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Conditioning trends shaping the agricultural and rural landscape in Africa

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  • Akinwumi A. Adesina

Abstract

African countries continue to face deepening food crises that have been accentuated by the global food, energy, and financial crises. This situation is part of a long‐term structural problem: decades of under‐investments in agricultural sector and poor policies of support for smallholder farmers who form the bulk of the farming population. The inability of these farmers to achieve a supply response when commodity prices were high and market access was less of a problem suggests that there are multiple sets of binding constraints that continue to limit the potential of agricultural growth to reduce food security and poverty on the continent. This article reviews some of the historical trends that have hampered the performance of the agriculture sector. In addition, it reviews the impacts of more positive trends that could stimulate agricultural growth in Africa that could change the African agricultural landscape. The article however warns that there are more recent global developments and some continental challenges that could prevent or slow agricultural growth. These include the global financial crisis, public sector investments, inequities in global agricultural development policies, rush for agricultural lands by foreign investors, domestic commercial financing markets, climate change, and emerging carbon markets. The article argues that while opportunities for accelerated growth exists for African agriculture, new sets of policy instruments will be needed to support smallholder farmers to access new agricultural technologies, finance, reduce impacts of climate change, and adopt sustainable land use practices that can allow them to benefit from emerging global carbon markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Akinwumi A. Adesina, 2010. "Conditioning trends shaping the agricultural and rural landscape in Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 73-82, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:41:y:2010:i:s1:p:73-82
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00490.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Jann Lay & Kerstin Nolte, 2018. "Determinants of foreign land acquisitions in low- and middle-income countries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 59-86.
    3. Sanctus Niragira & Jean Ndimubandi & Jos Orshoven & Marijke D’Haese & Jeroen Buysse & Serge Ngendakumana & Zacharie Miburo & Pamela Sinzinkayo, 2022. "Modelling crop portfolios that minimize human macronutrient deficiency on subsistence farms in Burundi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 23-37, February.
    4. Phemelo Tamasiga & Helen Onyeaka & Adenike Akinsemolu & Malebogo Bakwena, 2023. "The Inter-Relationship between Climate Change, Inequality, Poverty and Food Security in Africa: A Bibliometric Review and Content Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-35, March.
    5. Adam M. Komarek & James Thurlow & Jawoo Koo & Alessandro De Pinto, 2019. "Economywide effects of climate‐smart agriculture in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(6), pages 765-778, November.

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