Poverty, Agriculture and the Environment: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa (original) (raw)
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Agricultural Productivity and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2016
In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is the principal source of wealth and poverty reduction. In sub-Saharan African countries, agriculture is essential for economic growth, which is in turn necessary to reduce poverty and food insecurity. Unfortunately, the performance of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa has not been up to expectations and has been characterized over the decades by ups and downs. The rural population has been unable to move out of poverty and food insecurity principally because they have not been able to transform their basic economic activity which is agriculture. Notably, productivity is still way below the region's yield potentials, agricultural mechanization is weak and declining, and the size of the agri-business industry is still nascent. Because the agricultural sector (taken in its widest sense to include crops, livestock, fisheries and forest products) is the only source of food, food security is dependent on the performance of the agricultural sector. For this reason, interventions to increase food security are primarily directed to the agricultural sector. Under the right conditions, agricultural growth underpinned by productivity gains can reduce poverty and food insecurity far more effectively than can growth in the rest of the economy. Expansion of cultivated land in many sub-Saharan African countries has been constrained by physical access, insecure land tenure, limited access to animal and mechanical power, and reduced availability of labour because of migration, competition from off-farm activities, and communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Productivity has remained low because of under-utilization of water resources, limited fertilizer use, limited use of soil fertility management practices, and weak services (research, extension, finance). Recurrent droughts, plagues and related increased risks have discouraged investment in agriculture that is indispensable for raising agricultural productivity. Malfunctioning and inefficient markets (largely due to a frail private sector in most countries), insufficient investment in infrastructure, high transportation costs, weak information systems and a poor regulatory framework have hampered poor remuneration of producers and deterred and incapacitated them from investing and specializing in high-value products. Producer prices have remained low and highly volatile, and there are no mechanisms that can help minimize or share the risks borne by producers. Sufficient efforts should be made in linking production with markets. Strengthening linkages between production and input and output markets cuts the transactions costs of producers, thus improving the profitability of their enterprises and the competitiveness of sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural products in international markets. It also provides producers with additional resources to invest in sustainable intensification. Stabilization of prices is an important factor for encouraging private investment and for making agriculture an engine for growth and a basis for a solid and diversified economic growth.
The developmental role of agriculture has long been recognized in the literature. As a leading sector of most economies in the developing world, agriculture helps facilitate industrial growth and structural economic transformation. Agriculture plays a multidimensional role in the development process, which includes eliciting economic growth, generating employment opportunities, contributing to value chains, reducing poverty, lowering income disparities, ensuring food security, delivering environmental services and providing foreign exchange earnings, among others. Due to the neglect of this sector, development progress has been hindered in a number of countries, which explains why 75 per cent of world poverty is rural and why sectoral income disparities have exploded, as well as why intense food insecurity and environmental degradation have become widespread (World Bank, 2007; Byerlee, de Janvry and Sadoulet, 2009).
Agricultural Economics, 2005
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the lowest agricultural productivity in the world, while almost half of the population lives below US$1 per day. The biggest development policy challenge is to find appropriate solutions to end hunger and poverty in the region. Building on several years of empirical research conducted in East Africa, this paper identifies potential strategies for sustainable development in this region. In general, the empirical evidence reviewed confirms that different strategies are needed in different development domains of SSA. Nevertheless, some elements will be common to all successful strategies, including assurance of peace and security, a stable macroeconomic environment, provision of incentives through markets where markets function, development of market institutions where they do not, and public and private investment in an appropriate mix of physical, human, natural, and social capital. The differences in strategies across these domains mainly reflect differences in the mix of those investments as influenced by different comparative advantages.
