World Food Policy Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 6

Africa’s Structural Transformation Challenge and the Role of Agriculture

address the remaining rural poverty. In
2008, the food price crisis led to a renewed
interest in agriculture: a multiplication
of investment projects and increased
foreign direct investments (FDI) into
agriculture on the African continent has
been observed (UNCTAD 2009). Yet,
there is a great need to take stock of the
real outcomes for and intentions of all
those involved.
Thirdly,
beyond
economic
development
and
agricultural
production, employment is also a burning
issue on the African continent. Due to a
booming labor force, the question of the
sectors of absorption of growing cohorts
of youth challenges public policies. This
employment challenge is recognized
by the international community, as
evidenced by the recent publication of
numerous reference documents—such
as the World Bank’s World Development
Report (WDR) (2013) focusing on
employment (World Bank 2012)—and
many of them focus on the very specific
situation of Africa, and more precisely
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), like the
African Economic Outlook 2012 (AfdB,
OECD and UNDP 2012) or the special
report on African youth employment
(Filmer and Fox 2014).1

The objective of this paper is to
discuss these observations in the context
of Africa’s structural transformation.

The paper recapitulates first the specifics
of African structural transformation
(Section 1), its consequences on the
employment challenge, and points
to the remaining and long-lasting
importance of the rural sector. It
particularly highlights the challenge of
agricultural development which is the
frontline for food security of a growing
population and a major opportunity for
generating incomes and contributing
to poverty alleviation (Section 2). The
paper then puts in perspective the
present interventions and dynamics in
agriculture and impacts on the rural
sector. To do so, it reviews Chinese
interventions, investments, and public
aid (Section 3). Finally, in the framework
of Africa’s structural transformation,
the paper addresses the evolving role of
Chinese cooperation in the rural sector—
between increasing implications in the
policy dialogue or withdrawal toward a
business-only perspective—and stresses
its uncertainties and limitations (Section
4).

I - Characteristics of the African
“structural equation”

S

SA is very specific because its
structural transformation has been
lagging when compared to other
regions of the world.2 It has experienced

1

See also the ILO report on employment trends for youth (ILO 2012), the report of the Africa Commission on the potential of African youth (Africa Commission 2009), the work of the FAO on the employment of rural youth (Van der Geest 2010), Losch (2012; 2013), and Brooks et al. (2013).
2
The process of structural transformation refers to the change in the sectorial and spatial distribution of
economic activities. Its stylized summary shows a gradual transition from an agriculture-based economy to one based on industry and then on services, and hence from rural to urban areas. It is illustrated
by the evolution pathway followed by European economies (and countries of European settlement) and
replicated in several other parts of the world.

5