According to Mckinsey, a global management consulting firm, agriculture in Africa has a massive social and economic footprint because more than 60 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are farmers, and about 23 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture.
In Kenya alone, the sector accounts for 65 percent of the export earnings, provides the livelihood, employment, income, and food security needs for more than 80 percent of the Kenyan population, and contributes to improving nutrition through the production of safe, diverse, and nutrient-dense foods.
In the analysis by Mckinsey, Africa can produce two to three times more cereals and grains, which would add 20 percent more cereals and grains to the current worldwide 2.6 billion tons of output. Similar increases could be seen in horticulture crops and livestock. Yet despite the impressive numbers, Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped, Mckinsey revealed.
African Governments need to heavily invest in the sector
Mckinsey estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa will need six times more improved seed, at least $8 billion in basic storage (not including cold-chain investments for horticulture or animal products), and as much as $65 billion in irrigation to fulfill its agricultural promise.
Much investment will also be needed in basic infrastructures, such as roads, ports, and electricity, plus improvements in policies and regional trade flows, Mckinsey noted.
According to the USAID ‘Feed the Future” findings, governments that have effectively promoted farm productivity growth, such as Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia, have enjoyed faster rates of poverty reduction, higher rates of labor productivity in the non-farm segments of the economy, and expanded employment growth in both food systems and non-farm sectors.
Because of strong growth connections between agricultural productivity and most other sectors of the economy, even non-farm jobs grow faster when agriculture is strengthened.
“Government in the Region need to take agriculture seriously because, with heavy investments, agriculture will be an attractive investment option. The sector is too important to be left under-utilized. Making agriculture more attractive to young farmers could create decent employment opportunities and reverse youth unemployment rates in Africa.”
McKinsey
According to the World Bank, youths account for 60 percent of all of Africa’s jobless, even as the continent boasts of the highest population in the world.
Prioritize value addition
By making farming more profitable and less arduous, governments can attract young Africans into this nearly trillion-dollar industry in Africa, Mckinsey stated.
According to Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Africa accounts for 75 percent of the world’s cocoa production, but the continent is a price taker and receives only two percent (2%) of the $100 billion annual revenues from chocolates globally. The reason is that Africa exports just raw cocoa beans. This pattern is the same for other commodities in which Africa is a major producer.
It is time for Africa to move to the top of the global food value chains, through agro-industrialization and by adding value to all of what it produces.
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