Agriculture Is Africa 's Backbone And Holds Tremendous Potential As An Engine For Future Growth

However, some believe, that a shift in the way we produce food may have some unintended consequences. They contend that poverty in nations such as Africa and Asia, is caused by the low productivity of the unindustrialized farm labor. The U.S. Agriculture Department projects, without reform, there will be over a thirty percent increase in the numbers of the ‘food insecure’ people in those nations over the next decade (Paarlberg 179).

The first article 4 ways to end hunger in Africa from CNN explains almost 800 million do not have enough food to eat daily in Africa. This reason lead Africa to put greater emphasis on agriculture and supporting their farmers. They achieved to a remarkable goal in cutting the malnourish in half since the 1990. The United States has raised it efforts in the commitment to ending global hunger, poverty, and child malnutrition because of all the

Modern African states have various problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. Africa’s ongoing political instability and economic crisis have hindered the improvement of Africa. Thus, the lack of money, advancement in technology, and climate has hampered economic development. Despite European mistreatment and oppression African’s have endured hardships that have encouraged economy, education, and political

By empowering countries to grow their way out of poverty, we can break the cycle of hunger and build a more stable world for future generations. New tools and technologies brought to struggling agriculturists is key. Trade is key to bringing food security to 800 million people that remain chronically

Women in Sub-Saharan African should work more in that there is an increase in the number of women participating in agriculture, as most men have resorted to work in non- agricultural activities. This entails that women should venture into men’s cash crop farming too so that they earn more income in order tothat can change their economic situation.

As many know through the news, Sub- Saharan Africa is not a wealthy nor financially stable

The increase of productivity in the farmlands has a positive effect in cities as well, providing more food at affordable prices to combat high costs of living in cities and serve as a source for raw materials for increased manufacturing and industrialization. In order for Africa to compete on global markets, it is imperative that productivity gains are achieved both in agribusiness and manufacturing.

It is undisputable that the U.S has opened the doors to many countries, establishing multinational corporations and emerging new markets to explore international waters to help other nations flourish and gain a competitive advantage. For many years Africa has been floating in the U.S radar. The U.S has looked for ways to cultivate the land, understand the culture; people and strengthens its relationship with the African government. In recent years the continent has grown significantly with the opportunity of U.S market access and the creation of new export trade avenues to Africa. In May 2000, The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a unilateral, trade agreement between Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States, launched new efforts to grow the African market. The enactment was deliberately created for eligible countries to participate in trade opportunities and to export their products to the U.S markets with duty free privileges. The opportunity has developed a substantial amount of trade and investment between Sub-Saharan countries and the U.S. Subsequently, the Doing Business in Africa (DBIA); campaign took effect on November 2012. The campaign’s major goal was to connect American businesses with African partners, to support existing and new U.S investments in Africa. Additionally, to inform and provide access to American companies to finance their exports and reduce barriers to trade and investment in Africa. In August 2014, the U.S and African leaders Summit

Deere & Doss 2006 indicates that women are 5 percent of registered landholders in West Africa, 22.4 percent in the Mexican ejidos (communal farming lands) and 15.5 percent in Nicaragua. On average, men’s land holdings are almost three times women’s land holdings. This compromise land access leads women to make suboptimal decisions with regard to crop choices and to obtain lower yields than would otherwise be possible if household resources were allocated efficiently. Insecurity of tenure for women results in lower investment and potential environmental degradation. It also compromises future production potential and increases food insecurity. If women farmers in Bombali Sheborah and Makarie Gbanti Chiefdoms in particular and West Africa in general had the same access to farm inputs, education, and experience as their men counterparts, their yields for maize, beans, and cowpeas could increase as much as 22 percent (Quisumbing

