Africa plows a different growth path

Perhaps more so than in other parts of the world, Africa has been jolted by global trade shocks, epidemics, and climate uncertainties in recent years. At the same time, foreign aid has slowed to a trickle. Yet, amid all this, the continent’s one bright spot has been agriculture, which is evolving from subsistence farming into sustainable livelihoods.Investors from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe are putting money into African agriculture, seeding the ability of farmers there to intensify and diversify their crops and livestock with an eye toward processing raw materials for export. These investments signal a shift from resource exploitation by outside interests to an approach that recognizes African countries as reliable producers and trade partners.“African agriculture is rapidly becoming a proving ground for global investment,” according to Bloomberg News. Recent investment deals “blend commercial interests with social development projects such as building infrastructure, creating permanent jobs and sharing technological knowhow.” This framework, Bloomberg observed last October, can improve productivity “for the benefit of the host country and its overseas backers.”Last year, the European Investment Bank deployed one-third of its portfolio in Africa, or €3.1 billion (about $3.57 billion), with an emphasis on improving agriculture value chains. This year, China eliminated tariffs on goods from 53 of 54 African nations, after OK’ing a range of new agricultural imports.Qatar has put in $1.5 billion to improve irrigation in Ghana, helping create an estimated 2,500 jobs. And Angola has signed coproduction agreements for local farmers with Brazil and the United Arab Emirates that will retain 40% of output within the country.These investments are spawning “agripreneurs,” who are turning to digital platforms, communication, and data to enhance productivity and marketing. Analyst Landry Signé of the Washington-based Brookings Institution argues that Africa is well positioned to harness the latest technologies to “leapfrog to new food production methods.” Tech-savvy farmers are boosting employment, trade, and new agriculture-related companies. This mix, The Economist wrote this week, “could be a boon for Africa – and force a rethink of what is meant by farming and manufacturing.”In 2024, the African Development Bank Group estimated the continent’s food and agribusiness industry would surge almost fourfold by 2030, reaching $1 trillion.With a total population greater than that of India or China, Africa has an estimated 60% of the world’s remaining uncultivated yet arable land. Instead of seeking to follow the industrialization paths pursued by Asia and Latin America in recent decades, the continent has an opportunity for a different growth model, one suited to its priorities and potential.