ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the contemporary characteristics of the agriculture sector in the wide variety of national settings in Africa. Most Africans depend on agriculture for livelihoods and face significant challenges to improve productivity, overcome gender inequalities and counter growing pressures from climate change. The chapter focuses on major issues in agricultural and rural development: Farming Systems Research and small-holder yield gaps; the potential role of land redistribution; African agriculture and global value chains; the impact of large rural "land-grabs"; and how to reduce rural poverty for those left out of agricultural improvement. It provides a portrait of the sector's dynamic over the 2000-2015 periods. The chapter shows that small-scale agricultural dynamics can be marked by clear decreases in poverty or by severe increases in food insecurity. It reveals sources of dynamism among small-scale rural producers, even when overall pressures on farming systems are worsening.
