Agricultural reform elsewhere in the world: Lessons for Africa?

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines agricultural reforms in China, Brazil, and Egypt to identify potential lessons for improving productivity and food security in Africa.

• China's agricultural revolution in the 1970s and 1980s, led by Deng Xiaoping, shifted from collective farming to a 'household responsibility approach' where individual households were contracted. This transition, combined with market reforms, increased productivity by 20% over the collective era, nearly tripled average yields between 1970 and 2013, and significantly reduced child malnutrition from over 22 million in 1987 to under 2 million in 2015.
• Brazil achieved significant agricultural growth and diversification between 1980 and 2010, doubling average yields per hectare from 1980 to 2000 despite a loss of approximately 4 million hectares of cropland. Key drivers included the genetic tailoring of seeds and plants. While Brazil has moved beyond food security—exporting 12% more food than it consumed in 2018—its progress has come with environmental degradation as farmland encroaches on the 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, improved fertilizer use, 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} }