blogs.wsj.com - Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture.

Dan Keeler/The Wall Street Journal

Rapid urbanization across Africa and growing inequality are threatening to increase social tensions and further destabilize a continent that is already home to 29 fragile states, says Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture. The solution, he believes, lies in smart planning and a new approach to agricultural development.

Adesina suggests the root of many of the continent’s problems—perhaps ironically—is rapid economic growth. “The growth we’ve had is great, but it’s creating a number of major trends that are very worrying,” he says. Widening inequality, between countries and within countries, is creating political and social fragility across the continent. Today, Adesina says, 53% of African countries are considered to be fragile states.

Raid economic growth, which tends to be concentrated in urban areas, has also prompted a surge in migration into cities.