The idea that we might be inadvertently ruining the chances of small African farmers never occurs to us.

Unfortunately, economic forces keep fertilizer out of many African farmers' hands.

They therefore allowed African farmers to work the excess on a sharecropping basis.

The president is right that African farmers will benefit from new knowledge and technology.

And how much did we provide to African farmers to help them be more productive over the long run?

He is probably not the average South African farmer.

It is not known exactly where the birds end up, although some of them are likely to be eaten as game by African farmers.

"You can't take that money and then punish African farmers at the same time who don't have any subsidies," he said.

For decades, African farmers have been saying that 'Africa can feed itself'.

And it urged beleaguered African farmers to plant other crops.