Cash Crops vs. Food Crops: Africa's Agricultural Dilemma

Cash Crops vs. Food Crops: Africa's Agricultural Dilemma

Côte d'Ivoire produces 45% of the world's cocoa.

Yet the average Ivorian cocoa farmer earns less than $2 per day—while a single chocolate bar sells for $5 in a European supermarket.

Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire together control over 60% of global cocoa production. They receive just 5-6% of the $130 billion annual chocolate market.

Meanwhile, both countries are net importers of rice and wheat—the staples their own people eat.

This is Africa's agricultural paradox: a continent that feeds the world's luxuries while struggling to feed itself.

The Colonial Blueprint

Africa's cash crop economy wasn't an accident. It was designed.

When European powers colonized Africa in the late 19th century, they had one primary goal: extract raw materials to feed factories in London, Paris, Brussels, and Lisbon.

Colonial administrators systematically restructured African agriculture:

Before colonization: African farmers grew diverse crops—sorghum, millet, yams, cassava, beans—developed over millennia to suit local climates and nutritional needs.

After colonization: The best land was redirected to export crops that Africans didn't eat: cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, palm oil, groundnuts, tea, and tobacco.

Colonial governments enforced this transformation through:

• Taxation: Africans were forced to pay taxes in colonial currency, requiring them to grow cash crops or work on European plantations

• Land seizures: Fertile highlands were reserved for white settlers (Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa)

• Infrastructure bias: Railways ran from plantations to ports—not between African communities

• Research neglect: Agricultural research focused on export crops, ignoring indigenous food crops

The result was a fundamental reorientation of African agriculture away from feeding Africans and toward feeding European industries.

The Numbers That Reveal the Problem

Africa's Export Crop Dominance

Africa's Food Import Dependency

Total food import bill: Approximately $65-75 billion annually (2024-2025)—up from $35 billion in 2015.

The continent that could feed the world imports 82-85% of its food from outside Africa.

Case Study: The Cocoa Paradox

The Scale of Extraction

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana tell the story of cash crop colonialism in its starkest form.

Production statistics (2024):

• Côte d'Ivoire: ~2 million tons (45% of global production)

• Ghana: ~800,000 tons (17% of global production)

• Combined: 62% of all cocoa consumed worldwide

Value capture:

• Global chocolate market: $130 billion annually

• Amount retained by Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana: $6-8 billion (5-6%)

• Amount going to farmers: Even less

The Farmer's Reality

A typical Ivorian cocoa farmer:

• Cultivates 2-5 hectares

• Earns $30-38 per month (Social Life Cycle Assessment, 2024)

• Receives government-set farmgate price of ~$2.89/kg (2024/25 season)

• Cannot afford to buy chocolate made from their own cocoa

Research shows very high risk that over half of global cocoa is produced through:

• Child labor

• Wages too low to guarantee a living income

The 2024 Cocoa Crisis

In 2024, cocoa prices spiked to historic highs—reaching $11,530 per ton in June 2024—due to:

• El Niño-induced droughts

• Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus (81% of Ghana's crop affected)

• Black pod disease

• Aging trees and declining yields

Yet farmers saw limited benefits:

• Government-set prices don't adjust to market spikes

• The Living Income Differential (LID)—a $400/ton premium introduced by Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana in 2020—has had "inconsistent" results

• Farmers receive only 53% of projected benefits due to redistribution failures

Why Don't They Just Grow Food Instead?

It's not that simple:

1. Land suitability: Cocoa grows in forest zones; cereals grow in savannas

2. Infrastructure lock-in: Roads, storage, and markets are built around cocoa

3. Credit systems: Loans are available for cocoa, not food crops

4. Government dependence: Cocoa taxes fund national budgets

5. Global market power: Multinational corporations (Nestlé, Mars, Cargill) control the value chain

Côte d'Ivoire uses 14.8% of its land for cocoa—land that could grow food but generates more government revenue as an export crop.

Case Study: Africa's Coffee Renaissance

Ethiopia: Birthplace of Coffee

Ethiopia is Africa's largest coffee producer and the world's fifth largest overall:

• Annual production: ~600,000 tons

• Export earnings (2024/25): Over $1 billion in just 7 months

• Domestic consumption: Half of production—Ethiopians drink their own coffee

Ethiopia's coffee sector aims to:

• Quadruple export revenues to $3.6-4.6 billion by 2033

• Quintuple farmer incomes to $2.7 billion

• Create 2.7 million jobs

Uganda: Africa's New Coffee Champion

In 2025, Uganda overtook Ethiopia as Africa's top coffee exporter by volume:

• Exports: 495,600 tons (29.6% increase)

• Success factors: Stable policy, government backing, farmer extension services

Kenya: Quality Over Quantity

Kenya focuses on premium arabica:

• 2024 exports: 53,519 tons (12% increase)

• Revenue: $296.8 million

• 800,000 smallholder farmers organized into 500 cooperatives

The Value Chain Problem

Despite growth, African coffee exporters face the same issue as cocoa:

• Most coffee leaves Africa as raw green beans

• Roasting, branding, and retail happen in consuming countries

• A bag of Ethiopian coffee sold in Addis Ababa for $10 sells for $25+ in a New York café

Coffee branded as "Italian" comes from... Ethiopia. Chocolate branded as "Swiss" or "Belgian" comes from... West Africa.

