FEATURE STORY

Should Africa invest in infrastructure or agriculture? The answer is both

Agriculture cannot succeed on its own without infrastructure, argues Hannah Ryder

Farmers grow crops either to eat them or to sell them in markets for a decent price. If logistical costs are high, that will eat into farmers’ revenues, often so much that farmers will not have any incentive to grow the crops well, or at all. And why might logistical costs be high? Because of poor infrastructure.

So if you invest in infrastructure, you cut logistics costs, you raise the return for farmers to sell their crops, and ultimately raise their incentives to take advantage of market opportunities. By investing in infrastructure, you invest in the agriculture sector.

Continue reading →