Africa's Agricultural Potential

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Soil health

• CHALLENGE:

  75% of Africa's soil is degraded, costing African countries up to 10% of their GDP.

• POTENTIAL:

  Yet Africa has almost 50% of the world's uncultivated land.

  Resources

  

Access to Inputs

• CHALLENGE:

  African farmers apply only 10-13 kg of fertilizer per hectare compared to more than 100 kg in South Asia.

• POTENTIAL:

  1 kg of fertilizer can triple yields and no-till practices could increase maize yields as much as 100% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  Resources

  

Water/irrigation

• CHALLENGE:

  Only around 5% of cultivated land in Africa is irrigated, compared with 41% in Asia.

• POTENTIAL:

  Irrigation alone could increase output by up to 50% in Africa.

  Resources

  

Infrastructure

• CHALLENGE:

  Only 16% of sub-Saharan Africa's roads are paved.

• POTENTIAL:

  Upgrading sub-Saharan Africa's roads could boost yearly trade by US$250 billion, yet cost only US$38 billion a year.

  Resources

  

Market Access

• CHALLENGE:

  Only 25% of rural people have access to market within two hours.

• POTENTIAL:

  African consumer spending could reach US$1.4 trillion by 2020, and to double in a decade.

  Resources

  

Extension

• CHALLENGE:

  There are up to 3,000 farmers per extension agent in many parts of Africa today, and only 15% of extension workers are women.

• POTENTIAL:

  Investment in extension yields 80% annual rates of return - almost double the norm.

  Resources

  

R&D

• CHALLENGE:

  Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 3-6% of global public spending on agricultural R&D in 2008.

• POTENTIAL:

  Public investments in research and extension have a rate of return of 35-70%.

  Resources

  

Land tenure

• CHALLENGE:

  90% of Africa's rural land is undocumented, and women own just 1% of land in sub-Saharan Africa.

• POTENTIAL:

  Land registration in Ghana increased land-related revenue 11 times over from 2003 to 2010. Land reform in Malawi has raised agricultural incomes by 40% each year.

  Resources

  

Poverty alleviation

• CHALLENGE:

  About 380 million women, children and men in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$1.25 a day.

• POTENTIAL:

  GDP growth due to agriculture has been estimated to be 11 times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in any other African sector.

  Resources

  

Nutrition

• CHALLENGE:

  230 million Africans are chronically malnourished, and 40% of children under age five will experience stunted mental and physical development.

• POTENTIAL:

  Improved nutrition could boost African GDP by 11%.

  Resources

  

Youth

• CHALLENGE:

  As much as 35% of Africa's 200 million strong youth population are out of work.

• POTENTIAL:

  Each year at least 10 million young people in Africa enter the labour force, more than ever before.

  Resources

  

Productivity

• CHALLENGE:

  Cereal crop yields in Africa are only one-tenth as high as the United States.

• POTENTIAL:

  Intensification is expected to produce 80% of the required increase in African food production.

  Resources

  

Financial services

• CHALLENGE:

  Most Africans have no access to banking services, with only 20% of families having bank accounts.

• POTENTIAL:

  Mobile banking in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia sees 1.2 million transactions per month, worth approximately US$11 million.

  Resources

  

Trade

• CHALLENGE:

  In 2012, sub-Saharan African countries spent US$37.7 billion on food imports, with trade mispricing and other illicit outflows costing some US$63 billion.

• POTENTIAL:

  With the right investments, Africa's food and beverage markets could be worth US$1 trillion by 2030.

  Resources

  

Conducive policy environment

• CHALLENGE:

  Only seven of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have consistently met their pledge to spend 10% of national budgets on agriculture.

• POTENTIAL:

  Ghana, which currently spends around 10% of its national budget on agriculture, has succeeded in halving hunger.

  Resources

  

Women

• CHALLENGE:

  Women farmers typically achieve yields 20-30% lower than men due to unequal access to productive resources and services.

• POTENTIAL:

  Closing this gender gap could reduce the number of malnourished people by 12-17%.

  Resources

  

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