One of them is the new land of opportunity, with seven of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, offering limitless possibilities to investors.

There is, however, this other image: a starving and hopeless continent, corrupt and prey to foreign exploiters.

As Africans, we are tired of caricatures. But we are also tired of waiting. Waiting to be led toward the one Africa we all want: the Africa that can and should be.

We know the real Africa, filled with possibilities, dignity and opportunities, able to face its challenges and solve them from within. Never has the time been more right for us to finally realise our full potential. It is within our grasp.

As a scientist, I am always interested in facts. Africa is a land rich in resources, which has enjoyed some of the highest economic growth rates on the planet. It is home to 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. And it has seen foreign direct investment triple over the past decade.

As the head of an institution whose business is investing in rural people, I know that you also need vision and imagination. At the International Fund for Agricultural Development, we have banked on the poorest, most marginalised people in the world.

More than 10 years have passed since the Maputo Declaration, in which African leaders committed to allocating at least 10 per cent of national budgets to agriculture and rural development – key sectors in the drive to cut poverty, build inclusive growth and strengthen food security and nutrition.

Today, just seven countries have fulfilled the Maputo commitment consistently, while some others have made steps in the right direction. Ten years is a long time to wait. In less time, I have seen projects turn desert into farmland.

In Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, during the 23rd African Union summit, I will join African leaders, who will gather to discuss this year’s focus on agriculture and food security. This is my call: Don’t just promise development, deliver it, make it happen now. Make real, concrete progress toward investment that reaches all Africans.

BIGGEST RESOURCE

Our biggest resource is our people. To squander this is worse than wasteful. If we don’t act now, by 2030 Africa will account for 80 per cent of the world’s poor. Is this the legacy that we want to leave for future generations?

The AU declared 2014 as the year of Agriculture and Food Security. And this is the year we look beyond the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals to a post-2015 world with new targets to reach.

I hope this means that we will be dedicating ourselves fully to making agriculture a priority. GDP growth due to agriculture has been estimated to be five times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in any other sector, and in sub-Saharan Africa, up to 11 times.

Small family farmers in some parts of our continent contribute as much as 80 per cent of food production. Investing in poor rural people is good economics.

A full 60 per cent of our people depend wholly or partly on agriculture for their livelihoods, and the vast majority live below the poverty line. It’s not pity and handouts they need. It’s access to markets and finance, land tenure security, knowledge and technology, and policies that favour small farms and make it easier for them to do business.

A thriving small farm sector helps rural areas retain the young people who would otherwise migrate to overcrowded cities where they face an uncertain future. Investing in agriculture reinforces not only food security, but general security.

In an Africa where 20 states are classified as fragile and 28 countries need food assistance, the need for a real rural transformation backed by investment is critical.

Investments must be focused on smallholder family farms. Small farms make up 80 per cent of all farms in sub-Saharan Africa. And contrary to conventional wisdom, small farms are often more productive than large farms.

Simple technologies – such as improved seeds, irrigation and fertiliser – could triple productivity, triggering transformational growth in the agricultural sector. It is estimated that irrigation alone could increase output by up to 50 per cent in Africa.

Rural areas also need the right investments in infrastructure – roads, energy, storage facilities, social and financial services – and enabling policies backed by governance structures that ensure inclusiveness.

If we look at the countries that have met the Maputo commitment, we see that investing in agriculture works. Given that agriculture has become lucrative for private investors, and about 60 per cent of the planet’s available uncultivated agricultural land is in Africa, there is no mystery why we hear about so-called ‘land grabs’. Opportunity draws foreign investors. There is nothing wrong with foreign investment. But it has to be managed, to the benefit of all.