In order to sort through the difficult challenges that face Africa and similar developing nations, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University is pleased to host a lecture by Mercatus Senior Research Fellow, and lead researcher for the center’s Enterprise Africa! program, Karol Boudreaux. Ms. Boudreaux, who recently returned from a field study in South Africa on related issues, will share her latest research and experiences.

Enterprise Africa! Lead Researcher Karol Boudreaux spoke at South Africa's Stellenbosch University on strategies to boost long-term agricultural production in Africa. Please read the presentation to learn more.

In the past few years, Rwanda has developed a reputation of producing top-quality specialty coffee for export throughout the world. The result has been tremendous economic and social benefits for the people of Rwanda: coffee now generates more than half of Rwanda's export income—some US $46 million in 2006—and it helps support thousands of families. As Rwandans earn more for their coffee beans, families take a step up the ladder of economic development toward a better life. In addition, there is some journalistic evidence that working together in coffee cooperatives may provide a channel for informal reconciliation between the Hutus and Tutsis.