Africa's Growth Story
A series of articles focused on Africa. Agricultural real GDP growth has been 12% per annum in Africa in recent years.
"The key reasons behind this growth surge included government action to end armed conflicts, improve macroeconomic conditions, and undertake microeconomic reforms to create a better business climate. Next, Africa's economies grew healthier as governments reduced the average inflation rate from 22 percent in the 1990s to 8 percent after 2000. They trimmed their foreign debt by one-quarter and shrunk their budget deficits by two-thirds. Finally, African governments increasingly adopted policies to energize markets. They privatized state-owned enterprises, increased the openness of trade, lowered corporate taxes, strengthened regulatory and legal systems, and provided critical physical and social infrastructure."
"The region has the resources both to feed its growing population and to meet the world's burgeoning demand for food and other agricultural products. In sub-Saharan Africa, demand for food is expected to reach $100 billion by 2015, double the levels in 2000. Moving forward,
appropriate investments in agricultural skills and infrastructure-for example, irrigation-could prompt a green revolution in sub-Saharan Africa."
"While more than one-quarter of the world's arable land lies in this continent, it generates only 10 percent of global agricultural output."