Critics argue that African Agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are risk averse and cannot compete in an international open market nor would they adopt innovations that boost agricultural productivity, especially when the innovations involve heavy investment of capital and other resources.
No doubt, Africa is the richest and naturally blessed Continent (other than the desserts).
All vegetables and fruits grow in Africa...especially they are still HIGHLY ORGANIC, which the other countries envy off.
I have tasted in Uganda and Kenya sweet ....Kasawa, banana, Mango, Pine apples, Water-melon, Lemons.... such a quality of it is now available elsewhere...
Important criteria is
1. Attractive, high farm-gate prices, combined with a fair wholesaler-system and efficient logistics should be regarded as key-element. African average cereal-yields are in the range of 1.5 t/ha, that is awfully low and mainly due to low prices. So any dev.strategy should prioritize that issue. 2. The know-how transfer to farmers by training, better: coaching and model-farms / extension places at village- / community-level can get things moving fast as well. 3. A key factor is however the responsible involvement of women, who are anyhow the main workers in African agriculture. From credit-schemes we know globally: don't give the money to men, but to women.......!!
But the very same attempts have been made before in many African states but have failed, save South Africa and Zambia. African countries are the worst hit by hunger and poverty and Agriculture is a staple source of food and income. The GREEN REVOLUTION that transformed Asian and American agriculture failed in Africa? With smallholder farmers dominating the sector, its going to be had to see it transformed to the expected.
yes we can develop the african agriculture & than change the pattern of agri
Promoting agricultural development in Africa requires taking the different contextual situations into context. The problem is that we tend to want to treat all African countries the same. Small holder farmer development is crucial to African Agricultural development because of the high dependency on small holder farmers for the bulk of the food produced. With the exception of South Africa most of Sub-Saharan Africa depends primarily on small holder farmers. Promoting development in this sector requires tackling the critical limiting factors such as access to improved technologies and related financial and extension services access to support progress. Then there is limited infrastructure and marketing channels. Promoting agricultural development is futile without adequate marketing infrastructural development that can provide access to markets that would ensure sustained livelihoods for the farmers. Limiting factors must be tackled comprehensively to have the desired outcomes.
There are examples on the African continent from which we can learn. Kenyan small holder farmers involved in vegetable and flower production have managed to penetrate the European markets successfully. In Botswana, the Botswana Meat Commission has been successfully in providing a platform through which small holder livestock farmers have gained access to European markets.
In short if the contextual issues that limit Agricultural production by small holder farmers are tackled comprehensively there can be positive positive impact.
1. The men-made (not women-made) contextual factors in tropical agricultue (I would not focus on Africa alone) are enormous: In 1973 I witnessed the curb-down of cocoa-farming in Nigeria by the "cocoa-mafia", in 1976 the similar in Tanzania's cotton-growing by small-holders, in 2001-10 I heard the orthodox priests in Ethiopia, who forced the farmers on approx. 160 days per year not to touch the fields + field-work, in a FAMINE-country, which grows teff ( Eragrostis teff; the lowest yielding food-crop of the world) on some 40% of its arable land, in 1982 I saw the state-distorted agronomical system in Syria, in 1995 Pakistan: the monopoly of 3% of the population owning 90% of the land in Pakistan.......2. So: Real agronomical progress in Africa and other tropical areas can come along the more we establish / adapt logic, know-how, common sense and experience-capital. 3. The few economically booming countries in Africa will trigger necessary changes; enormous experience-capital is available in many places & localities, e.g. in Rwanda.
Not just Agricultural development but sustainable agricultural development with a focus on the enhancement of social capital within rural communities. Careful and strategic support to farmers' groups can be the platform to achieve this. A surveillance of the operations and production performance of farmers' groups by the extension agents as well as coordinated production, market identification and supply coordination can successfully sustain the farmers' groups thereby sustaining agricultural development in Africa.
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