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What is the reason that agriculture yields less in African countries than in other places? Henk Breman (former Wageningen University & Research (WUR)), Tom Schut (WUR), and No'am Seligman have been researching agricultural development since 1960 in 54 different African countries. In addition, they looked at the possibilities to accelerate that development. Their findings can be found in the book "From fed by the world to food security. Accelerating agricultural development in Africa".
Yield growth
For their book, the researchers grouped 49 of the 54 African countries into six classes, based on the rate of increase in yield on agricultural land since 1960. The most favorable class has a growth that is equal to the world average, while the worst class has even lower yields than back in 1960. When looking at the class with the least growth in comparison to the class with the highest growth, reduced use of fertilizer is seen as well as a reduction in food insecurity.
The researchers also analyzed the agricultural and socio-economic differences of the classes. This analysis shows no evident influence between agricultural development and soil and climate. Moreover, there are regions where arable farming can make use of modern means of production in all African countries.
Socio-economic factors
The countries in these six classes do have apparent differences in the socio-economic field. High population density, favorable transport facilities, income per capita, pricing policy, and CO2 emissions were positively correlated with agricultural development. Negatively correlated are, for example, instability and corruption, significant differences in the position of men and women, and the economic dominance of agriculture.
Sources and further reading: Wageningen University & Research press release
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