Rainfall the dominant influence on agricultural output varies greatly among Africa's fifty-six countries. Without irrigation, agriculture requires a reliable annual rainfall of more than 30 inches (75 centimeters). Portions of Africa have serious problems from lack of rainfall, such as increasing desertification and periods of drought.
Food output has declined, with per capita food production 10 percent less in the 1990's than it was in the 1980's. In most African countries, however, more than 50 percent, and often 80 percent, of the population works in agriculture, mostly subsistence agriculture. Large portions of the continent, such as Mali and the Sudan, have the potential of becoming granaries to much of the continent and producing considerable food exports.
Traditional African Agriculture
Traditionally, agriculture in Africa has been subsistence farming in small plots. It has been labor-intensive, relying upon family members. New land for farming was obtained by the slash-and-burn method (shifting cultivation). The trees in a forested area would be cut down and burned where they fell. The ashes from the burned trees fertilized the soil. Both men and women worked at such farming. Slash-and-burn agriculture is common not only in Africa but also in tropical areas around the world. In areas of heavy rainfall, the rains wash out the nutrients from soil and burned trees in a period of two to three years.
The crops grown depend upon the region. In the very dry, yet habitable, parts of Africa such as the Sudano Sahelian region that stretches from Senegal and Mali in the west of Africa to the Sudan in the east a key subsistence crop is green millet, a grain. Ground into a type of flour, it can be made into a bread-like substance. In moister areas, traditional crops are root and tuber crops, such as yams and cassava. Cassava has an outer surface or skin that is poisonous, but it can be treated to remove the poison. The tuber then can be ground and used to make a bread-like substance. Other important traditional crops are rice and corn, which were introduced by Europeans when they came to Africa.
Animal husbandry, or semi nomadic herding, is another form of traditional agriculture. Problems that have arisen with this type of agriculture are the availability of water and grass or hay for cattle. Regions that are very moist, such as the Gulf of Guinea, which has rain forest, are not good for cattle because of the tsetse fly, which carries diseases such as sleeping sickness.
Crops
The most widely grown crop is rice, which is grown on more than one-third of the irrigated crop area in Africa. Cultivated mostly in wetlands and valley bottoms, rice is the most common crop in the humid areas of the Gulf of Guinea and Eastern Africa. It is also grown on the plateaus of Madagascar. In the northern and southern regions, rice represents only a small portion of the total crops under water management. Wheat and corn are cultivated and irrigated, mostly in Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Sudan, and Somalia.
Vegetables, including root and tuber crops, are present in all regions and almost every country. Vegetables are grown on about 8 percent of the cultivated areas under water management. In Algeria, Mauritania, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda, they are the most widespread crops under water management. Arboriculture (growing of fruit trees), which represents 5 percent of the total irrigated crops, is concentrated in the northern region and consists mostly of citrus fruits. Commercial crops (for cash and export) are grown mostly in the Sudan and in the countries of the southern region and consist mostly of cotton and oilseeds. Other commercial crops in Africa are sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, oil and date palm, bananas, tobacco, and cut flowers. Sugarcane is grown in all countries except in the northern region. The other commercial crops are concentrated in a few countries.
North Africa
In Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, the region's agricultural resources are limited by its dry climate.
Continue of the article: North Africa
Sudano-Sahelian Region
This region comprises Mauritania, the western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Sudan.
Continue of the article: Sudano-Sahelian Region
Gulf of Guinea
This region comprises Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'lvoire, Togo, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria.
Continue of the article: Gulf of Guinea
Central Region
This region comprises the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Continue of the article: Central Region
Eastern Region
This region comprises Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Continue of the article: Eastern Region
Indian Ocean Islands
This region comprises Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros, and the Seychelles.
Continue of the article: Indian Ocean Islands
|
