The Impact of Policy in African Agriculture


Book Description

Policy in Sub-Saharan African countries is linked with the region's agricultural performance. Exchange rate policies, high taxes on agriculture, and government control of export marketing are associated with the deterioration in agricultural export performance in 1970-87. And the policy reforms of the late 1980s - where sustained and effective - are linked with increased agricultural productivity.




The Effects of Economic Policies on African Agriculture


Book Description

This paper uses newly compiled data and a wide range of empirical analysis to assess the impact of government policies on agricultural exports and food production over the past two decades and across most sub-Saharan countries. While direct government control of marketing and prices of export crops has discouraged exports, disincentives created indirectly by overvalued currencies have been more damaging to agricultural supply in sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions. The rise of imported food to Africa has resulted mostly from factors that encourage consumers to eat imported food, and not from a failure of domestic production, as often assumed. These factors include overvalued currencies (which reduce the price of imported food), falling world food prices, high incomes during times of improved terms of trade, and increased urbanization (encouraged in part by policies of keeping farm prices low and concentrating government social spending in urban areas). Countries that have adopted and sustained policies to raise farm incentives have had better agricultural performance in the 1980's, on average, than those where policies continue to discriminate against agriculture.




Agriculture, Poverty, and Policy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa


Book Description

The extent of rural poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa; Lack of agricultural development as a major cause of rural poverty; A program to acelerate agricultural growth; Has the strategy been implemented? Measures of the impact of policy and investment on agriculture; Does agricultural growth benefit the rural poor? Agricultural progress in the "big Ten "Countries.




Re-establishing Agriculture as a Priority for Development Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa


Book Description

Prerequisites and priorities for sustainable economic development. The impact of changing export sector incomes on local rurl economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Macroeconomic policies and the contribution of agriculture to regional economic development. The Uruguay round agreement on agriculture and Sub-Saharan Africa.




Development Policies and Policy Processes in Africa


Book Description

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. The book examines the methodological challenges in analyzing the effectiveness of development policies. It presents a selection of tools and methodologies that can help tackle the complexities of which policies work best and why, and how they can be implemented effectively given the political and economic framework conditions of a country. The contributions in this book offer a continuation of the ongoing evidence-based debate on the role of agriculture and participatory policy processes in reducing poverty. They develop and apply quantitative political economy approaches by integrating quantitative models of political decision-making into existing economic modeling tools, allowing a more comprehensive growth-poverty analysis. The book addresses not only scholars who use quantitative policy modeling and evaluation techniques in their empirical or theoretical research, but also technical experts, including policy makers and analysts from stakeholder organizations, involved in formulating and implementing policies to reduce poverty and to increase economic and social well-being in African countries.




Structural Adjustment & the African Farmer


Book Description

This book traces the impact of structural adjustment policies upon the incomes and welfare of Africa's peasant farmers who currently operate at very low levels of productivity of both land and labour and are confronted with low household income and inadequate food security. A common method has been applied across five countries. Analyses have been made of the links between national economic policies and the various markets in which the smallholders operate, and the services and infrastructures which influence their productive capacities. There are differences in the resource base and the level of ecological deterioration, in export opportunities, in physical infrastructure and, in particular, in the depth and nature of economic policy reforms. The team have recognised the important differences between these five countries and overcome the formidable problems of collecting agricultural data in Africa. The book provides firm evidence of the impact, both positive and negative, of structural adjustment. The editors argue for a more targeted, project-specific approach to small farmer development. This complements the current, donor interest in policy related aid support.




Looking Ahead


Book Description

References p. 52-59.




Impact of Science on African Agriculture and Food Security


Book Description

The need for agricultural research resources in the developing world cannot be underestimated, but the availability of such resources is often poor due to lack of funding and investment. In order for Africa and other such developing countries to achieve productivity in agriculture - vital to food security, poverty reduction and sustainable management of natural resources - investment and policy development needs to be assessed. This book, a joint effort from IFPRI, ILRI and the Kellogg Foundation, explores the importance of impact assessment studies in Africa, and assembles important evidence to pave the way for further, much needed investment in agricultural research all over the developing world.




The Impact of Price and Exchange Rate Policies on Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa


Book Description

The purposes of this paper are two. Firstly, a review is undertaken of the available literature on the impact of price and exchange rate policies on agriculture in sub - Saharan Africa. Secondly, an empirical analysis is undertaken using data for 31 sub - Saharan African countries to test several of the common hypotheses concerning this policy impact. The findings tend to confirm the predominate view that in sub - Saharan Africa, price and exchange rate policy has an impact on agricultural production. With the exception of a few countries, the impact has been negative. However, the analysis suggests that these policies are not the most important factors affecting agricultural growth. The literature on this subject tends to suggest a general thrust of policy reform appropriate to all African countries. In this article it is argued that there is no stereotype price policy package suitable for all African countries. The reason is that the depth of the policy problem differs considerably between countries, as do policy objectives and other constraints (land, water, markets, social, political, etc).




African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development


Book Description

This book provides a thorough introduction to and examination of agricultural value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. First, the authors introduce the economic theory of agri-food value chains and value chain governance, focusing on domestic and regional trade in (and consumption of) food crops in a low-income country context. In addition to mainstream and heterodox thinking about value chain development, the book pays attention to political economy considerations. The book also reviews the empirical evidence on value chain development and performance in Africa. It adopts multiple lenses to examine agricultural value chains, zooming out from the micro level (e.g., relational contracting in a context of market imperfections) to the meso level (e.g., distributional implications of various value chain interventions, inclusion of specific social groups) and the macro level (underlying income, population and urbanization trends, volumes and prices, etc.).Furthermore, this book places value chain development in the context of a process the authors refer to as structural transformation 2.0, which refers to a process where production factors (labor, land and capital) move from low-productivity agriculture to high-productivity agriculture. Finally, throughout the book the authors interpret the evidence in light of three important debates: (i) how competitive are rural factor and product markets, and what does this imply for distribution and innovation? (ii) what role do foreign investment and factor proportions play in the development of agri-food value chains in Africa? (iii) what complementary government policies can help facilitate a process of agricultural value chain transformation, towards high-productive activities and enhancing the capacity of value chains to generate employment opportunities and food security for a growing population.