Agriculture in Africa – Telling myths from facts: A synthesis

摘要: Stylized facts drive research agendas and policy debates. Yet robust stylized are hard to come by, when available, often outdated. In a special issue of Food Policy, 12 papers revisit conventional wisdom on African agriculture its farmers' livelihoods using nationally representative surveys from the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys Agriculture Initiative in six countries. At times, findings simply confirm common understanding topic. But studies also throw up several surprises, redirecting some debates while fine-tuning others. Overall, project calls for more attention checking updating wisdom. This requires data, sufficient incentives among researchers makers alike. Without well-grounded facts, they can easily be profoundly misguided.