World Food Policy Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 7

World Food Policy

rapid changes characterized by a huge
process of urbanization over the last 50
years and a rapid economic growth in the
last decade; but it remains, with South
Asia, the poorest region in the world.3
The "African lions" of McKinsey (2010)
are lightened by 35% of their GDP when
North Africa is subtracted; and SSA only
represents 45% of the total wealth of the
continent when South Africa (20% of the
overall GDP) is withdrawn. It however
gathers together 75% of its population.

South-East Asian competitors, African
growth over the last decade was much
lower, and especially marked by its
volatility (Arbache and Page 2007), which
raises the question of the sustainability
of the recent growth trend (Devarajan
and Fengler 2013), characterized by the
position of raw materials, construction
and services, and the relative weakness
of investment (Ali and Dadush 2010).

However, when looking at
reallocation of labor within or between
sectors, even if reliable data are missing,
some countries show a progressive shift
(McMillan, Rodrik and Verduzco-Gallo
2014) due to the development of more
diversified exports with higher value
and technological contents (Uganda,
Tanzania, Rwanda, but also Senegal
or Nigeria). Nevertheless, these slight
changes in the labor force structure of
SSA do not modify—in absolute terms—
the remaining importance of agriculture
in the economically active population.
With the exception of South Africa,
where employment in agriculture is
marginal—for reasons related to the
very specific history of the country—
agriculture still occupies 50%–60% of
the labor force in the vast majority of
SSA. This rate rises to 75% and higher
in some countries (Sahel, East Africa).4
Other sectors of employment are mainly
services (trade and transport first and,
marginally, government, banking),
construction and public works boosted

An incipient economic transition

When looking at the major
economic aggregates, SSA structurally
changed little since the 1960s and remains
permanently marked by the weight of its
primary sector and the exploitation of its
natural resources. Agriculture, mining,
and energy account for over 50% of GDP
for 17 countries, between 40% and 50%
for 9 countries and between 30% and
40% for 9 others. The manufacturing
sector is extremely limited: only 18
countries have an industrial added value
exceeding 10% of GDP and 7 countries
reach the threshold of 15%. These
results show a deep structural inertia,
where only services and construction—
driven by urban growth—developed.
SSA is a region of urbanization without
industrialization, a very specific situation
in the economic history of the world.

When compared with East and

3

The current GDP per capita is very low: in 2010, 27 of the 49 countries in SSA were in the low-income
countries group by the World Bank (< to $1,025/person/year) including 13 countries under $500.
4
The broad definition of agricultural employment does not signify however exclusive occupation in
agriculture: multiple activities are a characteristic of rural households (Losch, Fréguin-Gresh and White
2012).

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