What does Africa produce?
The continent has 40 percent of the world's gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world are in Africa. It holds 65 per cent of the world's arable land and ten percent of the planet's internal renewable fresh water source.
Africa is known for Mount Kilimanjaro, Victoria Falls, Nile river, and game reserves such as the Maasai Mara and Serengeti. Africa is also famous for its diverse ethnic groups, Egyptian Pyramids, the Sahara Desert, Mining, and for being the second driest, and the poorest continent in the world.
Corruption and bad leadership have also been blamed for the lack of development of African countries. Other factors such as poor institutions and cross border conflicts have also been blamed for the underdevelopment of Africa, even in the face of natural resource abundance.
01: South Africa
Sitting comfortably at the top of the continent's minerals pile is South Africa. Alongside its 35 gold mines, it produces abundant coal, diamonds, iron ore and chromium. What's more, it also contains the world's largest reserves of manganese and platinum group metals.
Among the important fruits are bananas, pineapples, dates, figs, olives, and citrus; the principal vegetables include tomatoes and onions. The banana is well distributed throughout tropical Africa, but it is intensively cultivated as an irrigated enterprise in Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, and Madagascar.
- African Nightshade (Solanum spp.)
- African Spider Plant (Cleome gynandra)
- Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.)
- Moringa (Moringa oleifera)
- Roselle/Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
- Ethiopian Mustard (Brassica carinata)
- African Eggplant/ Garden egg (Solanum aethiopicum)
- Cowpea Greens (Vigna unguiculata)
Generally speaking, African religions hold that there is one creator God, the maker of a dynamic universe. Myths of various African peoples relate that, after setting the world in motion, the Supreme Being withdrew, and he remains remote from the concerns of human life.
In Kemetic History of Afrika, Dr cheikh Anah Diop writes, “The ancient name of Africa was Alkebulan. Alkebu-lan “mother of mankind” or “garden of Eden”.” Alkebulan is the oldest and the only word of indigenous origin. It was used by the Moors, Nubians, Numidians, Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians), and Ethiopians.
All historians agree that it was the Roman use of the term 'Africa' for parts of Tunisia and Northern Algeria which ultimately, almost 2000 years later, gave the continent its name. There is, however, no consensus amongst scholars as to why the Romans decided to call these provinces 'Africa'.
Sub-Saharan Africa plays a critical role in advancing global priorities to the benefit of Africans and Americans. It has one of the world's fastest growing populations, largest free trade areas, most diverse ecosystems, and one of the largest regional voting groups in the United Nations (UN).
Why is Africa called the Dark continent?
Africa was originally dubbed the “Dark Continent” by Welsh journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who saw Africa as mysterious. Its landscapes and cultures were largely unknown to many outsiders until the late nineteenth century.
Africa — the wealthiest continent.
In most African states one or two primary commodities dominate the export trade—e.g., petroleum and petroleum products in Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and Angola; iron ore in Mauritania and Liberia; copper in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; cotton in Chad; coffee in ...
Agriculture exports to the U.S. have grown significantly since AGOA, from $59 million in 2001 to $261 million in 2014. The main exports of agriculture products to the U.S. are cocoa paste and powder, citrus fruits, edible nuts, wine, unmanufactured tobacco, and vegetables.
Cassava, also referred to as yuca, is the most produced cash crop by a wide margin. With nearly 200 million tonnes of it produced annually, Africa's production of cassava makes up a majority (63%) of the global total. While cassavas are not well known in the Western world, they feed 800 million people globally.
Whereas Africans in the forest belt grow root crops like yams and cassava; plantains, oil palm; their counterparts in the savanna grow millets, sorghum etc. Maize, cassava (manioc), peanuts, beans, sweet potatoes introduced to Africa by the Portuguese, possibly from Brazil.