Case Study: Cotton's Broken Promise

The Cotton-4 Countries

Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali—the "Cotton-4"—depend heavily on cotton exports:

• Over 3.5 million farmers grow cotton

• 90%+ of lint is exported raw

• Only 1.5% is processed locally into textiles

The Value Leak

In 2018, Africa produced 1.5 million metric tons of cotton lint worth approximately $15.5 billion.

But here's the tragedy:

• Africa exports raw cotton

• Imports finished clothing

• The textile industry that should employ millions barely exists

Unused potential:

• 25% of cottonseed goes to waste (worth ~$237 million)

• Cotton stalks are burned rather than converted to fuel pellets (potential: $123 million)

• Gossypol removal from seed meal could generate $78 million

Burkina Faso's Struggle

• 85% of residents depend on cotton for income

• Over half the population lives in poverty

• 2024/25 target: 598,250 tons (55% increase from 2023/24)

• Government subsidizes $18.2 million in inputs to support farmers

Yet Burkina Faso imports most of its clothing.

The Structural Trap

Why Africa Remains Locked In

1. Colonial infrastructure persists

Railways still run from mines and plantations to ports—not between African cities. It's often cheaper to ship cocoa to Amsterdam than to transport it to an African chocolate factory.

2. Processing happens elsewhere

• Cocoa → Processed in Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

• Coffee → Roasted in Italy, Germany, USA

• Cotton → Woven in China, Bangladesh, Vietnam

3. Tariff escalation

Developed countries charge low tariffs on raw materials but high tariffs on processed goods:

• Raw cocoa beans: 0% tariff

• Cocoa butter: 7-10% tariff

• Finished chocolate: 15-30% tariff

This actively discourages African industrialization.

4. Subsidies distort competition

US and EU farmers receive billions in subsidies, making their crops artificially cheap. African farmers compete against treasuries, not farmers.

5. Multinational control

A handful of companies dominate global commodity trading:

• Cocoa: Barry Callebaut, Cargill, Olam

• Coffee: Nestlé, JDE Peet's, Starbucks

• Cotton: Glencore, Louis Dreyfus, Cargill

These companies have more negotiating power than entire African governments.

The Food Security Crisis

The Human Cost

While Africa grows the world's luxuries, its people go hungry:

• 282 million Africans are undernourished (2024)—up 57 million since COVID-19

• 847 million face moderate or severe food insecurity (57% of population)

• Households spend over 50% of income on food in many countries

• Africa is the only region where increased export production has decreased per capita food production

What Colonial Agriculture Destroyed

Pre-colonial Africa had over 2,000 indigenous grain varieties suited to local conditions. Europeans classified them as "cattle feed" and promoted wheat and maize instead.

Today:

• Maize (introduced by Portuguese) is Kenya's main staple—but production is declining under climate stress

• Indigenous crops like sorghum and millet—which withstand drought—are neglected

• Traditional food security mechanisms (community storage, trade networks) were dismantled

The Russia-Ukraine Wake-Up Call

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022:

• African food prices spiked 24% in sub-Saharan Africa

• Wheat imports were disrupted (Africa imports 44% of wheat from Russia/Ukraine)

• Fertilizer costs doubled or tripled

The lesson was clear: food dependency is a national security risk.

Breaking the Cycle: What's Working

Ethiopia's Wheat Revolution

Ethiopia launched its National Wheat Flagship Program in 2018 with a bold goal: wheat self-sufficiency by 2025/26.

Results (contested but real progress):

• Production increased from 4.8 million tons (2017/18) to at least 6.5 million tons (2024/25)

• Irrigated wheat expanded to 2.9 million hectares

• 3.4 million farmers involved

• Wheat exports began in 2024 (150,000 tons)

• Commercial wheat imports largely ceased since 2020/21

PM Abiy Ahmed called it "a risk that paid off."

