3 - The Role of China and Southeast Asia in Africa’s Agricultural Transformation I
Corresponding Author(s) : Arkebe Oqubay
Africa Review of Books,
Vol. 13 No. 2 (2017): Africa Review of Books, volume 13, n° 2, 2017
Abstract
Is the Asian experience more relevant for African renaissance than it is generally assumed? I am alluding to the lessons that could be drawn from a close examination of the transformation that had occurred in the twentieth century in Japan and China, and particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The answer, I argue, must be definitely yes. In each of these countries, positive economic change was preceded by a sustained and successful effort to raise the productivity and income of the majority of the population: the rural poor. In Africa, too, the vast majority of people live in the countryside. And yet agriculture has been a relatively neglected sector in Africa’s overall developmental strategy. When the sector received some attention, the specific policies in many African countries seemed to have been generally misguided. I argue that both of these trends should be corrected. What this also means is that the key for Africa’s economic modernization is to a large extent in the hands of Africa’s leaders. Ultimately, in other words, the improvement of the African condition hinges on the intent of Africans, particularly its leaders.
Keywords
- Adem, Seifudein, 2015, ‘JITSUGAKU’: African Reflections on Japan,’ a keynote address at the Conference on Rethinking African-Asian Relation- ships, Cape Town, South Africa, March 24-26.
- Anshan, Li, 2013, ‘Chinese Experience in Development: Some Implications for Africa,’ in China and Africa in a Global Context, edited by Li Anshan and Liu Haifang, 81-90, Beijing: Center for African Studies, Peking University.
- Brautigam, Deborah, 2016, Will Africa Feed China? New York: Oxford University Press.
- Caporale, Enrico, 2017, ‘A Global Competition for Influence in Ethiopia,’La Stampa (English Edition), March 20; https://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/a-global-competition-for influence-in-ethiopia (accessed July 21, 2017).
- Chakrabarty, Malancha and Vidisha Mishra, 2016, ‘India-Africa Partnership for Food Security: Issues, Initiatives and Policy Directions,’ORF Occa- sional Papers, Observer Research Foundation, June.
- Harrison, Graham, 2016, ‘Rwanda: An Agrarian Developmental State?’ Third World Quarterly, 37: 354-370.
- Matfess, Hilary, 2015, ‘Developmental Authoritarianism in Rwanda and Ethiopia,’ African Studies Review, 58:181-204.
- Mazimhaka, Patrick, 2013, ‘China and Africa: An African View,’ in Stephen Chan, ed., The Morality of China in Africa, London and New York: Zed Books Mazrui, Ali A., and Seifudein Adem, 2013, AFRASIA: A Tale of Two Conti- nents, Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
- Mazrui, Ali A. and A. J. Kaba, 2016, The African Intelligentsia: Domestic Decline and Global Ascent, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
- Okolo, A. L. and J. O. Akwu, 2016, ‘China’s Foreign Direct Investment in Africa’s Land,’ Africa Review, 8:44-59.
- Renne, Elisha, 2017, Personal Correspondence, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 6.
- Tafirenyika, Masimba, 2016, ‘Ethiopia: Fixing Agriculture,’ Africa Renewal, December.
References
Adem, Seifudein, 2015, ‘JITSUGAKU’: African Reflections on Japan,’ a keynote address at the Conference on Rethinking African-Asian Relation- ships, Cape Town, South Africa, March 24-26.
Anshan, Li, 2013, ‘Chinese Experience in Development: Some Implications for Africa,’ in China and Africa in a Global Context, edited by Li Anshan and Liu Haifang, 81-90, Beijing: Center for African Studies, Peking University.
Brautigam, Deborah, 2016, Will Africa Feed China? New York: Oxford University Press.
Caporale, Enrico, 2017, ‘A Global Competition for Influence in Ethiopia,’La Stampa (English Edition), March 20; https://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/a-global-competition-for influence-in-ethiopia (accessed July 21, 2017).
Chakrabarty, Malancha and Vidisha Mishra, 2016, ‘India-Africa Partnership for Food Security: Issues, Initiatives and Policy Directions,’ORF Occa- sional Papers, Observer Research Foundation, June.
Harrison, Graham, 2016, ‘Rwanda: An Agrarian Developmental State?’ Third World Quarterly, 37: 354-370.
Matfess, Hilary, 2015, ‘Developmental Authoritarianism in Rwanda and Ethiopia,’ African Studies Review, 58:181-204.
Mazimhaka, Patrick, 2013, ‘China and Africa: An African View,’ in Stephen Chan, ed., The Morality of China in Africa, London and New York: Zed Books Mazrui, Ali A., and Seifudein Adem, 2013, AFRASIA: A Tale of Two Conti- nents, Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Mazrui, Ali A. and A. J. Kaba, 2016, The African Intelligentsia: Domestic Decline and Global Ascent, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Okolo, A. L. and J. O. Akwu, 2016, ‘China’s Foreign Direct Investment in Africa’s Land,’ Africa Review, 8:44-59.
Renne, Elisha, 2017, Personal Correspondence, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 6.
Tafirenyika, Masimba, 2016, ‘Ethiopia: Fixing Agriculture,’ Africa Renewal, December.