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Focusing on agricultural growth, particularly that of smallholder farmers, can help countries in Africa south of the Sahara achieve broader economic and development objectives, including poverty reduction, says a new open-access book prepared by the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) and published by Oxford Press.

Agricultural growth can stem from a multitude of factors, including increased investment in inputs and rural infrastructure, expanded land dedicated to cropping, a more productive workforce, and favorable prices on local and international markets. Over the past decade, Ethiopia has experienced strong agricultural growth due to a number of these factors, according to a new research note and related working paper from IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program ; however, the country also faces a number of challenges to continued growth in the future.

Although Uganda has favorable agro-ecological conditions for farming, the country’s agricultural yields remain lower than the global average. For example, Irish potato yields in Uganda average 4.7 mt/ha, only 23 percent of global average yields; rice productivity is also low at 2.5 mt/ha, half the global average. A new study from the Uganda Strategy Support Program (USSP) on rice and potato farmers finds that increasing farmers’ access to credit can improve agricultural productivity – but not necessarily through the channels one might expect.

An estimated 80 percent of farmers in eastern Africa are smallholders, according to the first Access to Seeds Index released by the Access to Seeds Foundation .  Most of these farmers rely on rain-fed irrigation, use minimal inputs, and produce mostly low-yield staple food crops. Traditionally, the majority of seeds used have been obtained informally (either saved from previous harvests, exchanged with neighbors, or bought in informal markets), the report says.

Agricultural mechanization can help reduce farmers’ labor costs and increase agricultural productivity; however, in many parts of Africa south of the Sahara, most farm activities still rely on human and animal power ( IFPRI Insights , September 2014 ). Increasing Africa’s agricultural mechanization could be a key driver of future development in the region, but only if it is done properly and sustainably.