Title: Educating on an Empty Stomach: The Curricular Neglect of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty in Africa
Authors: Ahumuza Audrey, Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara
Volume: 9
Issue: 12
Pages: 66-76
Publication Date: 2025/12/28
Abstract:
African educational systems face a critical paradox: while agriculture employs approximately 60% of the continent's workforce and remains fundamental to food security and economic development, school curricula systematically neglect agricultural education and food sovereignty principles. This mixed-methods study employed a convergent parallel design to examine the extent, causes, and implications of this curricular neglect across Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. Between January and August 2024, the study recruited 1,247 participants including teachers (n=420), students (n=385), policymakers (n=186), agricultural practitioners (n=156), and community leaders (n=100) through stratified random and purposive sampling strategies designed to achieve 80% statistical power. Quantitative data were collected through validated survey instruments and analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-tests, chi-square tests, and multiple regression analysis, while qualitative data from 45 semi-structured interviews and 15 focus group discussions were analyzed thematically, complemented by systematic content analysis of official curriculum documents from all five countries. Results revealed that agricultural content constituted merely 4.64% of curricula with students receiving only 14-23 hours of agricultural instruction annually-representing less than one-quarter of what stakeholders considered adequate. Content analysis demonstrated that existing agricultural education emphasized theoretical, examination-based approaches (77% theory-based), commercial export agriculture (63.2%) over food sovereignty, and isolated subject treatment (71.6%) rather than interdisciplinary integration. One-way ANOVA revealed significant attitudinal differences across stakeholder groups (F-statistics ranging from 31.25 to 78.94, all p<0.001), with students demonstrating the most negative attitudes toward agriculture as a viable career (M=2.64, SD=1.18) and poorest food sovereignty awareness (M=2.98, SD=1.03), while agricultural practitioners showed the most positive perspectives across all dimensions. Urban-rural comparisons revealed significantly more favorable attitudes among rural participants (M=4.21 vs. M=3.79, t=8.34, p<0.001, d=0.48), with 85.5% of policymakers concentrated in urban centers. Multiple regression analysis (Rē=0.428, p<0.001) identified agricultural practitioner status (?=0.276), rural location (?=0.214), and personal agricultural experience (?=0.168) as significant positive predictors of favorable attitudes, while student status (?=-0.189), higher educational attainment (?=-0.078), and urban policymaker profile (?=-0.094) significantly predicted negative attitudes, confirming that educational systems actively socialized learners away from agriculture. The study concluded that colonial legacies, neoliberal policies prioritizing export agriculture, urban-centric governance, and inappropriate pedagogies created systemic curricular neglect that perpetuated food insecurity, youth unemployment, and compromised food sovereignty. Recommendations included establishing mandatory minimum agricultural curricular allocation standards (12-15% of total curriculum with 60-70% practical components), restructuring educational governance to ensure 40% rural and agricultural stakeholder representation in curriculum development, and developing teacher capacity through experiential agricultural training with financial incentives for rural placements, thereby transforming educational systems to prepare African youth for meaningful engagement with the agricultural sector fundamental to continental development, food security, and economic sovereignty.