The era of sustainable agricultural development in Africa: Understanding the benefits and constraints

Abstract

Sustainable agriculture has the potential to address some of the fundamental challenges facing agricultural practices in Africa especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The agriculture sector plays an important role as the engine of economic growth in SSA. In this article, we ask the following key question: Can sustainable agriculture save Africa from poverty and food insecurity? To address this fundamental question, we examine and critique evidence of the benefits and challenges associated with the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Africa. Improving agricultural sustainability is fundamental to food security and poverty reduction, particularly in achieving elements of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030, but it will not solve all these problems alone. In consort, African governments and the international community must increase their efforts in tackling problems such as conflicts, civil war, political instability, and disease. Therefore, agricultural policy at the national, regional, and local levels and institutional reforms must be designed to benefit food security, poverty reduction, and income growth at the household level.