The book is about the intersection of agriculture and development in Africa and how the intersection impacts on rural industrialisation prospects. It provides a comprehensive view of the position of agriculture in African socio-economic activities and the agricultural sector's potential as the source for continental development and industrialisation prospects. Significant research has been done on African development with a focus placed on the problematic role played by slavery, colonialism and later by incompetent African leaders who failed to steer development – of the type that delivers a progressive, sustained and sustainable transformation of lives and societies. There is limited focus on the possibility of agriculture being the potential basis of African development and the chance for industrialisation. This is a matter of concern, considering the dominance of agriculture as a livelihood and income source for many people on the continent. 

In contributing to the debate on development in Africa, this book aims to show how agriculture can serve as the basis for African development and industrialisation. This will be achieved by (i) providing a detailed historical description of the position of agriculture in African socio-economic activities, (ii) outlining the trajectory of African development with a focus on agriculture, innovation, and mechanisation, (iii) identifying challenges to the development of African agriculture, (iv) exploring the opportunities for agricultural development in Africa, and (v) providing practical and policy recommendations to improve African agriculture and make it the engine for development and industrialisation. 

Utilising a multidisciplinary approach which combines political economy, social policy, financial inclusion, and empowerment approaches, the book also shows how youth and women engagement, digitalisation, and the provision of support (by public and private actors) are some of the igniting factors that can jump-start agriculture as the engine of African development and industrialisation. Taken together with this conscious effort to promote a multi-disciplinary discussion, the book readily commends itself as compulsory reading for students, policymakers, and activists interested in emerging new directions in African development thinking and research.