This region comprises Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Agriculture employs about 80 percent of the labor force in Uganda and Ethiopia. Approximately 2.5 million small farms dominate agriculture in both countries. About 84 percent of Uganda's land is suitable for agriculture a high percentage compared to the majority of African countries, such as Ethiopia with only 12 percent. Food crops account for about 74 percent of agricultural production. Only one-third is marketed, the rest is for home consumption. In four years out of five, the minimum needed rainfall may be expected in 78 percent of Uganda but in only 15 percent of Kenya. Somalia and Ethiopia receive almost none of the needed minimum.
Tanzania has almost four million farms. Traditional export crops include coffee, cotton, cashew is estimated to be 7.5 million acres. In the 1990's, only 110,000 acres were irrigated, growing rice, sugarcane, corn, and citrus.
Agriculture and livestock production employ about 62 percent of Botswana's labor force. Most of the country has semidesert conditions with erratic rainfall and poor soil conditions, making it more suitable to grazing than to crop production. The principal food crops are sorghum and corn. Namibia's cultivated area is only 506,000 acres only 0.8 percent of the cultivable area. Agriculture makes up approximately 10 percent of the economy but employs more than 80 percent of the population. The major irrigated crops are corn, wheat, and cotton.
See also: Gulf of Guinea, Central Region , Africa North
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