Agricultural Exports and Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Qualititative Configurational Analysis

Export of agricultural products is increasingly seen as one of the few viable instruments to solve the problem of food insecurity in developing countries. Using the configurative comparative method to study 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, this article argues that increasing agricultural export is only beneficial for certain types of developing countries. Before agricultural exports are encouraged, food availability, agricultural labour productivity, the share of agriculture in total GDP, the amount of staple food imports, and the share of investment goods in total imports should be considered.