We review the literature on the distribution of farm sizes in sub-Saharan Africa, trends over time, drivers of change in farm structure, and effects on agricultural transformation and present new evidence for seven countries. While it is widely viewed that African agriculture is dominated by small-scale farms, we show that medium-scale farms of 5 to 100 hectares are a nontrivial—and rapidly expanding—force that is influencing the nature and pace of food systems transformation in Africa. The increased prevalence of medium-scale holdings is associated with farm labor productivity growth and underappreciated benefits to smallholder farmers. However, the rise of African investor farmers is also contributing to the commodification of land, escalating land prices, and restricted land access for most local people. A better understanding of these trends and linkages, which requires new data collection activities, could help resolve long-standing policy debates and support strategies that accelerate agricultural transformation.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲农场规模分布的变化和农业转型

我们回顾了有关撒哈拉以南非洲农场规模分布、随时间变化的趋势、农场结构变化的驱动因素以及对农业转型的影响的文献，并为七个国家提供了新的证据。虽然人们普遍认为非洲农业以小型农场为主，但我们表明，5 至 100 公顷的中型农场是一股重要且迅速扩张的力量，正在影响非洲粮食系统转型的性质和步伐。中等规模农业的普及与农业劳动生产率的增长以及小农的利益被低估有关。然而，非洲投资农民的崛起也促进了土地商品化、土地价格上涨以及大多数当地人获得土地的限制。更好地了解这些趋势和联系需要新的数据收集活动，有助于解决长期存在的政策辩论并支持加速农业转型的战略。