Vol. 112 No. 1 (2018)
Reviews

Sub-Saharan agriculture and migrations

1981: "camp of refugees from Ogaden (Ethiopia) in Ali Sabieh (Rep. of Djibouti)". Photo: A. Giordano

Published 2018-06-28

How to Cite

Giordano, A. (2018). Sub-Saharan agriculture and migrations. Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development (JAEID), 112(1), 185–237. https://doi.org/10.12895/jaeid.20181.781

Abstract

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the rural population accounts for 70% of the total population and the family farming for 80% of all agricultural enterprises. It would seem logical to think that an unprofitable agriculture is responsible for the migration phenomenon. This is in part certainly true, but numerous other causes contribute to the phenomenon. However considering the current sub-Saharan situation, family farming structured in cooperatives still remains the most suitable land management model to achieve social, economic and ecological integration. On the contrary, we have to note that the commercial agriculture with the monocultures and in the recent past the Green Revolution and the GMOs have not achieved this integration which is fundamental for development. The migratory phenomenon (internal and external to Africa) with its many causes is part of a complex framework where in the background the low profitability of family farming and the precarious availability of arable land impend with the inherent conflicting situations. The proposals presented in the paper concern the management and technical enhancement of the family farming, with the hope that they will be supported by local Governments, International Organizations and the NGO. We are conscious that what is indicated in the proposals will certainly not stop the migration phenomenon but could make it more aware and hence reduce it. In the conclusion is reaffirmed the role of cooperatives as main actors for implementing managerial and technological innovations and therefore for the development of agriculture and consequently for the geo-political stabilization of the sub-Saharan area.