Resource information
Three of sub-Saharan Africa’s central
economic realities motivate this study. First, agriculture
is the most important sector in most African economies, on
average accounting for nearly one-fourth of GDP. Second, the
private sector is increasingly active in transforming
African agriculture and economies. By 2030, agriculture and
agribusiness are anticipated to become a US$ 1 trillion
industry in Africa, delivering more jobs, income, and
economic growth. Third, women make up half of sub- Saharan
Africa’s agricultural labor force on average (and two-thirds
or more in some countries). Yet women’s strong presence in
agriculture belies the comparatively weak commercial
benefits they derive from it. Throughout Africa, women
struggle to enter and operate highly productive and
profitable agricultural enterprises. Their plots of land
tend to be smaller, their crops less remunerative, and their
access to land, inputs, and finance far more restricted and
precarious than men’s. Africa boasts the highest share of
‘entrepreneurs,’ but these women are disproportionately
concentrated in the ranks of the self-employed rather than
among the employers. Women’s productivity is lower than
men’s, not because they are women, but because informal,
smaller firms are inherently less productive, and more women
operate these types of enterprises. The real challenge in
expanding opportunities and empowering women is not to help
more women to become small-scale, informal entrepreneurs but
to enable them to shift to activities capable of delivering
higher returns and employing others.
