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Farming in Africa: bigger is not always better, studies show

new from FarmersWeekly.com

Improving the efficiency of smallholder farmers in Africa is necessary not only to help grow African economies, but also to improve the livelihoods of these farmers and their families. However, research has found that not all farming models aimed at helping smallholder farmers increase production and link in to commercial value chains, are appropriately structured to reach this goal.

Colonialism brought large-scale farming to Africa, promising modernisation and jobs, but often dispossessing people and exploiting workers.

Now, after several decades of independence, and with investor interest growing, African governments are once again promoting large plantations and estates. But the new corporate interest in African agriculture has been criticised as a “land grab”.

Small-scale farmers on family land, are still the mainstay of African farming, producing 90% of its food.

Two possible models stand out. Contract farming is often touted as an ‘inclusive business model’ that links smallholders into commercial value chains.

In these arrangements, smallholder farmers produce cash crops on their own land as ‘outgrowers’, on contract to agroprocessing companies.

Then there is growth in a new class of ‘middle farmers’. These are often educated business people and civil servants who are investing money earned elsewhere into medium-scale commercial farms, which they own and operate themselves.

So what are the real choices and trade-offs between large plantations or estates, contract farming by outgrowers, or individual medium-scale commercial farmers? These different models formed the focus of our three-year study in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.

Evidence suggests that each model has different strengths.

Plantations are ‘enclaves’ Our cases confirm the characterisation of large plantations as being ‘enclaves’ with few linkages into local economies.

Contract farming brings benefits for some Contract farmers are smallholders who enter into contracts with companies that buy and process their crops.

Medium-scale farming promising medium-scale commercial farms owned by individuals or small companies.

The medium-scale commercial farming model has a lot to offer. We found that these farms create more jobs and stimulate rural economies to a greater extent than either big plantations or smallholder contract farms.

This article was written by Ruth Hall

The article was originally published by The Conversation and is available at: theconversation.com