Agriculture was the foundation of the economy in Ivory Coast and its main source of growth.[1] In 1987 the agricultural sector contributed 35 percent of the country's GDP and 66 percent of its export revenues, provided employment for about two-thirds of the national work force, and generated substantial revenues despite the drop in coffee and cocoa prices.[1] From 1965 to 1980, agricultural GDP grew by an average 4.6 percent per year.[1] Growth of agricultural GDP from coffee, cocoa, and timber production, which totaled nearly 50 percent of Ivory Coast's export revenues, averaged 7 percent a year from 1965 to 1980.[1]
In Ivory Coast 64.8% of the land is agricultural and therefore their economy's foundation is mostly based on their agriculture.[1] Fifty-five percent of their income come from exports of cocoa and coffee which are both agricultural products.[1]
Contributing to this impressive performance were an abundance of fertile land, cheap labor, the collective efforts of many farmers cultivating small plots, relatively favorable commodity prices, and a stable political environment.[1]
History
Earlier in the 1880s and 1890s, the French had conquered and ruled most territories in West Africa and managed them either under the ruling of Senegal or as individual regions. In 1895, the Colonial Ministry in Paris launched a plan to establish the Afrique Occidentale Française (AOF) or the Federation of French West Africa in order to decentralize French authoritative power into Africa so that proper political decisions could be made based on the local modalities. Also, they launched a development project along with the establishment of AOF, named mise en valeur — “rational economic development”, to level up African living standards and fulfill the French imperial needs. A series of actions were executed, including developments in areas of economic trade and market, transportation and communication, African civilians’ legal rights opportunities, and elite projects for the intelligence input into Europe. This Federation of French West Africa included 8 countries: Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Benin.[2]
In order to develop the trade market between Africa and France, and to make AOF as self-supporting territories with returning profits, the same as other preindustrial societies, the French government started with AOF's agricultural development. Not only solving up civilians’ basic food crises, but agricultural surplus could help produce other products and commodities, which facilitates trade and market to flow and function. For example, the yearly massive production of peanuts in West Africa back in the 1980s had reached 5,288,000 metric tons.[3] Due to the huge consumer needs in the United States, they were transported and traded into cities of New York and Boston for direct sale. Meanwhile, such mass production of peanuts was also exported to metropolitan industrial European countries, such as Marseilles and Bordeaux, where they were transformed into soap, wax, and other industrial commodities. As a trade return, some manufactured products were also sold back into West Africa, such as textiles, salt, iron, tobacco, and guns.[4]
However, only a few regions of AOF were qualified to be actively engaged in such cash-corp trade. Preparatory agricultural development in Africa required countries with geographical advantages for crop plantation, opportunities with the exploitation of irrigation systems, coastal benefits for transportation and telecommunication, and the Ivory Coast, also as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, was one of the few with these advantages and opportunities. The president of Ivory Coast seized the opportunity with the funds and technical guidance provided by France to develop their agricultural and industrial sectors by exporting products: “The Ivory Coast has had policies focused on the development of agriculture, with much attention to peasant agriculture and the export sector has been regarded as the main source of growth.” [5]
Firstly, Ivory Coast was geographically suitable for the growth of certain grains such as peanuts, palm-oil, and kernels. Ivory Coast is located on the Gulf of Guinea, between the countries of Liberia and Ghana, with a land area reaching 322,463 kilometers. The Gulf of Guinea is a coastal region situated by the Atlantic Ocean, and its river outlets had drained through almost all West African territories. Small rivers like Sasandra, Bandama, and Comoé are the main outlets from the Niger River that flowed through Ivory Coast. Meanwhile, because West Africa is under the tropical climate with frequent rainy seasons (twice a year), the tropical water over Ivory Coast is of relatively low salinity compared to normal coastal areas. Along with the warm temperature in West Africa, although a rainforest was in the south part of Ivory Coast, which limited the potential agricultural planting area, however, the north part of Ivory Coast were areas with woodlands or savannah, providing fertile soil for crops like peanuts and palm kernels to grow.[6]
