of poverty is immediately a target of envy—what is known in Australia as “the tall poppy syndrome.” this can result in a man’s home being burnt down, his goods stolen, or his crops destroyed. And when the spirits are invoked against that person, fear jostles him back into poverty again. Fear, in the spirit realm, is a greater force than anything else.

the aid agencies, together with lawless dictatorships, have fed the spirit of greed and developed a burgeoning class of people who feel entitled to receive from others. And there is an acceptance that it is all right to steal from others if you don’t receive what you believe is your right. Corruption levels in Africa are horrifying. Lawlessness is the norm. Godly righteousness struggles to exist.

the law of love holds true in farming just as it does in relationships. every living thing God designed was made to be loved. Farmers work directly with the living animals and plants God created in a way that people in other professions do not. A farmer who loves his animals and his crops ends up with animals and crops that are healthy and strong. A farmer who is not faithful in this love, fails on his farm just as members of a family who are not faithful in their love also fail as a family and break up.

there is a golden key that will unlock the box to Africa’s agricultural wealth so that it can help to feed the world. this key was identified by the Scottish missionary and explorer, David Livingstone, more than a century and a half ago. It is summarized by three Cs: Christianity, Commerce, and Civilisation. In bringing the light, which is Jesus Christ, and in bringing

Christianity into commercial agriculture, the darkness will be chased away. the trouble is that our Christianity in Africa is often a hundred miles wide and only an inch deep. Deep repentance needs to take place.

Brian Oldreive and Craig Deall have both spoken about Foundations for Farming (FfF) in previous CeF forums. In the FfF model—and the working out of it with individual property rights—lies the solution.

Only in developing a deep and established faith and obedience among the poorest of the poor can there be deliverance from envy, fear, entitlement, and lawlessness.

Only in the deep-rooted establishment of Jesus in people’s lives will there be love, humility, self-sacrifice, faithfulness, and obedience that will start to bring life and light to the people of Africa. no other solution has worked or is likely to work.

I believe this process can be summed up with four rs: Repentance, Revival, and [Spiritual] Revolution will lead to Righteousness.

righteousness is the quality that, along with justice, is what God’s very throne is founded upon.

Faithful obedience to righteousness and justice will transform Africa through the agricultural revolution that we so desperately need.

the locked-up wealth in the land will then be set free. And this will allow Africa to make a significant contribution towards feeding the world, instead of draining the food resources of the international community.

CreditMap overlays courtesy http://overlapmaps.com/index.php