Essay On Agricultural Productivity In Africa

Objectives:

1) To understand the market situation and identify viable market segment and consumer needs.

2) To identify solutions those have the potential to address the consumer needs.

Let us start by providing our reasoning behind choosing this topic (i.e. Agricultural productivity in Africa). This topic has a rare blend of focus areas that include key business concepts such as:

1) Environmental sustainability

2) Technology and Infrastructure

3) Macro-economic and global impact

Prior to reviewing the market overview, let us take a look at the global impact.

The world’s population is on a rise and is estimated to reach 9.6 billion people in 2050 (according to United Nations) and to meet the food needs of this population estimate; agricultural production will have to increase by 70 percent. Hence, improving the agricultural productivity in Africa can have a local and global impact.

Market Overview and Consumer Needs:

The target market we have chosen is smallholder farmers (i.e. owning just one or two hectares of land) in Africa.

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. About 65% of total labor force is employed in agriculture and more than half a billion or 65% to 80% of population, which is engaged in agriculture, depends upon small scale farming. However, agriculture in Africa contributes to approximately 32% of GDP. This shows that there is very low productivity in agriculture sector. According to an International Food Policy Research Institute study, the agricultural sector’s growth has not been in par with the national economic growth.

While there are several factors that contribute to the low agriculture productivity in Africa, we will focus on two key factors.

a. Lack of infrastructure,...

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...ultural and business entity. This consolidation will have several benefits including a) economies of scale while purchasing seeds, fertilizers etc. b) improved negotiating leverage with middlemen and other customers c) improved agricultural yield. The financial gain for the consortium is defined as follows: 15% of all profits can be attributed to the consortium and the remaining 85% can be split between the farmers.

d. Consulting:

We can establish a consulting practice and provide guidance to the governments and private organizations that are interested in investing in agriculture. Consultants can be sourced across the globe, especially from developing markets like India.

Summary:

In summary, if the farming community, private and public sectors come together in Africa, a mutually beneficial framework can be implemented thereby enhancing the livelihood of farmers.