For Africa’s farmers it’s government, not big business, that is key

by Oliver Balch

A farmer plants lettuce in Niger: many farmers in Africa are smallholders who don’t have access to technology that could raise their yields. (Photo: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

Africa’s agriculture sector is on the up, but African farmers still produce far less food per hectare than the world average. Panelists at a Guardian public debate agreed that government, not corporate, leadership is the critical input that agricultural sectors need to develop.

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