ABSTRACT
Looking more widely, the rural exodus that shaped the continent in the 1970s and 1980s burned an outdated image of African farmers deep into people’s minds. African leaders largely share this point of view that it is time to recognise that a farmer is an entrepreneur like any other. It is clearly possible that more “inclusive” agriculture – giving individual smallholder farmers the liberty to combine their efforts without being swallowed up by a private company – could be effective in certain areas. The traditional sources of financing and investment in the agriculture sector in Africa are not sufficient and past experiences have shown the necessity of turning to alternative and innovative finance mechanisms proposed by the private sector. However, all of the excitement about the African agricultural revolution is taking place without programmes for massive investment in the opening of new agricultural schools, without real incentives for companies in the sector to strengthen their training programmes.
