What is the problem with photography of Africa?

Africa has long been irresistible to art photographers. The problem is that these photographs have, until recently, been taken by non-African photographers. Through their lenses, we have seen the continent’s beauty and its rawness, the savannahs and the cities — but rarely have we seen this through the eyes of those who actually call Africa home.

Staple foods of the rich world — wheat, barley, rice, maize and so on — have undergone long and sophisticated breeding programs to increase their resistance to pests and pathogens, and to improve their yields and the convenience of harvesting them. The fruits of such research are found on the tables of the poor world as well, since these crops are ubiquitous. But poor countries often have other staples, and these have not usually been subject to such genetic ministrations.