Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development
Agriculture has been essentially the backbone of economic growth for centuries. The sector has provided employment for the majority of the world population for generations, and has served as a powerful force in transforming of economies towards an...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/09/26742943/investing-africa’s-agriculture-solidifying-foundation-sustainable-inclusive-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25188 |
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okr-10986-251882021-05-25T08:51:48Z Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development Li, Guo Wang, Wei agriculture sustainable development poverty reduction land reform price policy market liberalization agriculture technology rural infrastructure off-farm employment input subsidies Agriculture has been essentially the backbone of economic growth for centuries. The sector has provided employment for the majority of the world population for generations, and has served as a powerful force in transforming of economies towards an industry- and service- based. In many countries, through both productivity increases and farm land expansion, agriculture contributed to the transformation by releasing labor force for the other parts of the economy, providing food security, keeping wage down by providing low cost food, and generating foreign exchange. All these contributions are essential for broader social and economic development (Bruce and Mellor, 1961). In the 21st century, agriculture remains a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction. WDR 2008, Agriculture for Development, convincingly demonstrates the need to increase investment in agriculture and improve the effectiveness of such investment in order to enhance the sector’s role in overall growth, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. As an economic activity, agriculture can be a source of growth for the national economy and a provider of investment opportunities for the private sector. Robust empirical evidence from many countries consistently shows that agriculture is several times more efficient in reducing poverty than other sectors, given majority of the world’s poor living in rural area and relying on the sector as a major income source (World Bank, 2008). Agriculture can also be a major provider of environmental services, through sequestering carbon, managing watersheds, and preserving biodiversity. Therefore, agriculture offers great promise in today’s world for growth, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. China’s successful development in the past three decades exemplifies the powerful role the agricultural sector can play in a country’s social and economic transformation. 2016-10-18T16:49:11Z 2016-10-18T16:49:11Z 2016 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/09/26742943/investing-africa’s-agriculture-solidifying-foundation-sustainable-inclusive-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25188 English en_US CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa China |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
agriculture sustainable development poverty reduction land reform price policy market liberalization agriculture technology rural infrastructure off-farm employment input subsidies |
| spellingShingle |
agriculture sustainable development poverty reduction land reform price policy market liberalization agriculture technology rural infrastructure off-farm employment input subsidies Li, Guo Wang, Wei Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Sub-Saharan Africa China |
| description |
Agriculture has been essentially the
backbone of economic growth for centuries. The sector has
provided employment for the majority of the world population
for generations, and has served as a powerful force in
transforming of economies towards an industry- and service-
based. In many countries, through both productivity
increases and farm land expansion, agriculture contributed
to the transformation by releasing labor force for the other
parts of the economy, providing food security, keeping wage
down by providing low cost food, and generating foreign
exchange. All these contributions are essential for broader
social and economic development (Bruce and Mellor, 1961). In
the 21st century, agriculture remains a fundamental
instrument for sustainable development and poverty
reduction. WDR 2008, Agriculture for Development,
convincingly demonstrates the need to increase investment in
agriculture and improve the effectiveness of such investment
in order to enhance the sector’s role in overall growth,
poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. As an
economic activity, agriculture can be a source of growth for
the national economy and a provider of investment
opportunities for the private sector. Robust empirical
evidence from many countries consistently shows that
agriculture is several times more efficient in reducing
poverty than other sectors, given majority of the world’s
poor living in rural area and relying on the sector as a
major income source (World Bank, 2008). Agriculture can also
be a major provider of environmental services, through
sequestering carbon, managing watersheds, and preserving
biodiversity. Therefore, agriculture offers great promise in
today’s world for growth, poverty reduction, and
environmental sustainability. China’s successful development
in the past three decades exemplifies the powerful role the
agricultural sector can play in a country’s social and
economic transformation. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Li, Guo Wang, Wei |
| author_facet |
Li, Guo Wang, Wei |
| author_sort |
Li, Guo |
| title |
Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| title_short |
Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| title_full |
Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| title_fullStr |
Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Investing in Africa’s Agriculture : Solidifying Foundation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development |
| title_sort |
investing in africa’s agriculture : solidifying foundation for sustainable and inclusive development |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/09/26742943/investing-africa’s-agriculture-solidifying-foundation-sustainable-inclusive-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25188 |
| _version_ |
1764458456359632896 |