Publication: “Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa – Challenges of Integration into the Global Economy” (Edited Volume)

Together with co-editors Sören Scholvin, Anthony Black, and Ivan Turok, the CRC’s PI Javier Revilla Diez (C01 – Future in Chains) recently published the edited volume „Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa – Challenges of Integration into the Global Economy”. The volume includes a selection of papers presented at the conference on ‘Value Chains in the Global South: Challenges of Integration into the Global Economy’, held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in October 2017 and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

The contributions to this book address various features of the integration of sub-Saharan Africa into the world economy via value chains, so as to explain corresponding challenges and opportunities. In this way, the book takes up relevant topics of the CRC “Rural Future Africa”. Value chain integration is seen by international donors and national governments as catalytic tool of future making. The book deals with five issues that have not been covered adequately in scientific debates: first, policies are essential to promote value chains and increase their impact on development; second, value chains are diverse, and the variance between them has major economic and political implications; third, regional value chains appear to constitute a viable alternative to global ones (or, at least, are complementary to them), promising better developmental outcomes for the Global South; fourth, political and socio-economic factors are important considerations for a complete assessment of value chains; fifth, cities and city regions are also crucial objects of study in seeking to achieve a comprehensive assessment of value chains.

Especially relevant to the work of the CRC is the chapter of Asmita Parshotam and Javier Revilla Diez, that deals with SAGCOT and is entitled: Economic Growth Corridors Through a Value-Chain Lens: The Case of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor in Tanzania. The paper discusses the needed conditions for a successful integration of smallholder farmers, as the very optimistic future perspectives are not coming automatically.

The book has been published by Springer Nature Switzerland in May 2019 as Hardcover and eBook. The publication can be found on the Springer Website: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030062057

More CRC News

train station in suswa, kenya

Megaprojects and Power Shifts: How Infrastructure Development Threatens Communal Lands in Africa

In this new publication, Eric Kioko (Project C03 Green Futures) and Winnie Changwony (Kent State University) examine the impact of government-led megaprojects on communal land ...
Read More »
hand holding a phone

New Publication: When Smart Plans Meet Hard Work – Digital Infrastructure and Labor in Tanzania

Gideon Tups (C01 Future in Chains) and Astrid Matejcek (Project C04 Smart Futures) explore how digital connectivity projects in rural Tanzania’s agricultural sector, often promoted ...
Read More »
poster advertising a film premiere

Film Premiere: Mtu ni Watu – Disclosing Hidden Stories of Fieldwork

Mon | June 23rd, 2025 | 17:00  (CEST) I Off-Broadway Cinema, Zülpicher Str. 24, 50674 Köln The Film Mtu ni Watu is part of the ...
Read More »
researcher watching elephants

Was Elefanten mit Kohlenstoff zu schaffen haben, und weshalb uns das betrifft – Essay von Liana Kindermann

Von Liana Kindermann (Projekt A01 Future Carbon Storage). Als Forscherin in unserem Teilprojekt „A01 Future Carbon Storage” beschäftigt sich Liana Kindermann mit der Wechselwirkung zwischen ...
Read More »
screenshot of the participants of a zoom meeting

Workshop: “Improve Your Visibility – Female Scientists in Social Media”

The Board for Gender Equality and Diversity hosted a two-day online workshop titled “Improve Your Visibility – Female Scientists in Social Media” from May 20 ...
Read More »
Scroll to Top