Decolonizing African Agriculture

Hunger and food insecurity persist across Africa despite decades of international agricultural development assistance. Food crises post-Covid, including grain and fertilizer disruptions with the Ukraine war, pose renewed challenges to conventional agricultural development policies. From a scholar with decades-long expertise in African agricultural systems comes this powerful call for a different agricultural paradigm in Africa. Drawing upon case studies of grass roots efforts across the continent to build resilient food systems, Moseley advances a road map for eliminating hunger and malnutrition at the local level. By making a compelling case for agroecological farming, he aligns the food sovereignty movement with agroecology. The book presents a thoughtful, clear-eyed analysis of the structural issues behind food insecurity on the continent and the key ingredients needed for a meaningful transformation of African agriculture and food systems. Essential reading for anyone interested in global food futures. -- Judith A. Carney, Professor of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
Moseley draws on decades of research and policy experience to shed light not only on what is wrong with conventional approaches to agricultural development in Africa but also to bring forward stories of hope. Merging ecological, social, and political frameworks, the book’s excellent and highly engaging analysis maps out the required ingredients for an agroecological transformation in Africa. -- Jennifer Clapp, Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, University of Waterloo
Moseley has stepped back to sketch out broad insights emerging from a long career of rich empirical field work... the result is a clear, carefully argued, expansive, yet concise examination of the failure of mainstream agricultural development in Africa, well suited to students and development practitioners alike... it charts an intellectual trajectory oriented by curiosity and practical relevance; Moseley recounts pursuing new research projects after he and his students sought to understand puzzling observations. It thus reads—tangentially—as a model of scientific curiosity and academic mentorship -- Jessie Luna, writing in AAG Review of Books
Decolonizing African Agriculture is a worthy successor to Paul Richards’ classic Indigenous Agricultural Revolution. Based on decades of on-the-ground research, Moseley offers a radically alternative way of thinking about recurring food insecurity and its quick fixes. He expertly shows that even under the most constraining of circumstances, it is possible to achieve food security through agroecology. Here is a challenge to anyone who dares say that African Indigenous agroecology is backward, unproductive, and needs colonial science. This book could not come at a more propitious moment, when progress toward the global zero hunger goal has lurched into reverse. A tour de force. -- Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Denver
This book is a crucial contribution to the ongoing discourse in Africa about the impact of neocolonial policies on our agriculture. It compellingly argues that African agriculture cannot be fully understood without applying the lens of political ecology and political agronomy. With a strong emphasis on agroecology as the future of African farming, this work is both timely and essential. It stands as a vital resource for anyone advocating for an agricultural future in Africa where farming is viewed not merely as a stepping stone to industrial development, but as a pivotal force for sustainable growth in its own right. -- Million Belay, General Coordinator, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa