Future Agricultures Consortium

L’Agriculture est la base de la plupart des économies africaines. Pour des millions de petits propriétaires, l’agriculture est leur gagne-pain, elle soutient la sécurité alimentaire et les efforts de la lutte contre la pauvreté et elle favorise un développement économique plus étendu. La croissance agricole a pourtant été généralement décevante et il y a une préoccupation claire sur la situation de la faim à travers le continent1. L’Agriculture fait face à de nouveaux défis globaux des prix élevés de l’énergie et de l’alimentation et du changement climatique et des échecs internationaux des marchés. Les stratégies de développement agricole, ainsi qu’une productivité accrue et un développement viable contre la pauvreté doivent englober la commercialisation et la croissance à l’initiative du marché.

By Amdissa Teshome

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is an AUC/NEPAD initiative designed to encourage investment in key areas (pillars) that can make the earliest difference to Africa’s agricultural crises. CAADP was adopted by the Head of States as a framework for the revival of agriculture and officially launched in 2003 at a meeting held in Midrand, South Africa

Amdissa Teshome, on behalf of Future Agricultures, was invited to this workshop by the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Secretariat (NPCS). This is the first time that FAC has been invited without us contacting the AU/NEPAD/CAADP so it is a progress which we must build on. This is a brief reflection on the workshop objectives and proceedings.

Edited by Kate Wellard

Agriculture is the mainstay of most African economies. Millions of smallholders depend on farming for their livelihoods, it underpins food security and poverty alleviation efforts, and supports wider economic development. But agricultural growth has generally been disappointing, and there is understandable concern over the state of hunger on the continent. Agriculture faces new global challenges of high food and energy prices, climate change and international market failures. Agricultural development strategies, as well as increasing productivity and pro-poor growth, must encompass commercialisation and sustainable, market-led growth.

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) provides a vision and framework for governments to accelerate agriculture-led growth and sustainable development, and eradicate poverty and food insecurity. To achieve this, governments have pledged to increase agricultural spending, alongside policy and institutional changes to increase competitiveness at home and abroad; investment in technology and productivity; and improvement in marketing and transport.

Edited by Kate Wellard

Accelerated growth in agriculture is critical to meeting the MDGs in Africa. Intensification and commercialisation of smallholder agriculture are seen by many governments and international agencies as the principal means of delivering this.

However market-based approaches have not delivered growth to many parts of Africa where markets are weak, thin and interlocking.

The challenge is how to raise productivity in the agricultural sector, and how smallholder farmers can ‘step up’ and participate in markets and improve livelihoods This brief draws on recent research by Future Agricultures and examines narratives and strategies for commercialisation. It asks:

What pathways to commercialisations are open to smallholder producers and how can these be supported? What are the livelihood aspirations of young people in rural areas? How can farmer organisations be strengthened to assist smallholders to engage in markets and deliver broad-based growth?

Land and Livelihoods: Securing Broad-based Sustainable Growth

Edited by Kate Wellard

Land is central to sustainable development. Agriculture and other land-based activities underpin most rural people’s livelihoods strategies. With investment in appropriate technologies, sustainable management and the right land policies, it has the potential to deliver food security, economic growth and broad-based development.

As public and private interest in agriculture grows, competition over land resources is intensifying. Large-scale trans-national commercial land transactions – through land purchases, land leases and contract farming – are exploding across the continent. Land deals in Africa in 2009 alone amounted to 45 million hectares.

Governments, multi-national corporations, civil society and donors are reacting to ‘land grabbing’ in very different ways. Some see commercial land deals as a threat to the lives and livelihoods of the rural poor.. Others see economic opportunity for small scale farmers but are wary of corruption and negative consequences, calling for improved governance of land markets. Now, the Pan African Parliament has called for land governance issues and their implications for food security and peace to be addressed.

Edited by Kate Wellard

Agricultural growth is critical to reducing poverty and hunger. But even in Asia, where the Green Revolution drove economic development and reduced hunger, it is clear that growth alone is not sufficient to eliminate hunger and malnutrition.

The Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Pillar III is a deliberate attempt to ensure that the agricultural growth agenda targets the chronically poor and vulnerable directly1. It focuses on ensuring that growing agricultural productivity, wellintegrated markets and expanded purchasing power of vulnerable groups – central to the CAADP vision – combine to eradicate hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Edited by Kate Wellard

Technology – seeds, breeds, fertility inputs, disease control, water management - is key to getting agriculture moving. Major investments have been made to support technology development and transfer, but impacts have been patchy. Lessons from across Africa show that the effectiveness of agricultural technology generation and dissemination institutions depends crucially on their relevance and responsiveness to farmer needs.

CAADP is calling for a paradigm shift away from a ‘technological package’ approach to a ‘truly integrated agricultural research’ approach - with national and international researchers working together with smallholders, pastoralists, extension agencies, the private sector and NGOs to achieve impact on the ground.

