Agriculture accounts for about one-third of the gross national product (GNP) and employs more than one-third of the population, yet more than four-fifths of the nation's food requirements must be met by imports. Even in periods of normal rainfall, only 4 of the 10 islands (Santo Antão, Brava, Fogo, and São Tiago) support significant agricultural activity, with livestock raising as the main occupation. Food crops are corn (maize), beans, cassava, and sweet potatoes. Cash crops such as bananas, sugarcane, coffee, and peanuts (groundnuts) are encouraged, but agricultural development has proceeded only very slowly. Desalinization plants on São Vicente and Sal islands, constructed in the 1970s and '80s, are intended to reduce the islands' severe water shortage. Other government efforts to combat water shortages include well sinking and the construction of thousands of small dams and dykes to hold the all-too-infrequent rains. More than 2,000,000 drought-resistant trees were planted in the early 1980s.

Staple crops include maize and beans; also cultivated are sweet potatoes, coconuts, potatoes, cassava, and dates. Some bananas are grown for export, and sugarcane is raised for the making of rum. Because of its mountainous terrain, only 9.7 percent of the islands’ area is cultivated. Subdivision of farms from generation to generation has reduced many farms to a size smaller than needed for subsistence, and Cape Verde depends on food imports (much of it in the form of aid) to feed its people.

Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor natural resource base, including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought. The economy is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for almost 70% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture in GDP in 1998 was only 13%, of which fishing accounts for 1.5%. About 90% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by foreign aid and remittances from emigrants; remittances constitute a supplement to GDP of more than 20%. Economic reforms, launched by the new democratic government in 1991, are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Prospects for 2001 depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program.