This paper investigates the ‘megatrends’ shaping African economic, political and social landscapes and asks which ones depend endogenously on processes that are within the realm of policy influence and which ones are indeed exogenous. Based on this analysis, it sketches four plausible scenarios for African food systems and discusses how...

Sub-Saharan African countries, through their regional organizations, have embarked on the harmonisation of plant variety protection (PVP) systems. These initiatives are largely modelled on the UPOV 1991 act, which claims to incentivize plant breeding and facilitate agricultural development. Civil Society Organisations (CSO), however, strongly criticise this process for being out...

Smallholder agriculture has long served as the dominant economic activity for people in sub-Saharan Africa, and it will remain enormously important for the foreseeable future. But the size of the sector does not necessarily imply that investments in the smallholder sector will yield high social benefits in comparison to other...

Fisheries play an important role in the economic and social life in Burundi. Yet, about 10 to 15% of the harvest was lost during the processing phase. Fish drying, which is the most common processing technique in the country, was done generally on bare ground. This has led to partial...

Smallholder agriculture in many developing countries has remained largely self-financed. However, improved productivity for attaining greater food security requires better access to institutional credit. Past efforts to extend institutional credit to smaller farmers has failed for several reasons, including subsidized operation of government-aided credit schemes. Thus, recent efforts to expand...

Comparing and contrasting where the challenges to and opportunities for growth in productivity are located, and doing so at multiple scales and over time, can give us powerful insights that can enrich our understanding of the variables that affect agricultural productivity. The Atlas of African Agriculture Research & Development presents...

David Booth investigates the scope for reforming African agricultural policy choices. While recognising the difficulties that many countries face in developing the agricultural policies they need to transform their economies, he encourages policymakers to abandon 'pessimistic' political-economy diagnostics. Instead he provides evidence that social and economic reforms can be achieved...

Conventional wisdom holds that Sub-Saharan African farmers use few modern inputs despite the fact that most growth-inducing and poverty-reducing agricultural growth in the region is expected to come largely from expanded use of inputs that embody improved technologies, particularly improved seed, fertilizers and other agro-chemicals, machinery, and irrigation. Yet following...

Although the potentially negative impacts of credit constraints on economic development have long been discussed conceptually, empirical evidence for Africa remains limited. This study uses a direct elicitation approach for a national sample of Rwandan rural households to assess empirically the extent and nature of credit rationing in the semi-formal...

The IYFF-2014’ National Committee in Gambia promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing in the West African region    

African countries face serious difficulties in getting the agricultural policies they need to help turn economic growth into economic transformation. Nonetheless, radical pessimism may not be justified for two reasons. By comparing Southeast Asian and African experience in other policy fields, this paper suggests that changing policy ideas may play...

Les producteurs céréaliers sont confrontés à la mévente répétée des récoltes qui sont excédentaires depuis plus de cinq (5) années successives et pour ce faire, la CPC-Togo pour une première édition organise, avec l’appui du projet PADAT au Togo, une rencontre d’opportunité commerciale observée par ses membres lors de leur...

Ce projet cible plus de 3000 ménages paysans possédant moins de 0,25 hectares de terres. Tous ont reçu des plants fruitiers et agro-forestiers, et un peu moins de la moitié a été sélectionnée pour recevoir du petit bétail (poules, lapins, cochons) et des semences agricoles. Ces derniers ont été accompagnés...

The paper distinguishes different approaches to markets in, and affecting, rural sub-Saharan Africa, and present some associated policies, notably ‘market-friendly’ and ‘market-challenging’. We then propose a political economy approach as a more satisfactory way of grasping the complex social dynamics of ‘real markets’ and their forms of unequal power. This...

The Women’s Rights to Sustainable Livelihoods project (2012 - 2015) is an innovative four-year intervention designed by ActionAid International and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims to pilot practical solutions to promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce the unpaid care work of women smallholder farmers. The project...

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, accounting for about 30 per cent of GDP south of the Sahara, as well as a significant proportion of export value. Not surprisingly, in most African countries, 60 per cent or more of employees work in agriculture. Yet this barely scrapes the surface...

Les paysans togolais doivent de plus en plus composer avec les aléas causés par les changements climatiques tels que l’appauvrissement et la fuite des sols, la prolifération de maladies et la raréfaction des ressources en eau. Dans son nouveau projet, Elevages et Solidarité des Familles pour le Togo (ESFT) cherche...

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is in Tanzania, where climate change is taking a toll on local populations. FAO-backed initiatives are making it easier for farmers and families to produce crop varieties that grow in dry conditions. Plus, new soil methods are increasing production and energy-saving stoves...

In recent years large-scale agricultural input subsidies have had a contested ‘rehabilitation’ in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews the changing paradigms, politics and theories associated with input subsidies’ decline and rise, and the implementation and impacts of recent large-scale programmes. Empirical evidence is patchy, and their impacts contested and dependent...

In Rwanda, P4P focuses on supporting the government’s efforts to boost agricultural production, on increasing the income of smallholder farmers and developing the agricultural market. In order to reduce post-harvest losses, P4P and partners support farmers’ cooperatives with training in post-harvest handling, equipment and storage facilities. Cooperatives also receive training...