IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v9y2020i3p68-d326123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Drivers of Maize Area Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. How Policies to Boost Maize Production Overlook the Interests of Smallholder Farmers

Author

Listed:
  • Romy Santpoort

    (The Netherlands Land Academy, Utrecht University, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Maize has become the second most produced crop in the world. Specifically, in sub-Saharan Africa, global statistics show that more and more land is being used for (small-scale) maize production to meet future food demands. From 2007 to 2017, the area on which maize is grown in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by almost 60%. This rate of expansion is considered unsustainable and is expected to come at the expense of crop diversity and the environment. Based on available literature, this paper explores the political and economic processes that contributed to the increased use of land for maize production in sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses population growth as an important driver. Moreover, it unravels some of the politics and narratives triggered by climate change that have paved the way for policy measures that aimed to boost maize production in the region. These measures, which often emphasize the need for increased production, the need for new technologies and resource scarcity, overlook the largest group of maize producers that are least powerful, but most crucial for food security in sub-Saharan Africa: smallholder farmers.

Suggested Citation

  • Romy Santpoort, 2020. "The Drivers of Maize Area Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. How Policies to Boost Maize Production Overlook the Interests of Smallholder Farmers," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:3:p:68-:d:326123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/3/68/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/3/68/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the global south," Post-Print hal-02875924, HAL.
    2. Porteous, Obie, 2017. "Empirical effects of short-term export bans: The case of African maize," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 17-26.
    3. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T. S., 2017. "Does Farm Structure Matter? The Effects of Farmland Distribution Patterns on Rural Household Incomes," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 275685, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    4. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Cunguara, Benedito & Muyanga, Milu & Mangisoni, Julius, 2017. "A comparative political economic analysis of maize sector policies in eastern and southern Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 243-255.
    5. Smale, Melinda & Byerlee, Derek & Jayne, Thom S., 2011. "Maize Revolutions in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 202592, Egerton University, Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development.
    6. Xinshen Diao & Adam Kennedy, 2016. "Economywide Impact of Maize Export Bans on Agricultural Growth and Household Welfare in Tanzania: A Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Model Analysis," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(1), pages 101-134, January.
    7. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the global south," Post-Print hal-02875924, HAL.
    8. Blessings Chinsinga, 2011. "Seeds and Subsidies: The Political Economy of Input Programmes in Malawi," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(4), pages 59-68, July.
    9. T.S. Jayne & Jordan Chamberlin & Lulama Traub & Nicholas Sitko & Milu Muyanga & Felix K. Yeboah & Ward Anseeuw & Antony Chapoto & Ayala Wineman & Chewe Nkonde & Richard Kachule, 2016. "Africa's changing farm size distribution patterns: the rise of medium-scale farms," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 197-214, November.
    10. Dawson, Neil & Martin, Adrian & Sikor, Thomas, 2016. "Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications of Imposed Innovation for the Wellbeing of Rural Smallholders," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 204-218.
    11. Tsedeke Abate & Bekele Shiferaw & Abebe Menkir & Dagne Wegary & Yilma Kebede & Kindie Tesfaye & Menale Kassie & Gezahegn Bogale & Berhanu Tadesse & Tolera Keno, 2015. "Factors that transformed maize productivity in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(5), pages 965-981, October.
    12. Birner, Regina & Resnick, Danielle, 2010. "The Political Economy of Policies for Smallholder Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1442-1452, October.
    13. Saturnino M. Borras & Jennifer C. Franco, 2018. "The challenge of locating land-based climate change mitigation and adaptation politics within a social justice perspective: towards an idea of agrarian climate justice," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(7), pages 1308-1325, July.
    14. Mathieu Boche & Ward Anseeuw & T. Kapuya & S. Aubin & I. Sunga, 2012. "Global Land Deals," Post-Print hal-03072578, HAL.
    15. Ward Anseeuw & Mathieu Boche & Thomas Breu & Markus Giger & Jann Lay & Peter Messerli & Kerstin Nolte, 2012. "Transnational land deals for agriculture in the global south," Working Papers hal-02875924, HAL.
    16. Vanhaute, Eric, 2009. "From famine to food crisis. What history can teach us about local and global subsistence crises," MPRA Paper 17630, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Jessica Chu, 2011. "Gender and ‘Land Grabbing’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Women's land rights and customary land tenure," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 54(1), pages 35-39, March.
    18. T. S. Jayne & Robert J. Myers & James Nyoro, 2008. "The effects of NCPB marketing policies on maize market prices in Kenya," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 38(3), pages 313-325, May.
    19. Franco, Jennifer C. & Borras, Saturnino M., 2019. "Grey areas in green grabbing: subtle and indirect interconnections between climate change politics and land grabs and their implications for research," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 192-199.
    20. German, Laura & Schoneveld, George & Mwangi, Esther, 2013. "Contemporary Processes of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Legal Deficiency or Elite Capture of the Rule of Law?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-18.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kruseman, Gideon & Dermawan, Ahmad & Diagne, Mandiaye & Enahoro, Dolapo & Frija, Aymen & Gatto, Marcel & Gbegbelegbe, Sika & Komarek, Adam M. & Mausch, Kai & Mottaleb, Khondoker, 2021. "Foresight for income and employment: What can we learn for agricultural research for development," SocArXiv 783rw, Center for Open Science.
