Countries in the ACP region will face significant challenges in the years to come as they try to step up economic growth, deal with increasingly integrated world markets and meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those focused on hunger and poverty. These efforts will take place in the face of declining external assistance and many competing demands on resources. The analysis in the paper shows that agriculture and rural economic activities are essential for growth, poverty reduction and food security especially for the poorer countries in the region. However trends in public resource mobilisation for agriculture and rural development (in terms of both domestic spending and Official Development Assistance) do not reflect that important role. Estimates are provided for incremental public resource needs for the ACP countries to meet the WFS goal of halving hunger by 2015.