Morocco's Green Morocco Plan

Morocco's agricultural transformation (2008-2020):

• Agricultural GDP growth: 5.25% annually

• Agricultural exports: +117%

• Farmers' incomes: +47%

• Drip irrigation expanded from 128,000 to 542,000 hectares

Generation Green 2020-2030 targets:

• Double agricultural GDP

• Create 350,000-400,000 agricultural middle-class households

• 1 million hectares of collective land for young entrepreneurs

Côte d'Ivoire's Cocoa Industrialization

Côte d'Ivoire is finally moving up the value chain:

• Local processing increased 58% between 2020-2025

• Each ton processed locally adds $900-1,200 more value

• Target: Become regional hub for cocoa processing and chocolate production

The government received $35 million from the World Bank in 2024 for cutting 7 million tons of CO₂ emissions by protecting forests.

Ghana-Côte d'Ivoire Cocoa Initiative

The two giants formed a "Cocoa OPEC" in 2019:

• Living Income Differential: $400/ton premium

• Joint market coordination

• Resistance to multinational pressure

Results have been mixed, but the precedent matters: African producers coordinating to set terms.

The Path Forward

What Africa Must Do

1. Invest massively in food crops

• Meet the Maputo Declaration target: 10% of budgets to agriculture

• Current average: 3-4%

• Focus on cereals, legumes, and indigenous crops

2. Process before exporting

• Build cocoa factories in Ghana, not the Netherlands

• Roast coffee in Ethiopia, not Italy

• Spin cotton in Mali, not Bangladesh

3. Develop intra-African trade

• AfCFTA creates a 1.3 billion person market

• Trade food within Africa instead of importing from outside

• Current intra-African food trade: ~16% (vs. 60%+ in Europe/Asia)

4. Revive indigenous crops

• Sorghum, millet, teff, fonio, yams—drought-resistant and nutritious

• Research investment has favored export crops; reverse this

5. Reform land tenure

• Secure smallholder land rights

• Prevent large-scale land grabs for export plantations

• Enable investment and generational transfer

6. Coordinate as producers

• The Ghana-Côte d'Ivoire cocoa initiative shows what's possible

• Coffee, cotton, and cashew producers could follow

• OPEC for agricultural commodities

What the World Must Do

• Eliminate tariff escalation on processed African goods

• Remove agricultural subsidies that distort global markets

• Pay fair prices that allow farmers to earn living wages

• Support African industrialization instead of raw material extraction

The Stakes

Africa's population will reach 2.5 billion by 2050.

If the continent continues exporting raw commodities while importing food, the result will be:

• Permanent food insecurity

• Continued poverty for hundreds of millions of farmers

• Economic dependence on volatile global markets

• Lost opportunity for industrialization and jobs

But if Africa can break the colonial agricultural model—growing food for Africans, processing its exports, and capturing value locally—it could become what it should have been all along:

The breadbasket of the world.

The choice between cash crops and food crops is a false one. Africa can grow both. But it must grow food first, process exports locally, and ensure that African farmers—not multinational corporations—benefit from African soil.

Key Statistics Summary

Timeline: Cash Crops in African History

FAQ: Cash Crops vs. Food Crops

1. Why doesn't Africa just stop growing cash crops?

Cash crops generate foreign exchange, tax revenue, and income for millions of farmers. The goal isn't to stop growing them but to process them locally and ensure food crops aren't neglected.

2. How much does an African cocoa farmer earn?

Studies show incomes of $30-38 per month on average—far below living wage standards and often below the poverty line.

3. Why is African food so expensive if Africa has so much farmland?

Low yields (1.6 tons/hectare vs. 4+ tons globally), poor infrastructure, post-harvest losses (15-27%), and import dependence all raise costs.

4. What is the Living Income Differential (LID)?

A $400/ton premium on cocoa introduced by Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana in 2020 to raise farmer incomes. Results have been mixed due to implementation challenges.

5. Which African country is closest to food self-sufficiency?

Ethiopia has made significant progress in wheat. Morocco has transformed its agricultural sector. Rwanda is advancing toward self-sufficiency in multiple crops.

6. How much food does Africa import?

Approximately $65-75 billion annually, with wheat ($18B), rice ($8B), and vegetable oils ($7B) being the largest categories.

7. What are Africa's indigenous crops?

Sorghum, millet, teff, fonio, yams, cassava, cowpeas, bambara groundnuts, and over 2,000 other varieties developed over millennia.

8. Why doesn't Africa process its own cocoa and coffee?

Colonial infrastructure, tariff escalation by importing countries, lack of capital, and multinational control of supply chains all create barriers.

9. What is the Maputo Declaration?

A 2003 African Union commitment for countries to allocate 10% of national budgets to agriculture. Most countries still fall far short.

10. Can Africa feed itself?

Absolutely. Africa has 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land. With investment, the continent could feed itself and export surpluses.

Day 21 of 365: A Year of Reclaiming the African Narrative

Sources

• International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• World Bank Development Indicators

• USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

• African Development Bank

• UNCTAD Commodity Reports

• Social Life Cycle Assessment of Cocoa Production (2024)

• ISS African Futures

• Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)

• International Coffee Organization (ICO)