Despite the natural geographical advantage of Ivory Coast, the irrigation systems invested by the French government over the Niger Valley had boosted the production of cash-corps as well. The irrigation concept of building dams and systems of irrigation canals was first brought up in Niger Valley in 1918 when cotton was in high demand after WWII. A consortium was convinced that investing in the irrigation system could help turn Western Sudan into a vast cotton plantation and sufficient lower-price cotton products could be imported into France. On March 15, 1924, a policy was carried out by the Governor General of Jules Cardeto to implement the long-term scheme on Niger irrigation systems. Labourers were forced to dig ditches, canal systems and dams to set barrages across rivers and canals to control the flowing direction of the water.[7] Meanwhile, in 1932, the Office du Niger was established as an autonomous department managing the construction of the irrigation system and the settlement of labourers and farmers. The construction of the irrigation system was designed and carried out all by the Office du Niger itself, as Wilde says, “Rather than letting all the administrative services of the French Sudan contribute, each according to its own competence, the Office du Niger became progressively more or less sovereign within the limits of its territory.” Although the Niger project failed due to insufficient labourers in that region, the funds and existing irrigation system still beneficially facilitate the crop production for areas as Ivory Coast and other Niger regions.[8]
Another factor leading to the success of agriculture in Ivory Coast is the development of transportation and telecommunication. After the Industrial Revolution, the French government proposed to bring more advanced techniques into West Africa to facilitate exportations. Roads, railways, and harbors were constructed and telecommunication was reformed.[9] First of all, the Ivory Coast has one of the most prosperous harbors in Western Africa—Abidjan, the capital city of Ivory Coast, also named as “Pearl of the lagoons”. Basically all administrative offices were set in Abidjan, and it was the major stopover place for cash-corp products to be exported to France and where all returned manufactured goods were imported. At the same time, there existed a railway across the southern rainforests and Abidjan was located by savannah, which was the main area for crop production. This railway had reduced a great amount of time for interior commodities transportation. For public telecommunications, international development organizations and NGOs, such as the World Bank, pushed corporatization and privatization for public telecommunications operators in Africa by linking loans to sectors reforming PTTs (Post, Telephone, and Telegraph), helping West African countries to restructure their telecommunications and thus, with commands and instructions being delivered more timely, the cash-corp trade and market became more transparent and efficient.[10]
The Ivory Coast's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at a rate of 7.5% annually during the beginning of the agricultural development era.[11]
Success in the 1960s and 1970s, however, overshadowed major problems developing in the agricultural sector.[1] By the late 1980s, despite efforts to diversify its crops, 55 percent of Ivory Coast's export earnings still came from cocoa and coffee.[1] Moreover, highly volatile world markets for both commodities caused sharp fluctuations in government revenues and made development planning difficult.[1] In addition, Ivory Coast was not yet self-sufficient in food production and imported substantial quantities of rice, wheat, fish, and red meat.[1] Finally, despite an enormous increase in the volume of agricultural output since independence, there was little improvement in agricultural productivity.[1] To achieve higher production figures, traditional farmers using traditional technologies simply cleared more and more land.[1]
A rural scene in Ivory Coast
To overcome Ivory Coast's excessive dependence on coffee and cocoa (the prices for which were set by consumers), on timber (the supply of which was nearly exhausted), and on imported food, the government in the mid-1970s embarked on a series of agricultural diversification and regional development projects with the hope of boosting agricultural production by 4 percent per year.[1] The plan, estimated to cost CFA F100 billion per annum (with just over 50 percent coming from foreign lenders) would allow the country to become self-sufficient in food (with the exception of wheat) and expand the production of rubber, cotton, sugar, bananas, pineapples, and tropical oils.[1]
In spite of these efforts, the agricultural sector appeared unable to adapt to changing conditions.[1] Distortions in the system of incentives reduced the comparative advantage of alternative crops.[1] The vast revenues collected by the CSSPPA were often spent on marginally profitable investments, like the costly sugar complexes or expensive land clearing programs.[1] Finally, some diversification crops, like coconut and palm oil, faced new threats as health-conscious consumers in the United States and Europe began turning away from tropical oils. Consequently, the future for Ivorian agriculture was uncertain.[1]
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture and cotton. Cotton accounts for 40% of Benin's GDP and roughly 80% of official export receipts. There is also production of textiles, palm products, and cocoa beans. Maize (corn), beans, rice, peanuts, cashews, pineapples, cassava, yams, and other various tubers are grown for local subsistence. Benin began producing a modest quantity of offshore oil in October 1982. Production ceased in recent years but exploration of new sites is ongoing.
