Table 1.
Major crops grown in Africa with their global area of cultivation, total production, and productivity. ∗ indicates the top 10 globally important crops in terms of total production. ∗∗ refers to finger millet, pearl millet, and proso millet and others. Source: [8, 9].
| Crop | Center of origin | Area cultivated in Africa | Total production in Africa | Yield (t ha−1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common name | Botanical name | (000′ ha) | % of global | (000′ tons) | % of global | Global | Africa | |
| Cereals | ||||||||
| Barley∗ | Hordeum vulgare | Ethiopia | 4,997 | 10.1 | 6,022 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
| Fonio | Digitaria exilis | 566 | 100 | 587 | 100 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Maize∗ | Zea mays | Mexico & Central America | 33,710 | 19.0 | 69,636 | 7.9 | 4.9 | 2.1 |
| Millets∗∗ | Diverse species | Ethiopia | 19,977 | 62.9 | 16,083 | 53.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Rice∗ | Oryza sativa | India | 10,538 | 6.4 | 26,823 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 2.5 |
| Sorghum | Sorghum bicolor | Ethiopia | 23,169 | 60.7 | 23,312 | 40.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Tef | Eragrostis tef | Ethiopia | 3,000 | 100 | 4,700 | 100 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Wheat∗ | Triticum spp. | Middle East | 10,216 | 4.7 | 24,710 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| Food legumes (pulses) | ||||||||
| Bambara beans | Vigna subterranea | 232 | 100 | 159 | 100 | 0.7 | 0.7 | |
| Beans, dry | Diverse species | Diverse | 7,829 | 26.7 | 5,069 | 21.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Chickpea | Cicer arietinum | Central Asia | 593 | 4.8 | 696 | 5.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| Cowpea | Vigna unguiculata | India | 10,402 | 92.1 | 5,402 | 94.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Pigeon pea | Cajanus cajan | India | 754 | 14.1 | 632 | 14.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Vegetables | ||||||||
| Cabbages | Brassica spp. | China | 124 | 5.2 | 2,805 | 4.0 | 29.3 | 22.6 |
| Okra | Abelmoschus esculentus | Ethiopia | 516 | 47.4 | 1,833 | 21.9 | 7.7 | 3.5 |
| Tomato∗ | Lycopersicon lycopersicum | Mexico & Central America | 1,010 | 21.0 | 17,937 | 11.1 | 33.7 | 17.8 |
| Oil seeds | ||||||||
| Castor seed | Ricinus communis | Ethiopia | 250 | 14.8 | 90 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
| Sesame | Sesamum indicum | Central Asia | 3,283 | 41.5 | 1,708 | 42.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Soybean∗ | Glycine max | China | 1,637 | 1.5 | 1,986 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 1.2 |
| Sunflower | Helianthus annuus | North America | 1,790 | 7.2 | 2,223 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| Roots & tubers | ||||||||
| Cassava∗ | Manihot esculentum | 13,662 | 67.0 | 149,479 | 52 | 12.9 | 10.9 | |
| Enset | Ensete ventricosum | 312 | 100 | 728 | 100 | 2.3 | 2.3 | |
| Potato∗ | Solanum tuberosum | North America | 1,894 | 9.9 | 28,169 | 7.7 | 18.9 | 14.8 |
| Sweet potato∗ | Ipomoea batatas | Mexico & Central America | 3,506 | 43.3 | 17,999 | 17.4 | 12.7 | 5.1 |
| Taro | Colocasia esculenta | India | 1,127 | 85.7 | 7,367 | 73.8 | 7.6 | 6.5 |
| Yam | Dioscorea spp. | India | 4,801 | 95.3 | 56,500 | 96.1 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| Fruits | ||||||||
| Banana∗ | Musa spp. | India | 1,493 | 30.1 | 15,863 | 15.5 | 20.6 | 10.6 |
| Mango | Mangifera indica | India | 691 | 13.4 | 7,135 | 16.9 | 8.1 | 10.3 |
| Papaya | Carica papaya | Mexico & Central America | 134 | 30.8 | 1,330 | 10.7 | 28.5 | 9.8 |
| Plantain | Musa spp. | 4,368 | 80.8 | 26,545 | 71.4 | 6.9 | 6.1 | |
| Others | ||||||||
| Cocoa | Theobroma cacao | Mexico & Central America | 6,337 | 63.8 | 3,289 | 65.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Coffee | Coffea spp. | Ethiopia | 1,990 | 19.8 | 1,000 | 11.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 |