The Palgrave Handbook of Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa

This handbook examines agricultural and rural development in Africa from theoretical, empirical and policy stand points. It discusses the challenges of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assesses how poverty and other development concerns can be addressed in rural communities through agricultural transformation. Additionally, the handbook extends the Post-2015 Development Agenda and it emphasizes the importance of the agricultural sector as it is closely related to the issues of food sustainability, poverty reduction, and employment creation. The contributors suggest multiple evidence-based policies to develop the rural areas through the transformation of the agricultural sector which can significantly benefit the African continent.

‘I would like to congratulate Evans Osabuohien for bringing together so many scholars, especially Africans within the continent and in the Diaspora, to share their insights on relevant issues that matter for the transformation of Africa’s agriculture. This transformation is truly a critical facet of Africa’s general economic development prospects.’

—    Jann Lay, Professor, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg  University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

 

‘This is a remarkable book that highlights important and timely agricultural issues affecting Africa’s rural poor. In addition to increasing the knowledge base, providing policy-relevant “food for thought” and pushing forward development efforts, The Palgrave Handbook of Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa serves as a solid reference point for future scholars, researchers and policy makers interested in informing and executing disruptive innovations in rural spaces on the African continent.’

—    Uche Ekhator-Mobayode, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, USA

 

‘An exceptionally rich and comprehensive volume that provides an in-depth view of issues relating to agricultural and rural development in Africa and addresses pertinent policy questions. This is an important book, examining agricultural transformation from different perspectives across different countries on the continent to raise arising concerns, discuss impacts and provide helpful policies and recommendations. Astonishing scholarship, I hope this volume become a standard in the literature on development economics on Africa.’

—    Samuel Amponsah, President of the African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), Institute for International Strategy, Tokyo International University, Japan

 

‘Unlike the previous publications on the subject, this book brings together the work of people who are concerned and knowledgeable about the dynamics of rural development and the channels through which transformation in agricultural land investments, production, processing, and other value chain activities boost productivity, income and employment for people living and working in rural areas in many African countries. By focusing on agricultural and rural development in Africa, this book has given the plights of poor farmers the special attention and efforts they deserve. Ultimately, the future success of initiatives to alleviate poverty, create employment and increase the livelihood of households in Africa is in the hands of Africans themselves and the competencies of its training institutes and research organizations. It provides a platform for African researchers to showcase their proficiencies in producing high quality research with robust and more widely applicable results.’

—    Jacinta Nwachukwu, Professor, Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise, 

University of Central Lancashire, UK

‘This book, which looks at agricultural and rural development in Africa, is timely and dovetails very well with the current African and international development agenda with respect to African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the theme of the book is perfectly aligned with the African Development Bank’s High-5 on Feed Africa as well as the 2003 Maputo and 2014 Malabo declarations on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). The book provides rich background information for policy makers, development partners, students, and researchers. Undeniably, there is something in the book for every person, especially those who have a great interest in agricultural research and rural development.’

—    Adeleke O. Salami, Principal Macroeconomist, African Development Bank Group

Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire

‘The Palgrave Handbook on Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa addresses relevant and crucial development issues as they pertain to the agriculture sector in African countries. It takes a holistic approach and presents these issues from multidisciplinary and cross-country perspectives. It is with no doubt that this handbook is very timely, insightful and appeals to anyone interested in the development of the agricultural sector and rural economy in Africa and other developing regions.’

—    Evelyn F. Wamboye, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, DuBois, USA

 

‘During the last decades, agricultural and rural development have experienced several “ups and downs” with respect to the attention of academics, policy and development cooperation. The agricultural sector itself, and its main actors, seems to be too weak to “hype” itself the attention it deserves. Therefore, it is highly welcome that a large group of overwhelmingly African scholars has tackled the subject in this volume and presents a broad spectrum of views on many of the topics that move the sector. I am optimistic that it will contribute a great deal in maintaining and sustaining the attention!’

—    Michael Brüntrup, Senior Research Fellow, German Development Institute, Bonn, Germany

 

‘The Agricultural sector is vital to Africa’s prosperity and development. This sector employs more than half of the labor force but produces only 15% of GDP, with considerable cross-country variation, indicating that current performance remains below potential. The Palgrave Handbook of Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa contains technically rich and policy-relevant chapters that shed light on the performance and challenges of Africa’s agriculture sector, particularly, youth employment, agricultural productivity, agricultural value chain, access to financial services, agricultural cooperatives and food security in Africa. Therefore, this book offers an excellent contribution for better understanding of the current state and prospects of Africa’s agricultural transformation and generates valuable insights for improved agricultural policymaking on the continent.’

-          Ramu Govindasamy, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA

 

‘The 2019 progress report on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa highlights a stark warning: unless serious action is taken by African countries now, most of the SDGs are unlikely to be met in Africa by 2030. It is known that the greatest development challenges in Africa are in the rural areas where about 60% of the population live and where agriculture is by far the main economic activity. It is against this background that the timeliness and importance of this book must be judged. The plea by the authors for agricultural and rural transformation for Africa’s development rings loud and clear throughout the book; may it be heeded!’

-          Goolam Mohamedbhai, Former Secretary-General, Association of African Universities; Former President, International Association of Universities; Professor and Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius, Mauritius

Evans S. Osabuohien is Professor of Economics, Chair of the Centre for Economic Policy & Development Research (CEPDeR) at Covenant University, Nigeria, and Alexander von Humboldt Visiting Professor, Faculty of Management and Economics at Witten/Herdecke University, Germany.