Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

Cycle of Poverty | Owning Farming Land in Africa

African land ownership and grazing rights ownership has been decided by customary laws rather than written ownership through governmental deeds. Land is a political resource throughout Africa lending to the cycle of poverty limiting the Africans resources to owning land in Africa.

Searching for water in East Africa


In rural Africa with subsistence farming, owning land, controlling it and using it are critical dimensions of rural livelihoods. Land is not simply an economic resource it is an important factor in the development of social and cultural identity.

Land is also an enormous political resource, defining power relations between and among individuals, families and communities. In rural cultures, landless or near-landless people and people with insecure land occupancy rights often represent the poorest and most vulnerable groups in Africa.

Planting decisions are made principally with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year and secondarily toward income-producing crops. Subsistence farming on insecure land continues today in large parts of rural Africa.

Planting rice in Africa
Planting rice in Africa


Agricultural productivity in Africa overall has declined sharply in the past 40 years. This is a glaring difference from the 1960s when some African regions were major agricultural exporters of crops. Farming is a risky business anywhere in the world, but especially if you are a subsistence farmer in Africa. Women play a significant role in subsistence farming as well as in livestock raising and food processing.

Millions of female African farmers face a range of problems, including traditional attitudes of the role of women, denied access to owning land and claiming the land of a dead spouse or relative, not understanding their right under the law, access to credit and fruitful farming materials like fertilizers, pesticides and farming tools. Over 70 percent of the unstable subsistence, farming population lives in the rural areas of Africa.

What is subsistence farming? Subsistence farming in Africa is farming in which farmers grow and eat crops for their family, leaving little or nothing to be sold at market. Legally recognizing land ownership is a political issue in Africa lending to the cycle of poverty limiting the Africans resources to owning land.
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Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

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Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

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