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Introduction: Why an African Green Revolution Is Needed and Why It Must Include Small Farms

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In Pursuit of an African Green Revolution

Part of the book series: Natural Resource Management and Policy ((NRMP,volume 48))

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Abstract

This book explores recent experiences in the effort to bring about a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It focuses on rice and maize, which are promising and strategic smallholder crops. This chapter sets out the stage for the statistical analyses presented in later chapters by clarifying the importance of Green Revolution, identifying emerging challenges, and suggesting an effective strategy towards an African Green Revolution . Three major conclusions are derived. First, a rice Green Revolution is possible based primarily on the transfer and adaptation of technology and management practices from Asia, a process that is already begun in some places. Second, a maize Green Revolution is possible based on the establishment of new productive farming systems; however the relevant experience is limited in comparison to the new rice technologies. Third, not only “improved technologies ” but also “improved management practice s” are the keys to Green Revolution in SSA.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, Ravallion and Datt (1996) link growth in agriculture to significant declines in poverty in India, and Anríquez and López (2007) find the same holds true for middle-income Chile.

  2. 2.

    For example, Thirtle et al. (2003) estimate that a 1 % gain in crop yields reduces the number of people living under poverty by 6.25 million while productivity gains in industry and services have little effect on poverty rates. Using a cross-country panel, Bravo-Ortega and Lederman (2009) found that the effects of boosting agricultural labor productivity were 2.9 times more effective at reducing poverty than productivity gains in other sectors. Christiaensen et al. (2011) found that agriculture mattered most for the very poor, but non-agricultural growth was important for the near-poor. The cited studies about poverty in India and Chile also found that economic growth outside of agriculture had significant consequences for poverty levels.

  3. 3.

    A large literature of global, regional and country studies have emerged documenting the consequences of the 2008 price spike and the prolonged raise from 2010 to 2012. See, for example, the global study by Ivanic and Martin (2008), the regional study by Larson et al. (2014a, b), and country studies for Brazil (Ferreira et al. 2013), Ethiopia (Kumar and Quisumbing 2013), Indonesia (Warr and Yusuf 2014), Mexico (Valero-Gil and Valero 2008), and the Philippines (Fujii 2013).

  4. 4.

    FAO estimates the 2014 world population at 7.23 billion and projects the 2050 population at 9.55 billion. The corresponding numbers for SSA are 1.35 billion and 2.71 billion.

  5. 5.

    See Godfray et al. (2010) for a good discussion of why sustainable intensification is needed.

  6. 6.

    Even in areas in Africa where large-scale farming is feasible, hurdles remain due to poor property rights, especially for communal lands, and inefficient and opaque land markets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Development Research Group, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA

    Donald F. Larson

  2. National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Roppongi, Minato-ku 7-22-1, 106-8677, Tokyo, Japan

    Keijiro Otsuka

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  1. Donald F. Larson
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  2. Keijiro Otsuka
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Correspondence to Donald F. Larson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan

    Keijiro Otsuka

  2. Development Research Group, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Donald F. Larson

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Larson, D.F., Otsuka, K. (2016). Introduction: Why an African Green Revolution Is Needed and Why It Must Include Small Farms. In: Otsuka, K., Larson, D. (eds) In Pursuit of an African Green Revolution. Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 48. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55693-0_1

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