Citation
(2008), "Crisis, what crisis?", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 57 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2008.07957gab.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Crisis, what crisis?
Article Type: News From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 57, Issue 7
The world is facing a food crisis – too much demand and not enough supply. There have been quite a few explanations for this but one contributing factor is the disastrously low productivity of African agriculture.
Yields per hectare in sub-Saharan Africa are only about one-third those in Asia. They are one-tenth of American yields. The current crisis would vanish if African productivity could rise to Asian levels – never mind US levels.
This situation is not the fault of African farmers – they work the land as well as they can. The problem is that they are using the technologies and systems of centuries ago. They need help coming into the modern era – and they need it quickly. Otherwise we all suffer.