Agriculture in African Development: A Review of Theories and Strategies

Stefan Dercon and Douglas Gollin ()

No 2014-22, CSAE Working Paper Series from Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

Abstract: Agriculture is the largest sector in most sub-Saharan economies in terms of employment, and it plays an important role in supplying food and export earnings. Rural poverty rates remain high, and labor productivity is strikingly low. This paper asks how these factors shape the role of agriculture in African development strategies. Is agricultural growth a prerequisite for growth in other sectors? Or will urbanization and non-agricultural export markets ultimately be the forces that pull the rural economy into higher productivity? We argue that agricultural development strategies will vary widely because of heterogeneity across and within countries.

Keywords: economic growth; structural transformation; sub-Saharan Africa; rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O10 O13 O55 Q1 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr and nep-gro
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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