A Systematic Review of Drivers and Constraints on Agricultural Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nugun P. Jellason, Elizabeth Robinson (), Abbie S. A. Chapman, Dora Neina, Adam J. M. Devenish, June Y. T. Po and Barbara Adolph
Additional contact information
Nugun P. Jellason: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Earley Gate, P.O. Box 237, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
Abbie S. A. Chapman: Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Dora Neina: Department of Soil Science, School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 25 Legon, Accra, Ghana
Adam J. M. Devenish: Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
June Y. T. Po: Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
Barbara Adolph: International Institute for Environment and Development, 235 High Holborn, Holborn, London WC1V 7LE, UK

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Understanding the dynamics of agricultural expansion, their drivers, and interactions is critical for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem-services provision, and the future sustainability of agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, there is limited understanding of the drivers of agricultural expansion. A systematic review of the drivers of agricultural expansion was conducted from 1970 to 2020 using Web of Science, Elsevier Scopus and Google Scholar. Two researchers reviewed the papers separately based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Fifteen papers were included in the final systematic review. The paper proposed expansion pathways in a conceptual framework and identified proximate and underlying drivers. Population dynamics and government policies were found to be key underlying drivers of agricultural expansion. The proximate drivers include economic opportunities such as agriculture mechanisation and cash crops production, and more troubling trends such as soil fertility decline and climate change and variability. This paper further explores the constraints that have been found to slow down agricultural expansion, including strong land institutions and good governance.

Keywords: agricultural expansion; drivers; Sub-Saharan Africa; conservation; constraints (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/3/332/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/3/332/ (text/html)

Related works:
Working Paper: A systematic review of drivers and constraints on agricultural expansion in Sub‐Saharan Africa (2021)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:3:p:332-:d:522870

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().