    2. Eric Owusu Danquah & Yacob Beletse & Richard Stirzaker & Christopher Smith & Stephen Yeboah & Patricia Oteng-Darko & Felix Frimpong & Stella Ama Ennin, 2020. "Monitoring and Modelling Analysis of Maize ( Zea mays L.) Yield Gap in Smallholder Farming in Ghana," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Mensah, Charles & Enahoro, Dolapo, 2022. "Modeling poultry and maize sector interactions in Southern Africa under a changing climate," SocArXiv ehd3j, Center for Open Science.
    4. Manuela Teixeira & Eduardo Feijão & Luís Catarino & Ana Rita Matos & Andreia Figueiredo & Jorge Marques da Silva, 2021. "Exploring Local Maize Diversity for Increased Agricultural Sustainability: New Insights into Drought Stress Response and Recovery of Guinea-Bissau Landraces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Sung Kyu Kim & Fiona Marshall & Neil M. Dawson, 2022. "Revisiting Rwanda’s agricultural intensification policy: benefits of embracing farmer heterogeneity and crop-livestock integration strategies," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 637-656, June.
    6. Uchechukwu Paschal Chukwudi & Sydney Mavengahama & Funso Raphael Kutu, 2022. "Variation in Maize Grain Yield Indices When Exposed to Combined Heat and Water Stress Conditions under Different Soil Amendments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Zinhle Mashaba-Munghemezulu & George Johannes Chirima & Cilence Munghemezulu, 2021. "Delineating Smallholder Maize Farms from Sentinel-1 Coupled with Sentinel-2 Data Using Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Wonga Masiza & Johannes George Chirima & Hamisai Hamandawana & Ahmed Mukalazi Kalumba & Hezekiel Bheki Magagula, 2021. "Linking Agricultural Index Insurance with Factors That Influence Maize Yield in Rain-Fed Smallholder Farming Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, May.
    9. Learnmore Mwadzingeni & Victor Afari-Sefa & Hussein Shimelis & Sognigbé N’Danikou & Sandiswa Figlan & Lutz Depenbusch & Admire I.T. Shayanowako & Takemore Chagomoka & Malven Mushayi & Pepijn Schreinem, 2021. "Unpacking the value of traditional African vegetables for food and nutrition security," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1215-1226, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marcello De Maria, 2019. "Understanding Land in the Context of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions: A Brief History of Land in Economics," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Nolte, Kerstin & Voget-Kleschin, Lieske, 2014. "Consultation in Large-Scale Land Acquisitions: An Evaluation of Three Cases in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 654-668.
    3. Conigliani, Caterina & Cuffaro, Nadia & D’Agostino, Giovanna, 2018. "Large-scale land investments and forests in Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 651-660.
    4. German, Laura A. & Bonanno, Anya M. & Foster, Laura Catherine & Cotula, Lorenzo, 2020. "“Inclusive business” in agriculture: Evidence from the evolution of agricultural value chains," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Kerstin Nolte & Susanne Vaeth, 2013. "Interplay of Land Governance and Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Evidence from Ghana and Kenya," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201350, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    6. Alois Mandondo & Laura German, 2015. "Customary rights and societal stakes of large-scale tobacco cultivation in Malawi," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 31-46, March.
    7. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T. S., 2017. "Does Farm Structure Matter? The Effects of Farmland Distribution Patterns on Rural Household Incomes," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 275685, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    8. Isaac Mbeche Nyang’au & Girma Kelboro & Anna-Katharina Hornidge & Charles A. O. Midega & Christian Borgemeister, 2018. "Transdisciplinary Research: Collaborative Leadership and Empowerment Towards Sustainability of Push–Pull Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, July.
    9. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T.S., 2020. "Does farm structure affect rural household incomes? Evidence from Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    10. Michael Brüntrup & Fabian Schwarz & Thomas Absmayr & Jonas Dylla & Franziska Eckhard & Kerstin Remke & Konrad Sternisko, 2018. "Nucleus-outgrower schemes as an alternative to traditional smallholder agriculture in Tanzania – strengths, weaknesses and policy requirements," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 807-826, August.
    11. Giovannetti, Giorgia & Ticci, Elisa, 2016. "Determinants of biofuel-oriented land acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 678-687.
    12. Schoneveld, George Christoffel, 2014. "The geographic and sectoral patterns of large-scale farmland investments in sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 34-50.
    13. Giorgia Giovannetti & Elisa Ticci, 2013. "Biofuel Development and Large-Scale Land Deals in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers - Economics wp2013_27.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    14. Giger, Markus & Mutea, Emily & Kiteme, Boniface & Eckert, Sandra & Anseeuw, Ward & Zaehringer, Julie G., 2020. "Large agricultural investments in Kenya’s Nanyuki Area: Inventory and analysis of business models," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Kleemann, Linda & Thiele, Rainer, 2015. "Rural welfare implications of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa: A theoretical framework," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 269-279.
    16. Post Lori & Issa Tariq & Schmitz Andrew & Oehmke James, 2021. "Enabling the Environment for Private Sector Investment: Impact on Food Security and Poverty," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 25-37, May.
    17. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T. S., 2017. "Farmland Concentration And Rural Income Growth: Evidence From Tanzania," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 265608, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    18. William G. Martin & Ravi Arvind Palat, 2014. "Asian Land Acquisitions in Africa: Beyond the ‘New Bandung’ or a ‘New Colonialism’?," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 3(1), pages 125-150, April.
    19. Margherita Scoppola & Margherita Scoppola, 2016. "Foreign Direct Investments and trade in agriculture: an incomplete contracts approach," FOODSECURE Working papers 49, LEI Wageningen UR.
    20. Elisabeth Hettig & Jann Lay & Kacana Sipangule, 2016. "Drivers of Households’ Land-Use Decisions: A Critical Review of Micro-Level Studies in Tropical Regions," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-32, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:3:p:68-:d:326123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.