ABSTRACT
Africa is the second largest continent in size after Asia and is rich in natural resources. Agriculture still remains the backbone of the continent’s economy since it accounts for about 58% of the economically-active population, 34% of gross domestic product and one-third of economic growth (FAO, 2014). The continent accounts for 25% of the world’s arable land and yet produces just 10% of global agricultural output (Jayaram et al., 2010). In spite of this, and with 11 of its countries (such as Burundi, Nigeria, Rwanda and others) featuring among the 25 most arable countries in the world, the majority of these countries still remain food insecure (Fig. 1). Of the 850 million people suffering from hunger in the world, 239 million (28.1%) are in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains a food-insecure region of the continent partly because about 75% of the land is degraded with less than 4% under irrigation. In spite of these problems, agriculture in SSA still contributes between 30 and 50% of national income in the region and has significant potential to generate greater income if properly practised (Toenniessen et al., 2008). McIntire (2014) has listed the challenges (and potential solutions) facing agriculture as follows:
1 raising agricultural productivity to accelerate the delayed shift of labour and national product into industry and services;
2 slowing high population growth, which leads to greater land pressure and progressively blocks the traditional avenue of rural growth via land expansion;
3 seizing the opportunity provided by economic growth in the service, industrial and natural resource sectors, to expand demand and induce technical and land use changes, including both farm consolidation and farm fragmentation;
4 addressing food insecurity and malnutrition and their relation to the fiscal and management capacities of African states;
5 mitigating climate change, the effects of which are projected to be especially adverse for Africa’s agricultural potential; and
6 developing public policies – investments and incentives – to stimulate agriculture’s potential.
