Land Distribution

 The state of African Agriculture

There has been a long history of debate over the benefits of large-scale vs smallholder farms (Hall, Scoones and Tsikata, 2017). Agriculture is an economic activity, contributing to economic growth, attracting investment and driving a number of related industries (Pretty et al., 2014). But the efficiency of a farm is critical given the increasing population in Africa, global socio-economic development requiring higher living standards (wider range of food) and the loss of arable land to processes like desertification (Döös, 2002). The demand for food requires an effective use of land, and given what we have already covered in regard to limitations of water availability in regions across Africa (Gaye and Tindimugaya, 2019), the management of land, for what and by whom is gaining renewed importance.

The Case for small farms

Over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, contributing around 23% of GDP for the region. (Goedde, et al., 2019). In fact, the vast majority of farmers in developing countries are smallholders, and an inverse relationship between farm size and factor productivity suggests an imperative to redistribute land to smallholders to increase both efficiency and equity (World Bank, 2008). On various occasions, countries have tried to introduce large-scale farming based on the common misconception that small-holder farms are inefficient (World Bank, 2008). A big reminder of this can be found beyond the shores of the African continent, with China’s collectivisation movement in the 1950s which resulted in 30 million deaths (Lin, 1990). In Africa, colonial attempts in sub-Saharan Africa also proved to be unsustainable (World Bank, 2008).

But surely, in today’s day and age of Lamborghini tractors, genetically modified crops and state-of-the-art irrigation systems, large-scale farms are the way forward? Lin (1990) argues that in relation to China’s collectivisation movement, the disadvantage of large-scale farms was due to labour supervision problems. Today, results are suggesting that advancements in technology are now negating this issue.

Time for Change?

Examples in Brazil and Chile prove that through the use of fertilisers and other modern methods, small farms are being outdone in yield production of cereals (World Bank, 2008). However, in these example gains were made following the prerequisite of market liberalisation, where larger farms, unlike smallholders, could cope with market instability and price change, as well as having the liberty of capital and insurance markets for the acquisition and purchasing of land due to their perceived superiority inefficiency (World Bank, 2008). Without straying too far into economics, it is proven that like larger firms, larger farms to benefit from “economies of scale” which manifest themselves through advantageous technological innovation and information (World Bank, 2008). All of which sounds dangerously similar to food development. I would caution this as a point of any excitement at this stage however. It is uncertain that countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are at this stage of development, so this point may be inapplicable.

Land Grabs

A final issue in regards to land availability is with the shocking trend of land-grabbing. As the global population continues to grow, the attention of transnational corporations and national governments have turned their attention to Africa in preparation for any future shortages in food production- which includes crops for biofuels (Borras et al, 2011). This North-South dynamic whispers neo-colonialism, but similar episodes have been witnessed internally by governments, exacerbating rural inequality (Borras et al., 2011). According to the World Bank (2010), 46 million hectares of land were negotiated or acquired between 2000 and 2010, with two-thirds of this concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa (Kamal, 2021). It is evident that this is problematic, purely on the basis that land for food is being lost in this way, but further alarm is found in the fact that a large portion of this land is not currently being utilised (Borras et al., 2011), but rather speculatively waiting impending disaster.

Final Verdict

Is there another way? Yes. Smallholder farmers can attain some of the same benefits that larger-scale farms enjoy by acting collectively through the formation of producer organisations. This can promote ingenuity through a group of entrepreneurial smallholders being more responsive to new market opportunities, as well as accessing new technology and other assets (World Bank, 2008). In my opinion, given the state of African agriculture at present, and the high percentages of people already working small-holder farms, I believe that in the immediate future, this structure should continue, but with this is reliant on state governments resisting the temptation for quick cash from land-grabbing schemes that exploit Africa’s resources.

(Pena, 2012)