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Overview of agriculture in Commonwealth Africa
Of the 54 countries in Africa, 21 are members of the Commonwealth. These are Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
- Agriculture is the backbone of the majority of the economies in Commonwealth Africa. On average, the sector employs 42.4 per cent of the population of Commonwealth Africa, and the agriculture, forestry, and fishing value accounts for 17 per cent of their GDP.1 The percentage contribution to GDP is however varied among different African countries ranging from below 3 per cent in Botswana and South Africa to more than 50 per cent in Chad. This points to the diversified nature of the Commonwealth African economies.2
- Between 30–60 per cent of all economic production among African Commonwealth countries is attributed to agriculture, with key crops grown being mainly categorised into garden and field crops.
- Agriculture is prioritised by most African Commonwealth countries; this is evident in The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) which is an integral part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) that highlights the importance of the sector’s contribution to GDP.3
- Agricultural production in Commonwealth Africa is predominantly subsistence in nature and carried out in rural areas. Rural populations account for 58 per cent of the populations in Commonwealth Africa.
“Agriculture is the backbone of the majority of the economies in Commonwealth Africa”
“Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is mainly rain-fed and highly vulnerable to climate change and variability”
Systemic constraints affecting agriculture in Commonwealth Africa
Countries across Commonwealth Africa face several systemic constraints to developing their agricultural sectors.
These include:
- Climate vulnerability and agricultural productivity
- Access to finance and investment
- Market, trade and supply chain issues
- Women and youth inclusion
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State of digital agriculture in Africa
The state of digital agriculture in the region is assessed using the digital agriculture framework described under the methodology section.
It consists of (I) digital agriculture innovations, (II) agriculture data infrastructure, (III) business development services, and (IV) the enabling environment for the digitalisation of agriculture.
“Agricultural production in Commonwealth Africa is predominantly subsistence in nature and carried out in rural areas.”
i
Digital agriculture innovations
- Digital agriculture solutions in Commonwealth Africa predominantly provide market linkages (52 percent) and crop-based pre advisory (60 percent) services.
- Digital solution mapping reveals that, despite the region having significant logistical challenges particularly the transportation and storage of agricultural inputs and produce, very few of the mapped digital solutions in this region were found to have a logistics and supply chain solution in their value proposition.
- From the systemic constraints affecting agriculture, there is a gap in availability of solutions providing or related to financial access and solutions provide financial access and insurance.
Distribution of Digital Agricultural Solutions by Use Case
Crop-based pre-harvest advisory
Market linkages
Extension services
n=140 solutions
ii
Agriculture data infrastructure
- Each of the 21 Commonwealth Africa member countries has state provided weather maps and data.
- Sub-Saharan African countries have by and large failed to build structured National Agricultural Statistical Systems with well-defined objectives and clear policy directions. The presence of state-issued unique identifiers for farmers provides a critical first step in building of the data rails on which future customised data products can run.
- Most land in Sub-Saharan Africa has no registration, that is to say, ownership or user rights are known or documented.
“The most underdeveloped pillar in the Commonwealth Africa region is data infrastructure.”
iii
Business development services
- Business models for financing digitalisation of agriculture in Commonwealth Africa are primarily defined by either (1) the donor-led model or (2) the private-led model.
- Emerging pricing models for digital agriculture solutions on the market include instalment payments, subscription models, outright transaction fees and commission models.
“Small solutions that are not funded and being pushed by donor programmes find it hard to scale up because they lack funding.”
iv
Enabling environment for digitalisation
The enabling environment for agriculture digitalisation consists of technology-related and non-technology-related enablers and barriers.
Technology-related enablers include access to internet-enabled and mobile devices, penetration of smartphone devices, network coverage, and internet-related infrastructure that enables digital solutions and technologies.
Non-technology-related enablers include regional demography, education levels amongst farming populations, mobile network-friendly policies, and financing models for mobile devices.
Internet use, proportion of population
Commonwealth Africa
Mauritius
Seychelles
South Africa
Botswana
Policy recommendations to fast-track digitalisation
Recommendations for Commonwealth Africa countries to increase investment in digital agriculture innovation and scale-up solutions to market include:
- Using support measures to provide support to actors in the sector that have potential to champion investments that are building the rails for digitalisation of agriculture
- Boosting investment in data infrastructure and their key enablers
- Working with development partners to support developers to be able to fully reap the benefits of digitalisation
- Putting in place national strategies that seek to close the access and usage gaps ensure internet is for all
- Using Regulation to facilitate the adoption of digital technologies by the agriculture and food sectors
- Putting in place clear standards for data sharing and management
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Footnotes
1 Author Computations for Commonwealth countries in Africa done using raw data from World Bank.
2 FAO and OECD, 2016, OECD – FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016–2025, Special Focus: Sub-Saharan Africa, OECD Publishing Paris. http://www.fao.org/3/I5778E/I5778E.pdf
3 Xinshen, D., P. Hazell, D. Resnick and J. Thurlow (2006). The Role of Agriculture in Development: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa, NW Washington DC. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/55405/files/dsgdp29.pdf