ABSTRACT
The popular image of Africa is still that of ‘the dark continent’, as it was first portrayed by nineteenth-century explorers such as Stanley and Livingstone. Africa, and particularly tropical Africa, is often perceived as being little-known and mysterious, populated by hostile ‘natives’ and wild animals, where travel is hindered by harsh environments such as vast deserts and impenetrable jungles. More recently, tropical Africa has become synonymous with famine, drought, poverty and many other problems, a region characterized by little progress in economic, social or cultural development. The root cause of tropical Africa’s problems, it is commonly suggested, is environmental factors, in conjunction, to a greater or lesser degree, with political and economic instability. Africa is seen as a predominantly rural continent, where an inability to feed its growing population is due to inefficient and outdated farming systems operated by an inadequately trained and poorly motivated workforce who are reluctant to adopt modern methods. Since independence, large-scale imports of food have been necessary, together with a multitude of aid programmes sponsored by governments and charity organizations in the developed world. In short, Africa is still perceived as being primitive, backward and poor, and furthermore, these characterisics, it is often suggested, are of its own making.
