View article

This paper provides an overview of agricultural and economic characteristics of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), in comparison with other developing regions and the opportunities which the mediumterm outlook holds for SSA’s small holder farmers. Seizing these opportunities will depend on shifting from extensive to intensive production systems. The paper reiterates a key conclusion of IFAD’s 2011 Rural Poverty Report: the ability of SSA’s smallholder farmers to increase on-farm investments in productivity is constrained by their capacity to manage the risk-return trade-offs in moving towards intensified agriculture.

Risks are often specific to different types of supply chains. Generally speaking, smallholders in disbursed supply chains (cereals, rice) are exposed to a larger number of business risks and lower returns than those operating in integrated markets (fair trade cocoa, specialty coffee) where risks are more widely shared among supply chain actors. While there remains a need for more rigorous evaluation of the relative impacts on livelihoods of participating farmers, experience under IFAD-financed projects which aim to move farmers towards greater market integration has generally confirmed significant, positive impacts on both the level and stability of incomes of participating smallholders. However, evidence on the ground is highlighting that these investments, of themselves, are not sufficient in most cases for farmers to move effectively from a dependence on dispersed staple crop markets towards more integrated market opportunities.