Should Africa protect its farmers to revitalize its economy?

Dr Koning has studied the history of farm policies in Western countries, and has written, among other works, The Failure of Agrarian Capitalism: Agrarian Politics in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, 1846-1919 (Routledge: London and New York 1994). His recent research includes the interaction between the evolution of African agriculture and the world economy.

Many Western economists blame the economic malaise in Sub-Saharan Africa on political obstacles that prevent the region from benefiting from globalization and the liberalization of international trade. They see these obstacles as consequences of the cultural and institutional make-up of the region that have little to do with the working of the liberal market economy itself. A long-term comparative approach to the evolution of economies and societies in different parts of the world may lead to a rather different view. Perhaps ‘free’ world markets are not so balanced after all, and the failure to shield farmers against low prices is becoming a major cause of a rural crisis that is hampering non-farm development and has socio-political effects that reproduce this negative state of affairs. Dr Koning highlights the co-evolution of population, natural resources, and innovation in pre-industrial societies; the effects of global industrialization on this interaction; and the ensuing economic, cultural and political implications of different farm policy options.