Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

Chapter 1. West Africa staple food systems: An overview of trends and indicators of demand, supply, and trade 15

Figure 8. Trends in total factor productivity for sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions

Source: Fuglie 2012

Developing countries that sustained higher agricultural growth since the 1980s – measured as
total factor productivity (TFP) – demonstrated a strong commitment to complementary policies and
institutional reforms besides increased agricultural R&D spending. Among these reforms are improved
incentives for farmers, macroeconomic stability, relatively strong extension and rural education
systems, and improved rural infrastructure and market access (Bientema et al., 2012)

Available data show that more than 50 percent of total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to
sub-Saharan Africa target natural resource sectors. The agricultural sector in the region has attracted
modest FDI. A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) FDI brief shows that
in the case of Nigeria, the FDI stock in the country is 17 times higher for extractive industry compared
with agriculture (USD 6417 million compared with USD 386 million in 1992). Moreover, most of the
agriculturally-oriented FDI is geared to high-value export commodities. Examples from the 1990s show
that the major FDI projects include Del Monte’s investment of more than USD 9 million in bananas in
Cameroon, Lonrho’s USD 7.5 million investment in tea estates in Tanzania, and Aberfoyle Holding’s
multimillion dollar investment in palm oil in Zimbabwe (Mugabe, undated).

It is not surprising that agricultural productivity (measured as agricultural value added per 100 workers)
remains relatively low compared with other developing regions, as shown in Figure 9 below. In contrast
to West Africa, the low rates for developing Asia reflect a much higher population density rather than
low productivity per se.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

19701973197619791982198519881991199419972000200320062009

Agricultu

ral total factor

productivity

inde

x (1970=100)

Brazil

China

All developing countries

South Asia