Recently author Camilla Toulmin from the guardian spoke about “How Africa can solve its food crisis by growing more crops sustainably.” He went onto to discuss the reason behind Africa’s turmoil when it comes to growing crops and how due to bad farming habits and a terrible irrigation system that the lands in Africa could no longer sustain any plant life. Sub- Saharan Africa has one of the largest population of starved people at around 250 million. The author of this article goes onto mention that “Based on present trends, the current African food production system would be able to meet only 13% of the continent's needs by 2050. Despite this urgent need, African crop yields have been largely stagnant over the past 50 years. Less than 4% of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. Almost three-quarters of its soils are degraded (pdf) due to years of planting crops without replacing nutrients; fertilizer use is by far the lowest in the world with most farmers unable to afford

I am highly motivated to pursue further studies in agricultural and resource economics at Kasetsart University. My strong interest in agriculture and the business of agriculture and its relation to economic development . Agriculture is the backbone of my country Ghana, supplying food for the nation's population. It is part of a massive business sector that provides many opportunities for the masses of people.

The economy of Senegal depends on agriculture, particularly the groundnut and cotton farming, which accounts for about 50% of export income (World Bank, 1989). This is due to the countries significance to this sector, after independence the government put in place strategies to increase groundnut production, hence the introduction of a credit system to assist farmers purchase seeds, farm equipment’s and fertilizers at reduced price (Dembele, 2003). This followed the setting up of boards of committees tasked with the responsibilities to set up prices at which groundnut were sold at each season. Further to this, private traders were also prevented from coming into the groundnut market. However, with the introduction of the structural adjustment programme (SAF) the government was forced to remove subsides and abolish the credit scheme for the farmers, also was the dissolution of the marketing board which set prices for the groundnut farmer. While removal of subsides for farmers was imposed on the Senegalese government led to price increase in food commodity, subsequent many people going hungry as they could not afford basic food commodities, notwithstanding the human right abuse (Fonjong,2014). Thought-provoking, during the same period the industrialised world including; United States of America (USA) and Europe were subsidizing their farmers with billions of dollars. Furthermore, the Senegalese government was asked to remove restrictions of importation

Egypt is classified as a low-income, food-deficit country (LIFDC). In 1999 the country imported 7.9 million tons of grains or 50 percent of its needs. The Government’s strategic options for agriculture (up to 2017) include the following thematic elements: a) Achieve higher growth rate of 4.1 percent in the agricultural sector through vertical and horizontal expansion. b) Promote more efficient use of land and water, enhance agricultural research and extension, expand credit, and improve marketing cooperatives. c) Increase the value of exports by over two-fold (with respect to the current level), based on quality assurance and product safety, which are key to competitiveness under the World Trade Organization (WTO) policies and partnership agreements with the European Union (EU) and the United States. d) Develop livestock, poultry and fish resources to increase daily per capita animal protein consumption from 18 grams to 24 grams (Country Programmes 2001). There have been extensive introduction of new technologies and significant improvements in agricultural extension, marketing and credit. These efforts, together with area expansion through land reclamation, had contributed to an increase in agricultural production from 2.6 percent in the 1980s to 3.4 percent in the 1990s. The area available for cultivation increased from 2.6 million ha in 1982 to 3.3 million ha in 1995. In a given year, this area is used more than once; the average total cropped in a year amounts to 180

Sustainable consumption and production is defined by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2014) as the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants so as not to jeopardise the needs of further generations. Over the last 25 years many policies, strategies and programmes that support the food and agricultural sector in Uganda have been put in place. This can be categorised into overarching national policies and specific agricultural and rural development initiatives (FAO, 2013). The agricultural sector has the largest input into Uganda’s economy; therefore the two categories are highly inter-related. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 66 percent of the work force (UBoS, 2012). Approximately 80 percent of Uganda 's population lives in rural areas, and 66 percent are employed in agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 24.1 percent of GDP and 51.9 percent of exports in 2010/11. Most of Uganda 's agricultural sector consists of small-scale farming (FAO, 2013). Uganda is a country endowed with a warm climate, abundant fertile land and regular rainfall, which provides one of the best environments for agricultural production (ACORD, 2010).

The agriculture industry in Nigeria has opportunities that are not maximized due to challenges it is facing.