Policy Brief 40

There has been much talk in the last few years about how agriculture is key to both poverty reduction and economic growth. In Africa, the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) launched the Comprehensive Af rican Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) in 2003 with the objective to attract significant donor funding for a new push for agricultural development. Although fisheries are officially part of the CAADP, the sector has yet to demonstrate its capacities to contribute to the CAADP objectives. This brief reviews the main policy issues related to fisheries in Africa. It discusses in particular the current model (the so-called “wealth-based approach”) that is being proposed as the overall policy ‘blanket’ for the continent’s fisheries, and examines why this model may not be the most appropriate for African small-scale fisheries.

CAADP Policy Brief 06

by Kate Wellard-Dyer

Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa have struggled for centuries with drought, conflict and famine. They are resourceful, innovative and entrepreneurial peoples, by necessity. While there are profound difficulties in creating secure livelihoods for all, there are also significant successes.

The African Union’s Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa recognises pastoralists’ contributions to national and regional economies – supplying huge numbers of livestock and livestock products. Pastoralists’ production systems are highly adaptive and constantly respond to market and climatic change. At the same time human development and food security indicators are amongst the lowest on the continent. The Framework is designed to secure and protect the lives, livelihoods and rights of pastoral peoples, and is a platform for mobilising and coordinating political commitment to pastoral development in Africa.

This policy brief, based on latest research by Future Agricultures Consortium, reviews understandings and misunderstandings about pastoral livelihoods - innovation and entrepreneurship, not just coping and adapting; and cooperation and networking across borders, not just conflict and violence. It highlights the multiple pathways for future development of pastoral areas and offers an alternative view of pastoralism and practical ways forward.

CAADP Policy Brief 07

by Kate Wellard-Dyer

Smallholder agriculture is the core contributor to agricultural production in most African countries and the main driver for food security, poverty reduction and growth. But productivity remains desperately low with limited use of improved inputs (except where boosted by subsidies) – compounded by volatility in climate and markets.

Science and technology is widely seen as essential in turning African agriculture round. The Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Pillar IV is leading moves to revitalise, expand and reform Africa’s agricultural research and development effort.  Investments are being made by national governments, donors and private funders in (mainly international) research institutions to develop improved seeds and soil fertility technologies for a Green Revolution in Africa. Public and, increasingly, private sector delivery systems are gearing up to deliver these technologies to farmers. Within integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D), focus is moving beyond the farm-gate to credit, markets and value-addition. Farmers are being involved earlier in the development process – the effectiveness of agricultural technology generation and dissemination institutions seen as depending crucially on relevance and responsiveness to farmer needs.

Yet ‘market-led technology’ approaches – aimed mainly at high potential agricultural areas - face serious challenges in delivering a broaderbased inclusive agricultural revolution.

This policy brief draws on research findings by Future Agricultures and asks:

Are there options outside conventional institutional routes that bring alternative expertise – particularly farmers’ own innovation experience – into revitalised innovation systems that cut across public, private and farmer-led processes? How can agricultural innovation systems be made to work for poor people in expanding market access and enabling rural innovation? Are there alternative pathways for more sustainable and socially-just development, and what obstacles – political-economic as well as technocratic - need to be overcome to pursue these?

CAADP Policy Brief 08by Kate Wellard-Dyer

Food prices are critical for African populations and economies and at the top of the agenda for African policy makers. The CAADP Framework for African Food Security promotes action to address food security challenges faced by stakeholders continent-wide - inadequate food supply, widespread and persistent hunger and malnutrition, and inadequate management of food crises. Addressing the problems of high and volatile food prices requires a multi-pronged approach, including actions both to prevent and mitigate crises.  This policy brief draws on latest research by Future Agricultures and asks:

What are the main causes of high and volatile food prices? What is the impact of food price spikes on rural households and economies? What can policy-makers do to prevent and mitigate the effects of food prices rises?

Titre complet: Prix élevés et volatiles des denrées alimentaires : Soutien apporté aux agriculteurs et aux consommateurs

CAADP Point Info 08par Kate Wellard-Dyer

Lors de la crise alimentaire mondiale de 2007/2008, les prix des denrées alimentaires ont atteint des niveaux records et le nombre de personnes souffrant de la faim a dépassé le milliard pour la première fois de l’histoire. D’une manière générale, les prix des denrées alimentaires sont restés élevés et instables avec une seconde augmentation en 2010/2011.L’impact de la hausse des prix a été fortement ressenti. Les consommateurs, les producteurs et les ouvriers les plus pauvres sont ceux qui en ont le plus souffert alors que les agriculteurs les mieux lotis ont pu profiter de la situation en accroissant la production. Cependant, la volatilité des prix des denrées alimentaires, c'est-à-dire les fluctuations importantes et difficiles à prévoir des prix, touchent presque tout le monde.