China and the long march into African agriculture

Abstract

Like other Asian and Gulf states, China's growing concern with food security has inspired a search for means of obtaining that security in the African context. The result has been, reflected in the official discourse since 2006, a Chinese commitment to greater involvement in the agriculture sector in Africa that has resulted in a number of initiatives. These include a push to acquire long-term leases of agricultural land in some African countries, an expansion of Chinese agro-industry into Africa and a deepening of the longstanding technical co-operation aimed at raising Africa's agricultural productivity. This paper will provide a survey of Chinese-African experiences in agriculture, examine the domestic sources of China's contemporary agricultural policies, and analyse the emerging policies aimed at facilitating greater co-operation in this sector.