Topical issues: Agriculture

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London-UK has posted a set of new resources to complement the release of the World Bank's World Development 2008, Agriculture for Development.

Much of ODI's current work on agriculture takes place in association with partners in the Future Agricultures Consortium. Research focuses on the political economy of policy reform, social protection and agriculture, and pathways of commercialisation for small farmers. Hereafter some references linked to agricultural issues in Africa.
Opinion papers
Funding agriculture: not 'how much?' but 'what for?' (PDF, 146kb)
'Before calling for an increase in the volume of funding to agriculture, we need a better understanding of how resources are being used'
ODI Opinions 86 - October 2007

The first Millennium Development Goal, agriculture and climate change (PDF, 70kb)
'Over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are reliant on agriculture for their income. However, the potential impacts of climate change pose two key questions for current agriculture-led strategies to reduce poverty.'
ODI ODI Opinion 85 - 19 October 2007

Making contract farming work with co-operatives (PDF, 74kb)
A greater focus on strengthening market-orientated producer organisations and dispute-resolution mechanisms between farmers and firms may increase the chances of win-win outcomes from this form of institutional innovation'
ODI Opinion 87 - October 2007

Farm Subsidies: a problem for Africa too (PDF, 66kb)
'The level of farm subsidies in rich countries is now a well-recognised barrier to Africa's development. But are Africa's own farm subsidies also a barrier to development?'
ODI Opinions 47 - September 2005

Growth in African Agriculture (PDF, 56kb)
'Interest in African agriculture is being rekindled after two decades of relative neglect by both governments and donors - and corresponding slow growth of the sector. For most countries, agriculture has to grow if the economy is to develop, if rural poverty is be alleviated. It is now clear that getting the ‘Washington Consensus' conditions right for business may be necessary, but is certainly not sufficient to get agriculture moving. So what more needs to be done?' ODI Opinions 45 - July 2005

ODI Briefing Papers

Climate change, agricultural policy and poverty reduction – how much do we know? (PDF, 166kb) Projections suggest that, by the end of the 21st century, climate change could have had substantial impact on agricultural production and thence on the scope for reducing poverty.
Climate change, agricultural policy and poverty reduction – how much do we know?

The Millennium Villages Project – a new approach to ending rural poverty in Africa? (PDF, 149kb)
Proponents of the Millennium Villages Project argue that the complex problems facing rural development in Africa require a ‘big push’ if substantive progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to be made – and propose the simultaneous introduction of improvements in agriculture, health, transport, energy, technology, telecommunications and internet connectivity, costing US$110 per person per year over 5 years, and funded mainly from aid flows. This paper examines the challenges this initiative faces, and the questions it raises, in its search for ‘quick wins’ to reach the MDGs.
Natural Resource Perspective 101 - August 2006

Narratives of Agricultural Policy in Africa: What Role for Ministries of Agriculture? (PDF, 55kb) Which of the different models for Ministries of Agriculture make sense today.
Future Agricultures Briefing Paper - 2006

The enabling environment for agricultural technology in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential role of donors (PDF, 34kb)
To improve agricultural technology development in Africa requires strengthening of the enabling environment, including policies, public institutions and regulations. Various types of market failure imply that markets, by themselves, will not elicit the optimum amount of technology for Africa’s farmers. Priorities include more responsive regulations for input supply, support for emerging enterprises, strengthening input marketing, establishing adequate intellectual property protection, and addressing the challenges of biotechnology. Donors can play an important role, but short-term project interventions must give way to longer-term strategies for support to institutions including formal policies and regulations and informal rules and procedures that encourage indigenous organisational innovation.
Natural Resource Perspective 84 - April 2003

You can find more on the ODI agriculture thematic page

World Food Day

World Food Day is celebrated on 16 October with the aim of preventing children around the world from going hungry. Every year, more than 150 countries join in to make a stand against child hunger.

Since 1981 World Food Day has been a story of concern and action at all levels in communities around the world. For 62 years the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has been at work wherever its skills have been needed, and for 27 years the citizens of the world have been joining forces with FAO through the annual worldwide observance on October 16th to focus on FAO’s efforts and to add their own impact in a thousand ways.

On World Food Day, there are more than 850 million chronically hungry people worldwide, nearly 90 percent of whom are women and children. And the sad reality is that it is about to get worse.

World population is growing, and it is growing fastest in the least developing countries. Between now and 2050, the world's population is expected to grow from its current 6.7 billion to 9.1 billion people. About one billion of those will be born in Africa, a continent under the scourge of more frequent and more severe droughts and floods, and the threat of even more severe weather from climate change.

Meanwhile, the prices of wheat, maize, sorghum and other food commodities is soaring - making food less affordable for the world's most vulnerable and raising WFP's food costs by over 50 percent in the last 5 years alone.

These demographic trends, food price increases, changing climate and a 30 percent decline in food aid in the past decade combined could deliver a perfect storm of rising hunger. But on the other hand, over the past 150 years, farmers in many nations have broken the cycle of abject hunger and poverty. Hunger must be tackled at its root, replicating these successes where possible...


The following selection of events and activities is a sample of what is happening this week.

World Food Day at FAO Headquarters – Rome, Italy October 16 in FAO Plenary Hall Theme: The Right to Food – Make It Happen! The presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Republic of Tanzania will keynote the observance.

World Food Day at the United Nations – New York October 18 at the UN Eleanor Roosevelt Monologue on “The First Human Right” Launch of the Year of the Potato

World Food Prize Award Ceremony and Symposium October 16-19 – Des Moines, Iowa Biofuels and Biofood – Global Challenges will be the topic of lectures and panels. Dr. Philip E. Nelson, Purdue University Researcher, will be presented the 2007 Prize. The Iowa Hunger Summit will precede the Symposium.

Dr Kyetere (FARA Chair) is to participate at the next CTA Brussels Briefing on EC Communication on Advancing African Agriculture- Brussels 17th October 2007

And finally:

The theme of the World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) 2008 is Agriculture for Development. The World Development Report 2008 can already be downloaded in a near-final version, but the final report will be embargoed until 16:00 GMT (12:00 US Eastern Time), Friday, October 19.