Tracing the history of farming across Africa gives clues to low production outputs

게시됨 2021년 7월 5일

Tridge 요약

The article highlights the challenges facing agricultural performance in sub-Saharan Africa, which has led to food insecurity for 30% of the population. The issues are attributed to both the natural environment and historical interferences during colonial and post-independence periods. Before colonialism, Africa's agriculture was diverse and self-sufficient, but under colonial rule, farmers were forced to prioritize export commodities, leading to food shortages and the persistence of this issue today.

Post-independence, the article identifies four key factors that have hindered agricultural development: external control of systems, suppression of local self-organization, unaccountable borrowing for non-productive assets, and a reduction in commodity diversity. It advocates for a shift in focus towards meeting Africa's needs, improving infrastructure and institutions, challenging barriers to independent decision-making, and redirecting research funding to benefit the continent. The article underscores the importance of local farmers responding to local demands and investing proceeds from exports in rural economic development.

면책 조항: 위의 요약은 정보 제공 목적으로 Tridge 자체 학습 AI 모델에 의해 생성되었습니다.

원본 콘텐츠

Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is under-performing, leaving 30% of people in the region food insecure. Food insecurity means that not all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs. Many reasons have been put forward for this state of affairs. These have ranged from the continent’s biophysical environment to the ineptitude of its farmers. Several aspects of Africa’s environment present challenges for its farmers. Rainfall patterns are extremely varied and unpredictable. African soils are geologically very old, and most are infertile and respond poorly to mineral fertilizer. Fertile soils are mainly found in the East African Rift Valley, and on the floodplains and deltas where silt is deposited, and require careful agricultural water management. But, based on our extensive involvement with agriculture and Africa for many years, we thought it would be useful to try ...

출처: The Conversation