Crop Profiles of Sub-Saharan Africa
Motivation: This project was motivated by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) newly launched study on income inequality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In these countries, up to 60-70 percent of labour is employed in agriculture, yet it generates only 25-30 percent of GDP. Additionally, yields have remained basically stagnant throughout the region despite rising population growth, such that today these countries produce 30 percent less food per person than in 1960s.
Low agricultural productivity is largely attributed to low fertilizer use, limited access to irrigation facilities, limited adoption of technological change, urban bias development policies leading to poor investment in agriculture, high agricultural tax rates, and other nations' (specifically Western nations) adverse trade regimes.
This project, in line with the UNDP study, calls for an "Agricultural Renaissance" to reexamine the fundamental role of agriculture in the overall development process.
Low agricultural productivity is largely attributed to low fertilizer use, limited access to irrigation facilities, limited adoption of technological change, urban bias development policies leading to poor investment in agriculture, high agricultural tax rates, and other nations' (specifically Western nations) adverse trade regimes.
This project, in line with the UNDP study, calls for an "Agricultural Renaissance" to reexamine the fundamental role of agriculture in the overall development process.
About This Work: The goal of this work is to give users a chance to interactively explore the agricultural landscape of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and how they relate to key indicators of agricultural productivity and income inequality. Below is a series of vertical panes, each representing a country in sub-Saharan Africa. These 'Country Panes' are composed out of images depicting that country's crop distribution (for the most recent year of 2014).
Key Metrics:
Agriculture value added per worker (constant 2010 US$)
Fertilizer consumption (kilograms per hectare of arable land)
'Gini' Coeficient - A Measure of Income Inequality
Key Metrics:
Agriculture value added per worker (constant 2010 US$)
Fertilizer consumption (kilograms per hectare of arable land)
'Gini' Coeficient - A Measure of Income Inequality
Data and sources for this project can be found here.
Scroll Down to Explore the Data.
