Africa south of the Sahara

Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara is at a prospective tipping point. Growth has accelerated in the past decade, but is unsustainable given increasing use of finite resources.

Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests discusses the need to shift to a growth path based on increased productivity—essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a shift ultimately requires building on evolving improvements that collectively translate to deepening rural innovation capacity.

Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara is at a prospective tipping point. Growth has accelerated in the past decade, but is unsustainable given increasing use of finite resources.

Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests discusses the need to shift to a growth path based on increased productivity—essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a shift ultimately requires building on evolving improvements that collectively translate to deepening rural innovation capacity.

This study assesses the patterns of agricultural intensification in 40 African countries looking at the role fertilizer plays in the process. We propose a set of indicators that uses information on available agricultural land and land suitability to measure intensity of land use in agricultural production.

The evidence of improved performance of agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) in recent years has indeed been quite striking when compared with the past. For the first time, the sector has maintained a real growth rate of 3.4 percent per year, well above the population growth rate of 2.5 percent. Despite this improved performance, agricultural productivity growth in SSA continues to lag behind every other region of the world, growing at rates that are roughly half of the average rate of developing countries.

Given the importance of agriculture in West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) asked the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) to undertake an in-depth  assessment of agricultural research capacity in the region focusing on key institutional, human resource, and financial resource issues. The assessment is a critical input into the development of national and regional agricultural policy recommendations, which will in turn feed into a regional agricultural research strategy for West Africa.

High population growth, deteriorating soils, climate change, and volatile food prices are major factors affecting food security in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). To respond effectively to these challenges, agricultural productivity in the region needs to be accelerated without delay.