Crop yields fail to rise in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

ABSTRACT: Drawing on a harmonized longitudinal dataset covering more than 55,000 smallholder farms in six African countries, we analyze changes in crop productivity from 2008 to 2019. Because smallholder farmers represent a significant fraction of the world's poorest people, agricultural productivity in this context matters for poverty reduction and for the broader achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our analysis measures productivity trends for nationally representative samples of smallholder crop farmers, using detailed data on agricultural inputs and outputs which we integrate with detailed data on local weather and environmental conditions. In spite of government commitments and international efforts to strengthen African agriculture, we find no evidence that smallholder crop pr

SUBMITTER: Wollburg P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11127011 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature