504
A. Vushe
solutions that include institutional support and enforcement of regulations for effective management of communally shared resources like pastures and water, especially
in cases where administrative and river basin boundaries overlap.
Rukuni (1997) stated that the chronic inability of smallholder farmers to represent their economic interests in the political process is cause for serious concern,
particularly in societies with both commercial and independent agriculture sectors.
Factors that support the production and product markets of commercial farmers are
better represented in the national economy. Similarly, institutions that serve agriculture are also historically better suited for the needs of large-scale agriculture. But in
sub-Saharan Africa, the next-generation agricultural population will be younger with
smaller areas of land to farm (FAO 2016). Hence, research is required to improve and
modernize transport, storage, and processing, and build marketing capability costeffectively for smallholder farmers. How can cost-effective financing methods, like
micro-credit schemes, be tailored to support smallholder farming? Micro-finance
schemes could be the decisive factor for sustained adoption and sustainable lowcost mechanization in Africa for supporting production, marketing, and processing
of produce from small-scale farms. This includes devising practical methods that
enable African smallholder farmers to consistently produce high-quality products
that can generate high market value (Rukuni 1997), and hence complement and/or
compete in global markets, currently dominated by large-scale commercial farmers
and multinational corporations. In West Africa, cocoa is produced predominantly
by smallholder farmers on six million hectares, and this provides about 70% of the
global cocoa production (Mfegue 2018). Probably, with the aid of research, extension, and well-coordinated marketing, African smallholder farmers may supply more
products into the global markets by commercializing and consistently supplying new
indigenous organic crop and animal products.
5 Commercializing and Mechanizing Indigenous African
Small-Scale Farming
Small-scale farming is expected to dominate agriculture in Africa. With the world’s
fastest growing population, per person land availability in Africa continues to dwindle
and hence efficient food production technologies are needed to meet the region’s
nutritional needs while also preserving the integrity and health of land resources
(UNEP 2016). This requires injection of innovation to increase productivity and adaptation to climatic, socioeconomic, and political turbulence. The agriculture sector is
the major employer in many African countries; unfortunately, the majority are smallscale peasant farmers with land ranging 1–3 ha (FAO 2016). Smallholder family farms
are often more productive than larger units in terms of yield per hectare and profit
per hectare and therefore have greater potential for alleviating poverty, hunger, and
unemployment (Hazell et al. 2006). Hence, appropriate agricultural technologies that
improve productivity and reduce the drudgery of farm work, development of finance
A. Vushe
solutions that include institutional support and enforcement of regulations for effective management of communally shared resources like pastures and water, especially
in cases where administrative and river basin boundaries overlap.
Rukuni (1997) stated that the chronic inability of smallholder farmers to represent their economic interests in the political process is cause for serious concern,
particularly in societies with both commercial and independent agriculture sectors.
Factors that support the production and product markets of commercial farmers are
better represented in the national economy. Similarly, institutions that serve agriculture are also historically better suited for the needs of large-scale agriculture. But in
sub-Saharan Africa, the next-generation agricultural population will be younger with
smaller areas of land to farm (FAO 2016). Hence, research is required to improve and
modernize transport, storage, and processing, and build marketing capability costeffectively for smallholder farmers. How can cost-effective financing methods, like
micro-credit schemes, be tailored to support smallholder farming? Micro-finance
schemes could be the decisive factor for sustained adoption and sustainable lowcost mechanization in Africa for supporting production, marketing, and processing
of produce from small-scale farms. This includes devising practical methods that
enable African smallholder farmers to consistently produce high-quality products
that can generate high market value (Rukuni 1997), and hence complement and/or
compete in global markets, currently dominated by large-scale commercial farmers
and multinational corporations. In West Africa, cocoa is produced predominantly
by smallholder farmers on six million hectares, and this provides about 70% of the
global cocoa production (Mfegue 2018). Probably, with the aid of research, extension, and well-coordinated marketing, African smallholder farmers may supply more
products into the global markets by commercializing and consistently supplying new
indigenous organic crop and animal products.
5 Commercializing and Mechanizing Indigenous African
Small-Scale Farming
Small-scale farming is expected to dominate agriculture in Africa. With the world’s
fastest growing population, per person land availability in Africa continues to dwindle
and hence efficient food production technologies are needed to meet the region’s
nutritional needs while also preserving the integrity and health of land resources
(UNEP 2016). This requires injection of innovation to increase productivity and adaptation to climatic, socioeconomic, and political turbulence. The agriculture sector is
the major employer in many African countries; unfortunately, the majority are smallscale peasant farmers with land ranging 1–3 ha (FAO 2016). Smallholder family farms
are often more productive than larger units in terms of yield per hectare and profit
per hectare and therefore have greater potential for alleviating poverty, hunger, and
unemployment (Hazell et al. 2006). Hence, appropriate agricultural technologies that
improve productivity and reduce the drudgery of farm work, development of finance