Agriculture in Africa has enormous potential, not only to feed the Continent and eliminate hunger and food insecurity, but certainly to be a major player in the global food markets. It’s potential lies in the enormous arable lands, accessibility to water and oceans, and in large and young workforce.
Agriculture is key in the Continent’s Economic transformation.
In recent years countries such as Brazil, which has experienced progress in agricultural production, have agreed to share technology with Africa to increase agricultural production in the continent to make it a more viable trade partner. Increased investment in African agricultural technology in general has the potential to reduce poverty in Africa
African education suffers from overcrowded classrooms and loss of staff due to migration to the West for better conditions and higher wages.
Literacy rates in many countries are very low. It is alarming that about 17 million out of 128 million or so school-aged children will never go to school and even more shocking that 37 million others will learn so little during their schooling. Therefore, which increase the rate of school dropped out before reaching high school.
Energy is essential to the functioning of a nation’s economy, to the maintenance and improvement of its standard of living. Restricted access to energy hurts the economy, lowers incomes and, of course, drives up the prices of other goods. The wealth of natural resources can help a country’s economy because it improves its competitiveness. The world is increasingly concerned about energy. Energy demand is increasing faster than supply is assured.
Energy in Africa is a scarcer commodity than in the developed world – annual consumption is 518 KWh in Sub-Saharan Africa, the same amount of electricity used by an individual in an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD – example is the U.S.) country in 25 days. More than 500 million people live without electricity. Across the continent only 10% of individuals have access to the electrical grid, and of those, 75% come from the richest two quintiles in overall income.
Electrical provisioning in Africa has generally only reached wealthy, urban middle class, and commercial sectors, bypassing the region’s large rural populations and urban poor.
Agriculture in Africa has a massive social and economic footprint. More than 60 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is smallholder farmers, and about 23 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture. Yet, Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped.
The continent is bursting with potential: At 200 million hectares, sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly half of the world’s uncultivated land that can be brought into production. Africa uses only 2 percent of its renewable water resources compared to 5 percent globally. Together with abundant resources, including a resourceful, enterprising youth population, strategic investments in agriculture can unleash virtuous growth cycles. How can Africa, then, capitalize on these opportunities?
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