Famine in Africa
Drought and other natural disasters in many parts of Africa have intensified hunger, but poverty is the real cause of famine. Only the chronically impoverished die from the effects of drought, and Africa 's impoverishment has been several hundred years in the making. As European countries colonized Africa , they disrupted farming and herding systems that for centuries Africans had adapted to changing environmental conditions. Ecologically balanced food systems were undermined: the best agricultural lands were taken for growing coffee, sugar cane, cocoa, and other export crops that were viewed as the means to economic development according to the neoclassical theory of comparative advantage. Private and government funds were invested to develop these cash crops, while food production for the poor majority was neglected.
Colonial cash cropping ravaged the soil, reducing large areas to desert and semi desert. Millions of acres of brush and trees were cleared, robbing the soil of organic replenishment. Export crops such as cotton, peanuts, and tobacco absorbed large amounts of nutrients from the soil. After each year's harvest, the soil was left bare and unprotected leading to accelerated erosion. As more land was put in cash crops, small farmers have been pushed further and further onto marginal land with scarce rainfall, decreasing their ability to produce food. It is this unfortunate, yet avoidable situation that has contributed to drought- induced famine.
Using the best land for export agriculture degraded the environment and impoverished the rural agricultural population, forcing many to work on plantations or crowd into cities seeking employment. Plantation
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