The Role of China and Southeast Asia in Africa’s Agricultural Transformation I

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.