Remarkable economic performance accompanied African economies with the entry into the new millennium, in comparison to previous decades. The agricultural sector, which remains the cornerstone of economic and social development, has not remained on the sidelines. This sector, overall, continues to show robust growth, driven by an increase in productivity, measured in part and overall terms. However, lower-level results point to serious disparities and a need to strengthen progress towards achieving development goals. Unlike developed countries, agricultural growth on the continent remains primarily dependent on the increase in the use of primary factors, combined with a stagnation of the use of inputs. All this once again gives rise to the need to invest more in bringing about conditions that favor the emergence of productivity. This article focuses particularly on characterizing the agricultural growth observed in recent decades in Africa,
by explaining the extent to which this growth has been stimulated by technological improvement. Thus, is it part of an economic transition dynamic that could ultimately lead to structural economic transformation, or maybe simply
an exacerbation of the tendencies to expand cultivated land and to intensify labor in this sector? [This document is also available in French titled: Relance de la productivité agricole en Afrique : l’espoir d’une sécurité alimentaire.]
