By Faridah O. Ibrahim, MPA Candidate, Development Practice, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and 2016 Next Generation Delegate
Over 500 million smallholder farmers live in Africa, feeding 90 percent of the continent by farming an average of 2 hectares of land. They work in an agriculture sector that employs 65 percent of the continent’s labor force and contributes to at least 30 percent of GDP, fueling growth and sustaining millions while trying to lift themselves out of poverty.
A vast majority of these African smallholder farmers have historically produced very low yields, averaging 1.9 tons per hectare, compared to the global average of 3.8 tons per hectare. It hasn’t always been so, with average yields in Asia rising significantly after the start of the Green Revolution in the 1960s. Increases in yield mean farmers have improved their productivity, enabling them to obtain higher incomes from the same land size, which they then reinvest into their farms, setting off a cycle of prosperity. There is therefore no question that to enable Africa’s smallholders to escape poverty, the productivity gap has to be closed by improving access to inputs and services to raise yields.
But then, what next? There are many other challenges in Africa that will hinder such yield increases from acting as catalysts for the revolution of African agriculture. Consider the infrastructure challenge, especially in transportation and electricity. Less than 40 percent of rural Africans live within 2 kilometers of a paved road, and considering that more than 80 percent of the continent’s smallholders live in rural areas, such poor road networks will prevent them from quickly shipping their produce to urban centers at the right time in order to maximize sales and profit. Furthermore, only 12 percent of Africa’s rural areas have access to stable electricity, preventing the adoption and widespread use of modern storage solutions for numerous agricultural products, especially high value, perishable crops. Combined, these 2 parts of a hydra-headed infrastructure problem lead to preventable, addressable ongoing challenges such as high levels of postharvest loss, low use of digital financial services and digital agronomic support tools, poor market access for smallholders, loose value chains, and major economic losses across numerous agricultural value chains.
Beyond infrastructure, policy challenges pose another barrier to the successful development of African agriculture, regardless of productivity increases. Low intra-Africa trade combined with unhelpful laws mean that it is difficult for innovative solutions or products to be scaled. Examples include laws which prevent exportation of maize from Nigeria despite high levels of local production, preventing Nigerian maize farmers from taking advantage of underserved markets in other parts of the continent. Such policies significantly increase the cost of doing business, discouraging marketed solutions that could address many challenges in the sector.
All of these demonstrate how important it is for policymakers, entrepreneurs, innovators, financiers, farmers, and all other players in African agriculture to think beyond the current heavy focus on fixing the productivity gap and support the institutions and enterprises leading the way with new thinking, products, services, and solutions. The productivity gap is a fundamental first step toward transforming African agriculture, but we cannot wait to fix it before thinking ahead and shaping the future.
Read previous posts in the Next Generation Delegation 2016 Commentary Series:
- Prudent Food Utilization Guarantees Sustainable Food Security in Light of Growing Urbanization
- Perspectives at the Global Food Security Symposium 2016
- Food Safety: An Opportunity Often Overlooked when Planning How to Feed Our Burgeoning Population
- Investing in Younger Generations Is Key to Solving World Hunger by 2050
- Made in _______: Distant Food Demand Lead to Local Water Issues
- Reevaluating the Agricultural Development Agenda
- Promoting Food Security While Avoiding the Nutrition Transition