Analysing the pathways to agricultural commercialisation in sub-Saharan Africa
ABOUT APRA
Which pathways to agricultural commercialisation are the most effective in empowering women, reducing rural poverty and improving food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) is a six-year research programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) which aims to address this question through in-depth, interdisciplinary, comparative research across nine countries. Through this work, APRA is generating high-quality evidence and policy-relevant insights on more inclusive pathways to agricultural commercialisation.
With headquarters at the Institute of Development Studies, APRA will run from 2016 to 2022 with the generous support of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
AREAS OF OPERATION
NEWS
The third and final APRA e-Dialogue: Transition pathways and strategies for supporting more equitable and resilient food systems in Africa
March 3, 2022Starting in October 2021 and running through 2022, the e-Dialogue series on agricultural commercialisation, agrarian change and rural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa has examined a range of topics including the emerging challenges and regional realities of smallholder transformation and COVID-19’s effects on food systems and rural livelihoods. Now, in the third and final event of this series, we turn our attention to transition pathways and strategies for supporting more equitable and resilient food systems in Africa. This last e-Dialogue, to be held on Wednesday 23 March 2022, will seek to move the focus of food system transformations from ‘what needs to happen’ to ‘how to make it happen’ to support more equitable and inclusive forms of food system transformation.
BLOG
Agricultural commercialisation and rural employment
May 23, 2022The seasonal nature of agricultural production under rainfed conditions in most parts of rural Ghana, as in other sub-Saharan countries, makes employment in small-scale agriculture alone inadequate for improving the wellbeing of most rural households. Boosting commercial agriculture could be the key to generating employment – not only within agriculture but also in the non-agricultural sector due to linkages between the farm and non-farm economy. Within this context, this blog reflects on the findings of APRA Working Paper 92, and addresses the following questions: What is the association between agricultural commercialisation and rural employment? What are the returns to agricultural employment in a high agriculture commercialisation zone, and how does it compare with non-agricultural employment? Are farm and non-farm employment counterparts or competitors in a high agriculture commercialisation zone?
Newsletter
Subscribe to the FAC mailing list to keep informed about developments in Africa, share insights and follow conference updates.
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
APRA Working Paper 93: Changing Farm Structure and Agricultural Commercialisation: Implications for Livelihood Improvements Among Small-Scale Farmers in Nigeria
Country: Nigeria
Regional Hubs
Future Agricultures has a diverse network of partners in Africa and worldwide, working together on research, communications and policy engagement.
">
CONTACT
DIRECTORATE/IDS
John Thompson, CEO: j.thompson@ids.ac.uk
Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Research Director, UK: r.sabates-wheeler@ids.ac.uk
Oliver Burch, Programme Manager: o.burch@ids.ac.uk
Lesley White, Impact, Communications and Engagement Officer: l.white@ids.ac.uk
Amrita Saha, Post-doctoral Research Officer: a.saha@ids.ac.uk
EAST AFRICA REGIONAL HUB/CABE
Hannington Odame, Regional Coordinator: hsodame@gmail.com
SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL HUB/PLAAS
Cyriaque Hakizimana, Regional Coordinator: chakizimana@plaas.org.za
Ruth Hall, Regional Coordinator: rhall@uwc.ac.za
WEST AFRICA REGIONAL HUB/UNIV OF GHANA
Joseph Yaro, Regional Coordinator: yarojoe@yahoo.com