Africa - Land cover and agriculture
Vegetation and agriculture
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 148 | Ill. 1
Overview
The natural diversity, the historical development, the level of development of the countries and the current conditions on the world agricultural markets are essential factors for the coexistence of very different forms of agricultural use in Africa.
Zones of cultivation
The map is based on the alignment of the latitude vegetation zone between the Sahara and the Lunda threshold. In the evergreen rain forest of the Congo Basin and the residual West African monsoon forest, a moist savanna belt follows linking to a wide zone of dry and thorn bush savanna. The Sahara Desert and semi-desert reach the extent of a "continent" and the Horn of Africa, East and South Africa are part of the coastal zones and desert-like inland regions. The highlands of Ethiopia and East Africa show a vertical landscape which divides into altitudinal zones.
The agro-ecological structure of Africa provides a framework for the distribution of livestock. The Savanna and lowland rain forests are infested by the tsetse fly, therefore large-scale cattle farming is not possible. The dry tropics, the altitude regions of the tropics and semi-arid to humid sub-tropics are main areas for livestock. The degree of market orientation in the livestock sector is very diverse. Livestock such as sheep, camels and donkeys in North Africa are now essential commodities, along with cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys in the savannas and plains and goats, pigs, and poultry in the rain forest region.
The zonal alignment of climatic zones and their altitudinal zonation is reflected in the spread of crops. Among the food crops are cassava and plantain in the forest zone, yams, millet, and groundnuts in the dominant dry and thorn bush area of the savannas. Rice cultivation on irrigated land plays an increasing role. Wheat cultivation is most commonly grown in the subtropical winter rainfall regions and dates are grown in the subtropical and tropical semi-deserts and deserts. In the highlands, maize, beans, and sweet potatoes are a staple food.
The mainly export-oriented crops are classified on the basis of landscape and altitudinal zones: fat supplying oil palm plants are grown in the rain forest zone as well as plants such as cacao, coffee bushes and Hevea brasiliensis trees for the supply of rubber. The savannas are cotton and peanut regions. In the higher areas, shrub cultures provide valuable Arabica coffee and tea. Mediterranean crops such as citrus fruits and wine grapes are grown in the extreme north and south of the continent.
To the north of the Sahel, dry regions determine the conditions for agriculture which are bound by the local groundwater resources and the Nile (oasis agriculture). Agriculture is only possible without irrigation in isolated areas north of the Atlas Mountains and at the Mediterranean. Despite the close geographic boundaries of the regions, agriculture in this part of Africa is a very productive and an important economic factor.
Share in world production
Share in world production
The importance of agricultural production - measured in terms of the share of people employed in agriculture and the share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) - is considered an indicator of the economic development of countries. In many poorly developed African countries, especially in West, Central and East Africa, more than half of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, and in some states more than 75 per cent. (In developed countries, the figure is less than 5 per cent).
For the domestic market, food crops such as yams, millet, maize, cassava, or sweet potatoes are usually cultivated. In addition, there are crops such as cocoa, coffee and bananas, which are mainly for export and for which individual countries achieve significant shares of world production. Côte d'Ivoire is the largest exporter of cocoa, accounting for 40 percent of world production, while neighbouring Ghana contributes another 20 percent to global cocoa yields. Ethiopia and Uganda specialise in the cultivation of coffee, among other things, and bananas are grown in Angola, Tanzania, and Kenya. Kenya is also a major tea exporter.
