Inputs, Productivity and Agricultural Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study employs a growth accounting approach to revisit past performance of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and to analyze the relationship between the input mix used by SSA countries and productivity levels observed in the region. Findings show that improved technical efficiency has been the main driver of growth in recent years benefiting poorer, low labor productivity countries. Countries with higher output and input per worker have benefited much more from technological progress than poorer countries, suggesting that technical change has done little to reduce the gap in labor productivity between countries. Results also show that the levels of input per worker used in SSA agriculture at present are extremely low and associated with less productive technologies, and that technical change has shifted the world technological frontier unevenly, increasing the distance between SSA countries and those countries with the “right” input mix.