Using nationally representative data from nine African countries,
we document sectoral employment trends and consider the evolving
role of agriculture in Africa’s economic transformation process. We
highlight three key findings: a general decline in farming’s share
of employment over the past decade; a strong relationship between
lagged farm productivity growth and the speed at which the share
of the labor force in farming declines; and the moderate potential for
agro-processing or other stages of the food system to absorb youth into
gainful employment in the coming years. While agro-processing is
growing rapidly in percentage terms, its share of overall employment
is quite low and hence will not generate nearly as many new jobs as
farming. For these reasons, strategies that effectively raise the returns
to labor in farming will be critical to fostering successful economic
transformation.