IFPRI Forum

March 2006

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Three-quarters of Africans live in rural areas where agriculture is the single most important source of employment. Yet Africa's agriculture is the least productive in the world, leading to some of the highest levels of rural poverty and recurring food crises. Is agriculture still the way forward for Africa's development? Can it be the much-needed engine for pro-poor growth? A new IFPRI paper-The Role of Agriculture in Development: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa, by Xinshen Diao, Peter Hazell, Danielle Resnick, and James Thurlow-tries to answer these questions.

For more than 50 years, development economists have argued over the role of agriculture in economic development. Whereas some economists believe agricultural growth can be bypassed on the road to industrialization, others have identified it as a precondition for overall growth. Today the debate centers broadly on two issues: whether agriculture can be the driver of economic growth and poverty reduction and, within agriculture, whether higher-value export crops should be the main recipient of targeted investments.

"Some of the recent literature is skeptical of the role of African agriculture, emphasizing its poor past performance, low commodity prices and productivity, small farm sizes, and increased competition in the more integrated global markets," explains Hazell, previous director of IFPRI's Development Strategy and Governance Division. Research described in the report suggests, however, that blanket skepticism is unfounded. "Even after accounting for different stages of development, agricultural conditions, natural resources, and geographic location, agricultural growth remains vitally important for most low-income African countries, especially for poverty reduction," says Thurlow, an IFPRI postdoctoral fellow. Moreover, the research finds that growth and poverty reduction can result not only from growth in higher-value export crops, but also from growth in a wider range of agricultural products, including many staple crops and livestock products. Only broad-based agricultural growth can benefit the large population of smallholder farmers. Xinshen Diao, a senior research fellow at IFPRI, concludes, "While African agriculture today faces many new challenges, targeting investments to improve agricultural competitiveness should be a crucial part of the development strategies of most African countries."

The paper offers support for the recent endorsement of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which clearly affirmed its commitment to agriculture as the engine for Africa's growth.