Agriculture in Africa -- telling myths from facts: a synthesis

Luc Christiaensen and Luc Christiaensen
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Luc Christiaensen

No 7979, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Stylized facts drive research agendas and policy debates. Yet robust stylized facts are hard to come by, and when available, often outdated. In a special issue of Food Policy, 12 papers revisit conventional wisdom on African agriculture and its farmers'livelihoods using nationally representative surveys from the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture Initiative in six African countries. At times, the findings simply confirm the common understanding of the topic. But the studies also throw up several surprises, redirecting some policy debates while fine-tuning others. Overall, the project calls for more attention to checking and updating the common wisdom. This requires nationally representative data, and sufficient incentives among researchers and policy makers alike. Without well-grounded stylized facts, they can easily be profoundly misguided.

Keywords: Food Security; Climate Change and Agriculture; Crops and Crop Management Systems; Labor Markets; Gender and Development; Employment and Unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-02-21
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

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