Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa?

The research paper analyzes historical agricultural transformations in China, Brazil, and Egypt, highlighting the roles of institutional incentives, genetic seed tailoring, and targeted infrastructure investments in increasing yields and food security.

• China's agricultural revolution between the 1970s and 1980s was driven by the 'household responsibility approach', which shifted farming from collectives to individual households. This transition, combined with market reforms and better seeds, increased productivity by 20% over the collective era and nearly tripled average yields between 1970 and 2013.
• Brazil significantly increased agricultural production and diversified its exports between 1980 and 2010, doubling average yields per hectare from 1980 to 2000 despite a decrease in cropland of approximately 4 million hectares. This progress was heavily supported by the genetic tailoring of plants and seeds, though it has resulted in environmental degradation as farmland encroaches on Amazon forests.
• Egypt doubled its agricultural yields between 1970 and 2000 through a combination of targeted policies, including the expansion of the Nile irrigation system, large-scale land reclamation, the use of high-yield crop varieties, and increased investment in agricultural research and modern technology.

APA

le Roux, A., & Cilliers, J. (2026). Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa? Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=07-lessons-for-africa

Chicago

le Roux, Alize, and Jakkie Cilliers. Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa? Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=07-lessons-for-africa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=le Roux |first1=Alize |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=07-lessons-for-africa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leroux2026agricultural, author = {le Roux, Alize and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=07-lessons-for-africa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }