
Policy highlights:
- Although some countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, still have large reserves of arable land, most African countries have exhausted their land reserves or will do so in the near future.
- Africa’s rural population is concentrated in a number of densely populated clusters. This very young rural population is also expected to continue growing.
- The resulting increasing pressure on land leaves two options for agricultural policy: focus on intensifying agricultural production or provide alternative non-farm employment.
- Most importantly, policy on agricultural intensification and non-farm employment can be combined to pursue the overall objective of rural development.