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‘Good Farmers’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evolving Narratives
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Publication date
19/04/2011
Number of Pages
16
Language:
English
Type of Publication:
Books
Focus Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Focus Topic:
Agricultural Value Chains / Agri-Businesses
Commodity:
Crops
Author
Sumberg, J.
In this paper the example of cocoa production in Ghana
is used to explore how the narratives portraying African
farmers have changed over the last 70 years. These
evolving narratives are explored through the notion of
a ‘good farmer’. The argument is that over this period
the image of African farmers has been progressively
rehabilitated, from ignorant and tradition-bound to
skilled and research-minded. Over the same time period
the image of formal research and extension was undermined.
With the recent renewed interest in agriculture,
narratives around African farmers are again evolving:
‘good farmers’. Increasingly being defined as
those who approach their farming as a proper
business.