Page 1 of 28

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 3

March 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 37

Agriculture in Africa: Potentials and Possibilities

Obed Hugh Ligate

Affiliation: University of North America, 8618 Westwood Center Drive, 1st Floor, Vienna, VA 22182,

United States

Email: obj_hugh@yahoo.com

Abstract

Agriculture in Africa has been mired with a

myriad of challenges ranging from internal

to external. For instance, many scholars

question whether African governments have

invested enough in funding the agricultural

project for research, inputs, financing, rural

infrastructure, marketing and distribution in

a nutshell from the farm to the plate. Several

scholars, reconnaissance the external

environment structure of the world trading

system that is skewed considerably in the

disfavor of the African small holder farmer.

This article was a critical analysis of the

challenges of small scale agriculture in

Africa it synthesizes multiple scholarly

articles to identify and categorize the major

constraints faced by the small holder farmer

and puts forward strategies that may be

implemented to improve productivity and

increase inclusiveness. The study

commences with a brief history of

Indigenous agriculture, colonial era

agriculture and modern day agriculture

paradigm shifts. Finally SWOT and TOWS

frameworks were used to map strategies that

may improve African agriculture.

Keywords: Small-scale agriculture, value

chain, SWOT, TOWS

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviation Meaning

AGRA Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

AU African Union

AWARD African Women in Research and Development

CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program

CFTA Continental Free Trade Area

COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

COP Conference on Parties

CSO Civil Society Organization

EAC East African Community

EAP East, Asia and Pacific

ECA Europe and Central Asia

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FTA Free Trade Area

GDP Gross Domestic Product

LAC Latin America and Caribbean

MENA Middle East and North Africa

Page 2 of 28

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 3

March 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 38

MFI Microfinance Institution

NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development

PPP Public-Private Partnership

RECs Regional Economic Communities

R&D Research and Development

SADC Southern Africa Development Community

SAGCOT Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania

SSA Sub-Saharan Africa

SWOT Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats

TOWS Threats/Opportunities/Weaknesses/Strengths

Introduction

Sub-Saharan Africa agriculture steady decline

Although Sub-Saharan Africa is

endowed with the largest agricultural land

area compared to all the other developing

regions approx. 10M Sq.km, while East Asia

and Pacific (then after EAP) 7.5M Sq.km;

Europe and Central Asia (then after ECA)

4.3M Sq.km; Latin America and Caribbean

(then after LAC) 6.8M Sq.km; Middle East

and North Africa(MENA) 2M Sq.km it had

currently cultivated as of 2012 only 40% of

this land mass while 60% of its land mass

remains uncultivated see figure 1-

Agricultural land area(% of land area) and

figure 2- Agriculture land in Sq. km (World

Bank, 2015). The African farmer used a

hand hoe and was dependent on rain fed

agriculture with minimal modernization

hitherto dwindled productivity and yields.

Africa had to import its food from elsewhere

to bridge the food insufficiency gap. The

food insufficiency leads to a nutritional

deficiency that triggers stunted growth in

children. Stunted growth hitherto impacts

life-long learning outcomes a severe

bottleneck for attaining a child’s maximum

potential. Moreover, the Agriculture value

added per worker was lowest in Sub- Saharan Africa compared to all the other

developing regions refer figure 3-

Agriculture value added per worker

outlining the fact that value addition was

minimal and impacts negatively the terms of

trade of Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa has

immense opportunities to capitalize on its

natural endowments to feed its people and

be a bread basket of the World. Inter alia,

African agriculture has to surmount a

myriad of challenges in order to realize this

noble objective. The objective of this study

was to critically review multiple studies and

develop strategies that may improve the

practice as well as the outcomes of African

agriculture.

Page 3 of 28

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 3

March 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 39

Figure 2: Agriculture Land Area (Sqkm.)

(Figure 2: Ligate)