Large scale agricultural farm / November 28, 2024 © Grain.org
On the cups of independence, new African nations needed to restructure their economy. With encouragement from foreign institutions, export agriculture was promoted as a means to stimulate growth, reduce poverty, and ensure food security on the continent. However, decades later, the promise of agriculture as Africa’s primary pathway to prosperity remains largely unfulfilled. This outcome stems not only from the poor implementation of agricultural policies but also from colonial narratives that continue to hinder African development today.
Agricultural production is not foreign to Africa. Historically, land has been a major source of economic subsistence, especially in farming and agriculture. But even during pre-colonial times, Africans were having trouble with agriculture. The labor shortage, unstable climate, and poor soil quality made it challenging to sustain a sufficient agricultural output, causing food shortages and famine across the continent(1).
Yet, despite its unreliability, agriculture was promoted as Africa’s economic savior. But was it?
The Myth of Agriculture for Development
The uncomfortable truth about export agriculture is that it primarily benefits former colonial powers to the detriment of African economies. The nature of the industry is rather extractive, by which European corporations have the capital and expertise to manufacture raw products and sell them back to Africa at exorbitant prices. Not to mention that export agriculture is often accompanied by land dispossession, mostly peasants’ lands (2), and the predatory exploitation of labor, mostly women and children’s labor (3). Hence, export agriculture worsened African economic conditions and increased the dependence of African nations on former colonial powers. An example of this is Julius Nyerere’s socialist agricultural policies for Tanzania. Ujamaa, that promoted farming villages in rural areas to increase productivity and self-sufficiency (4). However, Ujamaa produced low agricultural outputs, leading to an economic crisis and increasing the country’s reliance on food aid. (5)More recently, Burundi, which heavily relies on export agriculture, has become one of the poorest countries in the world. Not to mention Ivory Coast’s expanding cocoa industry, which remains largely dominated by foreign corporations that profit while locals struggle to maintain a decent standard of living (6). The World Bank, which promoted export agriculture in the first place, even recognizes that Africa has not lived up to its full potential, with the region’s share of agricultural continuous decline for over 50 years (7). Therefore, export agriculture has failed to deliver on its promises of economic growth and development. Agriculture was not the most suitable sector for certain African economies, yet European imperialists continued to promote it to secure their own supply of natural resources.
Divorcing from Colonial Narratives
To further understand the inefficiency of agriculture for development, it is important to acknowledged development and progress theories promoted by ‘developed’ liberal economies. That is, primitive societies began as hunter-gatherers before transforming to a more sedentary lifestyle, with agriculture as the main source of subsistence. Eventually, as civilizations evolved, civilizations expanded on manufacturing with industrial revolutions seen as the route that propelled Western economies. This method has not only worked for the West; new emerging economies like China have followed a similar model (8). Following this logic, Africa should invest in the manufacturing of products to propel its economy. So why do development narratives still frame agriculture as the precursor of African growth instead of alternative industries that may be more productive?
It could be argued that Africa’s lack of infrastructure and technology has hindered its ability to undergo an industrial revolution. However, this narrative overlooks the fact that Western corporations deliberately prioritized extractive policies—not only to maintain their economic dominance but also because they viewed Africans as incapable of achieving the same level of development. Rooted in colonial ideologies, Western theories of racial and cultural superiority historically labeled Africans as primitive and backward. Today, these beliefs persist under the guise of “underdevelopment” discourse, reinforcing the stereotype that Africa is incapable of managing the complexities of industrial and technological advancement. As a result, the continent remains trapped in an agricultural phase.
What makes this even more concerning is that many African leaders and institutions continue to push agriculture as the foundation for development, despite its evident limitations. Agricultural initiatives are not inherently problematic—some may indeed provide alternative models that benefit local communities. However, by consistently framing African progress in outdated, agrarian terms, both the West and Africa itself actively obstruct the continent’s path to full industrialization and economic self-sufficiency.
Achieving Self-Determination
So, how do we move past this?
To begin, African nations must move beyond outdated colonial narratives and actively seek alternative paths to economic growth. While agriculture has historically played a role in African economies, it should not be the sole pillar upon which development strategies are built. Countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia have begun pivoting toward manufacturing and industrialization as alternatives to traditional agricultural economies. Rwanda, for instance, has invested heavily in technology, attracting global firms and fostering a thriving digital ecosystem (9). This demonstrates that with the right policies, African economies can transition away from agriculture as their primary driver of development.
Beyond manufacturing, technology, and creative industries also present even greater opportunities for sustainable growth. On the one hand, the fintech boom in Kenya is a testament to Africa’s ability to lead in digital innovation with M-PESA, a leading mobile service app on the continent, is expected to reduce poverty by 2% (10). On the other hand, Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry and the second-largest film industry in the world by volume, generates billions of dollars annually and employs millions (11). Similarly, the success of African music—through Afrobeats artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Tems—has further proven that creative industries can drive substantial revenue, tourism, and global influence.
The road to economic independence requires bold decision-making and a deliberate rejection of outdated development models that underestimate Africa’s capabilities for growth. If Africa is to achieve true self-determination, it must stop looking to agriculture as its economic savior and instead embrace a future defined by innovation, industry, and self-sufficiency.
The time for transformation is now.
Sources
- Stilwell, S. (2014). Slavery and African Economies. In Slavery and Slaving in African History (pp. 124–175). Chapter 5, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 130-31
- Cooper, F. (2002). Development and disappointment: social and economic change in an unequal world, 1945–2000. In Africa since 1940: The Past of the Present (pp. 91–132). Chapter 5, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.
- Ibid, p. 95
- Nyerere, J. (1968). Social and Rural Development. In Ujamaa : essays on Socialism (pp. 106–144). Chapter 7, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Scott, C. (1999). Seeing Like a State : How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, Yale University Press, 1999. P. 3
- Ferdjani, H. (2024, May 23). Ivorian cocoa farmers “barely survive” while Chocolate Company profits soar. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/23/ivorian-cocoa-farmers-barely-survive-while-chocolate-company-profits-soar
- The World Bank. (2013, April). Unlocking Africa’s Agricultural Potential: An Action Agenda for Transformation. p.13
- Hu, Z. and Khan, M.S. (1997). Why Is China Growing So Fast? International Monetary Fund, Economic Issues, N.8
- African Development Bank (2022, June). Rwanda, African Development Bank launch industrial policy project, targeting 200,000 jobs per year. https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/rwanda-african-development-bank-launch-industrial-policy-project-targeting-200000-jobs-year-52937
- World Economic Forum (2023, June). How Africa’s fintech boom can boost inclusive healthcare, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/06/africa-healthcare-fintech-mobile-technology/
- Forbes Africa (2024, August). Big Ticket Nollywood: Leading The Charge In African Cinema. https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2024/08/19/big-ticket-nollywood-leading-the-charge-in-african-cinema/