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Agriculture

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Abstract

From time immemorial, agriculture has been the lifeblood of Africa. Agriculture is, in essence, a part of rural community living, spontaneous and integrated. Planning is integral to agrarian development that in itself too is driven by socio-cultural, political and economic organisation within different environmental settings. This recognition highlights the diversity inherent in agriculture as a vital aspect of rural life. The role of agriculture in rural development planning in Africa is dealt with in this chapter. It presents findings from selected studies on designs used in research on agriculture on the continent referring to theories and conceptual models, the main trends in agricultural production and policy programmes. Case illustrations are provided.

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Fairhurst, J. (2018). Agriculture. In: Khayesi, M. (eds) Rural Development Planning in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95297-7_4

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