Author: Fantu Cheru, Renu Modi.

India, China and Brazil are striving to build their relationships with Africa in a spirit of South–South cooperation. One significant dimension of this engagement has been agriculture. The three countries have become an im­ portant source of finance, technology and infrastructure, critical for boost­ ing the productivity of African agriculture, thereby increasing domestic food security and exports to world markets. Private enterprises and state­ owned companies from the three emerging countries have started to invest in the agricultural sector of many African countries, ranging from agricultural in­ puts and irrigation services to farming, food processing and distribution. For China and India, however, concerns about their own domestic food security have been the main driving force for their growing engagement with African agriculture. With huge populations, growing urbanisation and a rising middle class in both countries, demand for food is expected to outstrip the capacity of local production due to diminishing arable land and serious water short­ ages for irrigation.