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Agricultural Productivity and Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Yu, Bingxin
  • Nin Pratt, Alejandro
Abstract
We analyze the evolution of Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) over the past 45 years, looking for evidence of recent changes in growth patterns using an improved nonparametric Malmquist index. Our TFP estimates show a remarkable recovery in the performance of Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture between 1984 and 2006 after a long period of poor performance and decline. That recovery is the consequence of improved efficiency in production resulting from changes in the output structure and an adjustment in the use of inputs. Policy interventions, including fiscal, trade and sector specific policies, appear to have played an important role in improving agriculture’s performance. Despite the improved agricultural performance, SSA economies face serious challenges to sustain growth. Among these are the small contribution of technical change to TFP growth in the past, the large tax burden imposed by remaining distortions, and the challenge of population growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Bingxin & Nin Pratt, Alejandro, 2011. "Agricultural Productivity and Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 105400, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea11:105400
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.105400
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    Cited by:

    1. Fuglie, Keith O. & Rada, Nicholas E., 2013. "Resources, Policies, and Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Research Report 145368, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & van Koppen, Barbara & Behrman, Julia & Karelina, Zhenya & Akamandisa, Vincent & Hope, Lesley & Wielgosz, Ben, 2012. "Putting Gender on the Map: Methods for mapping gendered farm management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa," IFPRI discussion papers 1153, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Vaiknoras, Kate & Norton, George & Alwang, Jeffrey, 2015. "Farmer preferences for attributes of conservation agriculture in Uganda," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16.
    4. Adetutu, Morakinyo O. & Ajayi, Victor, 2020. "The impact of domestic and foreign R&D on agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Nin-Pratt, Alejandro & Johnson, Michael E. & Yu, Bingxin, 2012. "Improved performance of agriculture in Africa South of the Sahara: Taking off or bouncing back?," IFPRI discussion papers 1224, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Samuel Kobina Annim & Raymond Boadi Frempong, 2018. "Effects of access to credit and income on dietary diversity in Ghana," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1649-1663, December.
    7. Jonathan Brooks & Alan Matthews, 2015. "Trade Dimensions of Food Security," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 77, OECD Publishing.
    8. Ogundari, Kolawole, 2014. "The Paradigm of Agricultural Efficiency and its Implication on Food Security in Africa: What Does Meta-analysis Reveal?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 690-702.
    9. Ogundari, Kolawole, 2021. "Causal Relationship between Economic Growth and Agricultural productivity in Sub Saharan Africa: A Panel Cointegration Approach," MPRA Paper 110199, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2015. "Agricultural growth in Ethiopia (2004-2014): Evidence and drivers:," ESSP working papers 81, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Minten, Bart & Tamru, Seneshaw & Engida, Ermias & Kuma, Tadesse, 2013. "Ethiopia’s value chains on the move: The case of teff:," ESSP working papers 52, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Lindikaya W. Myeki & Yonas T. Bahta & Nicolette Matthews, 2022. "Exploring the Growth of Agricultural Productivity in AFRICA: A Färe-Primont Index Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, August.
    13. Ogundari, Kolawole & Awokuse, Titus, 2016. "Assessing the Contribution of Agricultural Productivity to Food Security levels in Sub-Saharan African countries," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235730, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Wang, Sun Ling & McPhail, Lihong Lu, 2012. "Impacts of Energy Shocks on US Agricultural Productivity Growth and Food Prices —A Structural VAR Analysis," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124892, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Hazell, Peter B.R., 2012. "Leonard K. Elmhirst Lecture: Options for African Agriculture in an Era of High Food and Energy Prices," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 127070, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Bachewe, Fantu N. & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu S., 2018. "Agricultural Transformation in Africa? Assessing the Evidence in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 286-298.
    17. Ogunlesi, Ayodeji, 2018. "Agricultural Productivity, Fiscal and Trade Policies Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Panel Structural Vector Error Correction Model Analysis," MPRA Paper 90202, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; International Development; Productivity Analysis;
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