The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
The economy of Mali is based to a large extent upon agriculture, with a mostly rural population engaged in subsistence agriculture.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Niger was $16.617 billion US dollars in 2023, according to official data from the World Bank. This data is based largely on internal markets, subsistence agriculture, and the export of raw commodities: foodstuffs to neighbors and raw minerals to world markets. Niger, a landlocked West African nation that straddles the Sahel, has consistently been ranked on the bottom of the Human Development Index, at 0.394 as of 2019. It has a very low per capita income, and ranks among the least developed and most heavily indebted countries in the world, despite having large raw commodities and a relatively stable government and society not currently affected by civil war or terrorism. Economic activity centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, re-export trade, and export of uranium.
The economy of Togo has struggled greatly. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks it as the tenth poorest country in the world, with development undercut by political instability, lowered commodity prices, and external debts. While industry and services play a role, the economy is dependent on subsistence agriculture, with industrialization and regional banking suffering major setbacks.
Maize, cassava, guinea corn, and yam are the major crops farmed in Nigeria, with 70% of the households engaged in crop farming. In the south, 7.3% of the households practice fishing, while 69.3% of the households own or raise livestock in northwest Nigeria.
In 2004, agriculture and forestry accounted for 21.8 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP), and between 1994 and 2004, the sector grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent. Agriculture's share of economic output has declined in recent years, falling as a share of GDP from 42% in 1989 to 26% in 1999, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen. However, agricultural employment was much higher than agriculture's share of GDP; in 2005, approximately 60 percent of the employed labor force was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Agricultural products accounted for 30 percent of exports in 2005. The relaxation of the state monopoly on rice exports transformed the country into the world's second or third largest rice exporter. Other cash crops are coffee, cotton, peanuts, rubber, sugarcane, and tea.
Nicaragua produces coffee, cotton, bananas, sugar and beef cattle.
Agriculture in Colombia refers to all agricultural activities, essential to food, feed, and fiber production, including all techniques for raising and processing livestock within the Republic of Colombia. Plant cultivation and livestock production have continuously abandoned subsistence agricultural practices in favour of technological farming resulting in cash crops which contribute to the economy of Colombia. The Colombian agricultural production has significant gaps in domestic and/or international human and animal sustenance needs.
Agriculture in Indonesia is one of the key sectors within the Indonesian economy. In the last 50 years, the sector's share in national gross domestic product has decreased considerably, due to the rise of industrialisation and service sector. Nevertheless, for the majority of Indonesian households, farming and plantation remains as a vital income generator. In 2013, the agricultural sector contributed 14.43% to national GDP, a slight decline from 2003's contribution which was 15.19%. In 2012, the agricultural sector provides jobs to approximately 49 million Indonesians, representing 41% of the country's total labor force.
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.
Agriculture in Ethiopia is the foundation of the country's economy, accounting for half of gross domestic product (GDP), 83.9% of exports, and 80% of total employment.
