Search Climate Insights Directory

The report identifies systemic failures in African land administration, including the fact that only about 10 percent of land is legally documented. It argues that securing tenure through a combination of community land registration in land-abundant areas and individual titling in land-constrained areas is essential for investment. The text highlights the need to integrate customary tenure into statutory law and eliminate market restrictions to improve access for women, youth, and the land-poor, while warning against 'land grabs' resulting from weak governance.

The report examines the potential for a 'Green Revolution' in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by comparing crop yields and technologies with tropical Asia (specifically India) and advanced regions within SSA, such as South Africa. It identifies rice as a highly promising crop for productivity gains through the combination of high-yielding varieties, fertilizer, and improved management practices. The paper argues that agricultural transformation requires a complementary approach where productive technology and management practices are developed first, followed by extension services and marketing improvements. While maize and sorghum show potential for technology transfer from South Africa, the report suggests that millet and sorghum require more fundamental research due to limited success even in India.

The document positions irrigation as a primary tool for agricultural transformation in Africa, essential for improving resilience to climate change and extreme events. It identifies significant barriers, including water scarcity, limited technical skills, and a massive investment gap, estimated by the World Bank at over USD 40 billion. The paper advocates for a comprehensive approach involving national Master Plans for Irrigation, the integration of groundwater use to combat droughts, and a shift toward public-private partnerships to fund both large-scale and smallholder irrigation systems. It emphasizes that achieving full irrigation potential in Sub-Saharan Africa over a 50-year horizon would require diverting up to 50 percent of agricultural expenditures to water management.

The document identifies significant productivity gaps in Africa's oil palm sector compared to Southeast Asia, citing low yields and inefficient extraction. It proposes closing the yield gap, improving oil extraction rates (OER), and implementing outgrower schemes to reduce dependence on imports. The author argues that capturing downstream value, such as biodiesel and oleochemicals, requires private sector investment facilitated by government land reforms and the establishment of a marketing board to ensure quality standards for export markets.

Africa possesses significant critical minerals (30% of global reserves) and solar resources (60% of global resources), yet contributes only 2% of global manufacturing value added. The document asserts that green industrialization requires systems-level policy coordination, treating finance as industrial policy, and utilizing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to improve competitiveness. It highlights successful examples, such as South Africa's REIPPPP attracting over $14 billion in private investment and Morocco's $32.5 billion in approved green ammonia, steel, and fuel projects. With energy demand projected to increase by one-third by 2030, the text emphasizes the need to shift from exporting raw materials to domestic processing and manufacturing to generate more jobs and long-term value.