Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis

Evidence assembled in this special issue of Food Policy shows that rising rural population densities in parts of Africa are profoundly affecting farming systems and the region’s economies in ways that are underappreciated in current discourse on African development issues. This study synthesizes how...

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Main Authors: Jayne, Thomas S., Chamberlin, Jordan, Headey, Derek D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149727
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author Jayne, Thomas S.
Chamberlin, Jordan
Headey, Derek D.
author_browse Chamberlin, Jordan
Headey, Derek D.
Jayne, Thomas S.
author_facet Jayne, Thomas S.
Chamberlin, Jordan
Headey, Derek D.
author_sort Jayne, Thomas S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Evidence assembled in this special issue of Food Policy shows that rising rural population densities in parts of Africa are profoundly affecting farming systems and the region’s economies in ways that are underappreciated in current discourse on African development issues. This study synthesizes how people, markets and governments are responding to rising land pressures in Africa, drawing on key findings from the various contributions in this special issue. The papers herein revisit the issue of Boserupian agricultural intensification as an important response to land constraints, but they also go further than Boserup and her followers to explore broader responses to land constraints, including non-farm diversification, migration, and reduced fertility rates. Agricultural and rural development strategies in the region will need to more fully anticipate the implications of Africa’s rapidly changing land and demographic situation, and the immense challenges that mounting land pressures pose in the context of current evidence of unsustainable agricultural intensification, a rapidly rising labor force associated with the region’s current demographic conditions, and limited nonfarm job creation. These challenges are manageable but will require explicit policy actions to address the unique development challenges in densely populated rural areas.
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spelling CGSpace1497272024-10-25T08:05:10Z Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis Jayne, Thomas S. Chamberlin, Jordan Headey, Derek D. structural adjustment demographic transition agricultural policies soil fertility population density sustainable intensification land farm size poverty reduction Evidence assembled in this special issue of Food Policy shows that rising rural population densities in parts of Africa are profoundly affecting farming systems and the region’s economies in ways that are underappreciated in current discourse on African development issues. This study synthesizes how people, markets and governments are responding to rising land pressures in Africa, drawing on key findings from the various contributions in this special issue. The papers herein revisit the issue of Boserupian agricultural intensification as an important response to land constraints, but they also go further than Boserup and her followers to explore broader responses to land constraints, including non-farm diversification, migration, and reduced fertility rates. Agricultural and rural development strategies in the region will need to more fully anticipate the implications of Africa’s rapidly changing land and demographic situation, and the immense challenges that mounting land pressures pose in the context of current evidence of unsustainable agricultural intensification, a rapidly rising labor force associated with the region’s current demographic conditions, and limited nonfarm job creation. These challenges are manageable but will require explicit policy actions to address the unique development challenges in densely populated rural areas. 2014 2024-08-01T02:49:50Z 2024-08-01T02:49:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149727 en Open Access Elsevier Jayne, Thomas S.; Chamberlin, Jordan; and Headey, Derek D. 2014. Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis. Food Policy 48(October 2014): 1-17. Special Issue on Boserup and Beyond: Mounting Land Pressures and Development Strategies in Africa. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.05.014
spellingShingle structural adjustment
demographic transition
agricultural policies
soil fertility
population density
sustainable intensification
land
farm size
poverty reduction
Jayne, Thomas S.
Chamberlin, Jordan
Headey, Derek D.
Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title_full Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title_fullStr Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title_full_unstemmed Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title_short Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis
title_sort land pressures the evolution of farming systems and development strategies in africa a synthesis
topic structural adjustment
demographic transition
agricultural policies
soil fertility
population density
sustainable intensification
land
farm size
poverty reduction
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149727
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