We must then build a proper relationship between the richest and the poorest countries based on our desire that they are able to fend for themselves with the investment that is necessary in their agriculture, so that Africa is not a net importer of food, but an exporter of food.

Brown is arguing for a development partnership that shifts from short-term relief or dependency toward long-term capacity: poorer countries should be able to “fend for themselves” if richer countries help supply the capital and policy space needed for productive investment. By foregrounding agriculture, he points to food security as both a humanitarian and economic foundation—raising rural incomes, stabilizing societies, and reducing vulnerability to global price shocks. The specific aspiration that Africa move from net food importer to exporter frames development as structural transformation: building domestic productivity and markets so the continent can compete and earn from trade rather than rely on imports or aid.