Skip to content
Market News

Is the Agricultural Sector in Africa Modernized Enough?

BY Soko Directory Team · June 1, 2018 06:06 am

Close to 70 percent of the African population is involved in agriculture.

Despite this, Africa has not done well in modernizing its agriculture sector. Many attempts were made to bring the green revolution to Africa, some of which were successful in raising productivity.

But they were typically based on top-down, heavily subsidized and state-led approaches that proved costly and financially unsustainable, and had to be pared back as part of the structural adjustment programs.

Although Africa’s agricultural growth rate improved to about 7 percent per annum in 2005, this was driven more by a commodity price boom and expansion of the cropped area rather than by improvements in the underlying fundamentals.

Africa’s cereal yields started to grow after 2000, but still remain low compared to other countries, and the gaps are widening. Moreover, the gap in land and labor productivity between Africa and Asia also widened rather than closed over 2000–2014.

Within Africa, labor and land productivity improved the least in Southern Africa and improved the most in Eastern and Western Africa. Far from exploiting its potential of becoming a major breadbasket region, Africa continues to become more dependent on food imports. The aggregate annual food import bill is currently about US$35 billion and is estimated to rise to US$110 billion by 2025.

So why has Africa not done better in modernizing its agriculture sector and raising the productivity of its agricultural workers?

A green revolution was always going to be a bigger challenge in Africa than in Asia given the continent’s diverse, rain-fed farming systems, limited irrigation, and sparse rural infrastructure. Africa needed a “rainbow” revolution to address its diverse array of crops, farming systems, and growing environments.

In contrast, Asia was able to enjoy a green revolution based on increasing the yields of just two crops— rice and wheat, grown on vast areas of irrigated land where the same technologies were widely applicable.

Many things are now coming together in ways that give Africa the need, the opportunity, the means, and the ambition to transform its agriculture sector. The question now is not whether Africa needs an agricultural transformation, but rather what kind of transformation it needs.

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

Trending Stories
Government and Policy In Two Years of President Ibrahim Traoré: The Renaissance Of Burkina Faso And The Dawn Of An African Awakening Steve Biko Wafula
Entrepreneur's Corner Looking For A Job? NCBA Has Multiple Offers For You. Apply Now Soko Directory Team
Investment Make Big Moves With Affordable And Flexible Loans Soko Directory Team
Lifestyle MediPal Medical Suppliers Launches The Sale Of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Soko Directory Team
Government and Policy Key Take-outs From The Draft 2025 Budget Policy Statement That You Need To Know Soko Directory Team
Related Articles
Market News Africa And Kenya Positioned For Economic Resilience And Growth in 2025 – Report Soko Directory Team
Market News 50% Of Kenyan Gen Z Eat Cereal As Snacks Soko Directory Team
Market News Kenyans Bought More Standalone Units In 2024 Than Any Other Year Soko Directory Team
Market News Nairobi Satellite Towns Land Prices In Slowest Growth In 18 Months Soko Directory Team
Market News Land Invasion And Grabbing In Large Scale Tea Producer Estates Intensifies In Kenya Soko Directory Team
Explore Soko Directory
Banking Blogging Commodity Watch Did you know Entertainment Entrepreneur's Corner Feature Government and Policy Headlines Investment Lifestyle Market News Money Opinion Press Releases Stock Watch Technology
Soko Directory Archives