Agriculture continued to be the mainstay of the economy of Haiti in the late 1980s; it employed approximately 66 percent of the labor force and accounted for about 35 percent of GDP and for 24 percent of exports in 1987. The role of agriculture in the economy has declined severely since the 1950s, when the sector employed 80 percent of the labor force, represented 50 percent of GDP, and contributed 90 percent of exports. Many factors have contributed to this decline. Some of the major ones included the continuing fragmentation of landholdings, low levels of agricultural technology, migration out of rural areas, insecure land tenure, a lack of capital investment, high commodity taxes, the low productivity of undernourished animals, plant diseases, and inadequate infrastructure. Neither the government nor the private sector invested much in rural ventures; in FY 1989 only 5 percent of the national budget went to the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development. As Haiti entered the 1990s, however, the main challenge to agriculture was not economic, but ecological. Extreme deforestation, soil erosion, droughts, flooding, and the ravages of other natural disasters had all led to a critical environmental situation.
Agriculture employs the majority of Madagascar's population. Mainly involving smallholders, agriculture has seen different levels of state organisation, shifting from state control to a liberalized sector.
Benin is predominantly a rural society, and agriculture in Benin supports more than 70% of the population. Agriculture contributes around 35% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 80% of export income. While the Government of Benin (GOB) aims to diversify its agricultural production, Benin remains underdeveloped, and its economy is underpinned by subsistence agriculture. Approximately 93% of total agricultural production goes into food production. The proportion of the population living in poverty is about 35.2%, with more rural households in poverty (38.4%) than urban households (29.8%). 36% of households depend solely upon agricultural (crop) production for income, and another 30% depend on crop production, livestock, or fishing for income.
The economy of Ivory Coast is stable and currently growing, in the aftermath of political instability in recent decades. The Ivory Coast's economy is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Almost 70% of the Ivorian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. GDP per capita grew 82% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 360% in the 1970s, but this proved unsustainable and it shrank by 28% in the 1980s and a further 22% in the 1990s. This decline, coupled with high population growth, resulted in a steady fall in living standards. The Gross national product per capita, now rising again, was about US$727 in 1996. It was substantially higher two decades before.
Agriculture in Sudan plays an important role in that country's economy. Agriculture and livestock raising are the main sources of livelihood for most of the Sudanese population. It was estimated that, as of 2011, 80 percent of the labor force were employed in that sector, including 84 percent of the women and 64 percent of the men.
The role of agriculture in the Bolivian economy in the late 1980s expanded as the collapse of the tin industry forced the country to diversify its productive and export base. Agricultural production as a share of GDP was approximately 23 percent in 1987, compared with 30 percent in 1960 and a low of just under 17 percent in 1979. The recession of the 1980s, along with unfavorable weather conditions, particularly droughts and floods, hampered output. Agriculture employed about 46 percent of the country's labor force in 1987. Most production, with the exception of coca, focused on the domestic market and self-sufficiency in food. Agricultural exports accounted for only about 15 percent of total exports in the late 1980s, depending on weather conditions and commodity prices for agricultural goods, hydrocarbons, and minerals.
Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an industry in the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has plenty of potential.
↑ Conklin, Alice L. A Mission to Civilize: the Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895-1930. Stanford University Press, 2015.
↑ Revoredo, C. L. & Fletcher, S. M. World peanut market: an overview of the past 30 years. Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station Research, 2002.
↑ Brooks, George E. “Peanuts and Colonialism: Consequences of the Commercialization of Peanuts in West Africa, 1830–70.” The Journal of African History, vol. 16, no. 1, 1975.
↑ Foster, Philip, and Aristide R. Zolberg. Ghana and the Ivory Coast: Perspectives on Modernization:University of Chicago Press, 1971.
↑ Ehui, Simeon K. Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment in the Humid Tropics. National Academy Press, 1993.
↑ Thomas, Martin. The French Empire between the Wars: Imperialism, Politics and Society. Manchester University Press, 2007.
↑ Wilde, J.C de. Experiences with Agricultural Development in Tropical Africa. The Johns Hopkins Press, 1967.
↑ Curry-Machado, Jonathan. Global Histories, Imperial Commodities, Local Interactions. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2013.
↑ Noam, Eli M. Telecommunications in Africa. Oxford University Press, 1999.
↑ Arnold, Guy. Political and Economic Encyclopedia of Africa. Longman, 1993.
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