Estadística descriptiva de la variable imagen corporativa

The experiences of the Green Revolution in Latin America and Asia present key lessons for Africa, as the continent is currently embarking on a second Green Revolution sponsored by different actors including donors, philanthropists, the private sector and corporations. These actors have framed low productivity in Africa as a supply-side problem to be addressed through adoption of technical inputs of production (Moseley, 2017). The drivers of change (eg. growing population, land scarcity, food security, poverty reduction, structural transformation) that informed the new call for a Green Revolution in Africa are not different from those of the 1940s and 1960s (IFPRI, 2009;

Dethier and Effenberger, 2012; Djurfeldt et al., 2005; Moseley, 2017). However, what is different at this time are the actors and policy options promoting the new Green Revolution agenda in Africa. Policies delegate the private sector as the main player to bring about a Green Revolution in Africa.

A key lesson from the Asian Green Revolution is that both its positive and negative impacts were attributed to policy approaches. This suggests that structural changes – driven by policy shifts – accounted for both the successes and adverse impacts of the Asian Green Revolution (Djurfeldt and Jirström, 2005). This also suggests that the successes, failures, and socio-ecological impacts of the current African Green Revolution largely depend on how policies are articulated and how policy narratives give urgency to the adoption of Green Revolution technologies (see Chapter Six).

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The question that arises therefore is what policy narratives are suitable to induce a Green Revolution in Africa without negative socio-ecological impacts?

While African policy makers are working with Green Revolution actors to reform policies that will promote use of high-yielding seed varieties and fertilisers (see the case of Ghana in Chapters Six and Seven), it is important to caution that these policies need to take into consideration the ecological impacts of Green Revolution technologies. Moreover, the reintroduction of fertiliser and seed subsidy programmes in most African countries, alongside the promotion and development of private sector input delivery systems, make high-input technologies accessible to the majority of farmers, even in the remotest places. The adoption rate of Green Revolution technologies in Africa continues to grow every year, as government and donor-sponsored demonstration and farmer field school activities are exposing farmers to these technologies (see Dawson et al., 2016).

Although governments could regulate the activities of agro-dealers, exposure of farmers to these inputs is already creating dependency, where farmers rely on these inputs every farming season.

The frequent use and long-term dependence on these agrochemicals is likely to lead to ecological impacts including toxicity of the soil, a situation that reduces the efficacy of soil, resulting in low crop yields in India (Pingali, 2012; Singh, 2000). While there has been growing regional activism and campaigns to sensitize the public about the ecological impacts of high-input technologies (Frankema, 2014), private agro-dealers, international donors and government have been very loud on the positive impacts of Green Revolution technologies for productivity, poverty alleviation and economic transformation.

In sum, the agricultural system in Africa is undergoing a transformation linked to the new Green Revolution agenda (Dano, 2007; Moseley et al., 2015). Although past Green Revolutions present key lessons for Africa, the continent is very unlikely to circumvent the socio-ecological impacts of current and future Green Revolution technologies, as there is already emerging evidence of commercialisation and associated adverse ecological impacts (see Chapter Seven). Thus, many countries in Africa are now implementing the second Green Revolution without learning from previous experiences (Moseley, 2017).

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So far, the discussions on export crop production and the new optimism for a Green Revolution in Africa demonstrate the fact that agrarian problems including food production in Ghana are historically and politically (re)produced. The prescription of science and technology as the solution to low food productivity in Africa raises questions about the political economy of a donor-sponsored Green Revolution on the continent.

3.6 Conclusion

This chapter has reviewed literature on the historical trajectories of export-led agriculture in Ghana, and how this type of agriculture has produced new land and labour relations, as well as distorting local food production. The chapter has demonstrated that historical processes of production have shaped current production of export commodities. In addition, labour arrangements in the form of sharecropping and land rental, as well as the increasing commodification of land and other production relations emerged to accommodate commercial pressures associated with export-led agriculture. Although these structures have a long history, they continue to define current social, economic and production relations at the local level. The continuous reliance on primary commodities in Ghana is reinforced through government and donor sponsored export-led programmes.

This chapter has also traced the neglect of local food production in Africa, especially compared to the introduction of export agriculture by European colonisers. The distortion of local food production through colonial economic activities has produced famine in former colonised states in the postcolonial era. It was demonstrated in the chapter that an apolitical agricultural agenda, such as the adoption of market-based inputs of production was prescribed to increase productivity as a solution to famine in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The discussion showed that per capita food production increased in Latin America and Asia, and this appeared tied to the adoption of modern inputs. On the other hand, food production declined in some countries in Africa. The analyses further demonstrated that despite increased food production in Asia, there were long-term negative consequences tied to the promotion and adoption of Green Revolution technologies. For instance, in India, there were profound changes to rural landscapes due to the excessive use of irrigation water, application of fertiliser and other agrochemicals. In addition, the Green Revolution

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commercialised production and social relations, and drove a radical change to socio-economic structures of the rural areas in India.

Discussions in this chapter further showed that Africa is currently embarking on a second Green Revolution. Based on experiences from previous Green Revolutions as discussed in this chapter, it can be expected that the current Green Revolution underway in Africa will pose socio-economic and environmental challenges. To critically analyse the impacts of export-led agriculture and Green Revolution imperatives in Ghana, the next chapter introduces political ecology as the conceptual framework that has informed the thesis.

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