Awakening Africa's SleepingGiant : Prospects for Commercial Agriculture in the GuineaSavannah Zone and Beyond

World Bank

World Bank

关键词: ACID SOILS;    AFLATOXIN;    AFRICAN FARMERS;    AGRIBUSINESS;    AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-7941-7
RP-ID  :  49046

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This report summarizes the findings ofthe study on Competitive Commercial Agriculture for Africa(CCAA). The objective of the CCAA study was to explore thefeasibility of restoring international competitiveness andgrowth in African agriculture through the identification ofproducts and production systems that can underpin rapiddevelopment of a competitive commercial agriculture. TheCCAA study focused on the agricultural potential ofAfrica's Guinea Savannah zone, which covers about 600million hectares in Africa, of which about 400 millionhectares can be used for agriculture, and of which less than10 percent are cropped. The African Guinea Savannah is oneof the largest underused agricultural land reserves in theworld. In terms of its agro climatic features, the land issimilar to that found in the Cerrado region of Brazil and inthe Northeast Region of Thailand, with medium-to-highagricultural potential but also significant constraints inthe form of infertile soils and variable rainfall. Based ona careful examination of the factors that contributed to thesuccesses achieved in Brazil and Thailand, as well ascomparative analysis of evidence obtained through detailedcase studies of three African (Mozambique, Nigeria, andZambia) countries. This report argues that opportunitiesabound for farmers in Africa to regain internationalcompetitiveness, especially in light of projected strongerdemand in world markets for agricultural commodities overthe long term.