The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Bernard Ekumah, portrait photo.

Bernard Ekumah

PhD student

Bernard Ekumah, portrait photo.

Productive forces and the contradictions of capitalist agriculture : agroecology as a sustainable alternative in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

  • Bernard Ekumah

Summary, in English

This paper critiques the assumption that capitalist agriculture inherently develops productive forces, highlighting its internal contradictions and questioning its sustainability as a viable agricultural model. Using immanent critique, the paper engages with the capitalist framework on its own terms to demonstrate how its focus on profit maximisation and short-term productivity leads to long-term ecological degradation, social inequities, and the erosion of essential agroecological knowledge. The focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region with immense agricultural potential, regarded as the last frontier of capitalist agricultural development and heavily affected by the ecological crises. The paper argues that agroecology offers a sustainable alternative that prioritises social justice, environmental sustainability, and the empowerment of smallholder farmers. Integrating traditional agroecological knowledge with scientific innovation, agroecology challenges the dominant capitalist model, proposing a more just and resilient agricultural system for SSA. It concludes by emphasising the critical role of social movements in driving the transition to agroecology in the region.

Department/s

  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)

Publishing year

2024-12

Language

English

Publication/Series

Discover Sustainability

Volume

5

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Other Social Sciences

Keywords

  • Agriculture development
  • Capability approach
  • Food security
  • Immanent critique
  • Social movements

Status

Published

Project

  • Mobilizing farmer organisations for sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2662-9984