2016
Despite strong per capita income growth, the structure of sub-Saharan Africa’s economies has not changed markedly in recent decades. In spite of a rapidly growing labour force and urbanizing populations, employment growth in rural areas in general and in non-farm sectors in particular has been slow, and poverty levels in those areas remain relatively higher than in urban areas. So, the key question is: how to catalyse economic transformations that foster inclusive and sustainable development? This is where the role of agriculture is key, given that the overwhelming majority of the population across the continent depends on it as a livelihood source. The case for increasing agricultural productivity to accelerate transformation, investment and industrialization is strongly supported by well-established conceptual frameworks and historical empirical evidence. Though recent gains have been encouraging, agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa still lags behind other regions. The relatively low productivity has led to a loss of competitiveness in agricultural exports and the declining share of the region’s participation in global agricultural trade. Nonetheless, the potential of building on recent gains and developing an agribusiness sector that is responsive to and benefits from the work of smallholder farmers is enormous. This requires the prioritization of two main areas for policy and investment: (i) supporting the emergence of a modern agro‑industrial sector; and (ii) developing the potential of smallholders to engage in high-value activities across agricultural value chains.
Strategic priorities for agricultural development in Eastern and Central Africa
Research Report 150, 2006
and Uganda-where tens of millions of people face ongoing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. This report, the result of a two-year collaboration between the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa, identifies how eastern and central African countries can stimulate agricultural growth to address these dire circumstances. The findings suggest that improved agricultural performance will require investments that foster productivity growth, strengthen markets, improve rural linkages between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors, and promote regional cooperation. Of particular interest is the identification of the most performance-enhancing commodity subsectors, in an economywide setting, and the "agricultural development domain" singled out as most promising for targeted investment. These results and their implications are being widely discussed and debated in the countries of eastern and central Africa, in many cases shaping policy and investment strategies. We hope that the findings, made available through this report, will elicit similar responses in other regions.
Crop Productivity and Implications for Food Security and Rural Livelihood Development in Africa
Over the past few decades, there have been major advances in crop productivity across the world, which has been made possible through a combination of productivity enhancing technological innovations. Beyond this achievement however, most parts of Africa are still battling with low crop productivity resulting in food shortages and food insecurity. The yields of many staple crops are still far below their agronomic potentials with output increases being attributed largely to area expansion. This paper examines the implications of the current trends of crop/plant productivity for food security and rural livelihood development in Africa using Ghana as a case study. The paper argues that crop production in Africa is becoming a less viable and unattractive livelihood activity with farmers diversifying out of agriculture into non-agricultural activities such as illegal small-scale mining, which have negative consequences on the ability of African countries to attain the Sustainable Develo...
Determinants of Farm Productivity in Africa
This research report is a synthesis of earlier country case studies (Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zimbabwe). Case study reports provide specific recommendations per country. The general implications of this synthesis are as follows. (1) Raising improved input use for sustainable intensification is crucial. (2) Strategies to raise farm productivity will need to differ, however, between favorable and unfavorable agroclimatic zones. (3) The environment and the farm productivity agendas should be linked. (4) The offfarm employment and the farm productivity agendas should be linked. (5) Cash cropping programs spur productivity by providing cash to buy improved inputs, and depending how they are organized, increasing access from the supply side to improved inputs and to lowrisk output marketing opportunities. This report is important for USAID field missions, the Senegalese public and private sectors, and many others in Africa, providing insights, ideas, and approaches to food security strategies and agricultural sector activities.
Agriculture in Africa: Strategies to Improve and Sustain Smallholder Production Systems
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2008
Agricultural development lies at the heart of poverty reduction and increased food security of most developing nations. Sub-Saharan Africa (hereafter referred to as Africa) is, however, the only region in the world where per capita agricultural productivity has remained stagnant over the past 40 years. In Asia and Latin America, the use of tailored techniques and technologies has transformed agricultural practice and its productivity, leading to what has been called the "green revolution." The dissemination of uniquely African green revolution technologies has not occurred on the continent. This chapter will argue that the same results in increased productivity and food security can be achieved in Africa if the appropriate investments are made in key interventions: soil fertility improvement, improved seeds, water management, market access, extension services, access to credit, and improvements in weather forecasting. Where these have happened, even partially, the outcome has been remarkable. However, bringing them to scale in ways that sustainably increase agricultural productivity and alleviate poverty requires increased investments and innovative institutional arrangements. Fortunately, several research and development projects on the continent, including the Millennium Villages Project, are providing valuable insights. Finally, this chapter outlines the key remaining challenges.