Agriculture is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most important industries, and makes up approximately 20% of the region’s economy. Africa, as a whole, is also home to 60% of the world’s most arable land.
The continent is also home to a number of cash crops, and these are crops that are defined as being of more commercial value than having use for the grower. Some of the continent’s highest-fetching cash crops include plantains and sorghum.
Africa’s highest-fetching cash crops, according to visualcapitalist.com, include:
| Cash Crop | Tonnes Produced 2019 | % of World Production |
|---|---|---|
| Cassava | 192.1M | 63% |
| Sugar cane | 97.3M | 5% |
| Maize | 81.9M | 7% |
| Yams | 72.4M | 97% |
| Rice, paddy | 38.8M | 5% |
| Sorghum | 28.6M | 49% |
| Rice, paddy (rice milled equivalent) | 25.9M | 5% |
| Sweet potatoes | 27.9M | 30% |
| Wheat | 26.9M | 4% |
| Plantains | 26.7M | 64% |
Cassavas are not well known in the Western world, although they provide food for 800 million people worldwide. Cassavas are root vegetables that are similar to potatoes in terms of utility.
Africa produces 97% of all yams produced worldwide. The “yam belt” in West Africa includes Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire. Yam agriculture is a key component of the region’s economic strength, with approximately 60 million people directly or indirectly involved in its production.
Asia similar to Africa
Agriculture is a key aspect of South Asia’s economy, just as it is in Sub-Saharan Africa. India produces almost 24% of all rice produced worldwide, whereas Bangladesh produces over 7%. Meanwhile, India produces nearly 14% of the global wheat supply.
Agriculture, on the other hand, accounts for only 1% of North America’s GDP. The number of farms in the United States peaked in the 1930s and has since dropped dramatically, from nearly 7 million in 1930 to less than 2 million in 2020.
Several technology advancements have the potential to help farmers’ bottom lines in light of these issues. Precision technology, for example, measures rainfall, soil data, and soil production. Simultaneously, remote sensing technologies can give meteorological and climate data.
This, together with the vast majority of uncultivated arable land on the planet, presents a big possibility for cash crops in the future. According to one assessment, cereal and grain production has the potential to triple.
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