"Policy Partnership for African Agriculture" presentation by Akin Adesina, AGRA at the NEPAD, IFPRI, AGRA and World Bank Meeting to Align Efforts on Agricultural Policy and Knowledge Systems, Dakar, Senegal, January 6-7, 2009.

1. Policy Partnership
for African Agriculture
Akin Adesina
Vice President
AGRA

2. Africa’s food crisis: root cause is low
productivity in the staple food crop sector
6
China S.Asia SS Africa
5
Cereal Yields t/ha
4
3
2
1
0
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Source: FAOSTAT (2001)

3. Africa’s Plan to Turn the Food Crisis
Around: Home Grown Solutions
1. African governments commit to the CAADP goal to
attain 6% agricultural growth
2. Governments pledge 10% of national budgets to
agriculture
3. A structural solution is needed to raise agricultural
productivity growth in the staple food crop sector
4. African Heads of State call for an African Green
Revolution

4. Africa is very different from Asia:
A uniquely African Green Revolution is needed
The Sahelian Drylands
Area: 1.2m km2
Population: 38m
Millet & sorghum belt: 23m ha
Humid Forest Zone Moist Savanna and
Area: 5.8m km2 Woodland Zones
Population: 168m Area: 4.4m km2
Cassava belt: 18m ha Population: 157m
NERICA potential: 2m ha Maize belt: 32m ha
CA potential: 7m ha

5. Advances in crop improvement could
trigger the Africa Green Revolution….BUT

6. Soil nutrient mining is undermining
agricultural productivity growth!
1995-97 2002-04
Source: IFDC

7. AGRA supports the CAADP agenda: a
partnership to help Africa feed itself
An Africa-led dynamic partnership working
across Africa to help millions of small-scale
farming families lift themselves out of poverty
and hunger

8. AGRA brings solutions-driven approaches that
support CAADP growth target in Africa
Seeds Program ($150 m)
Soil Health ($180m)
Investments
Market Access
Policy Program
Agricultural Extension
Water Resources
l l l l l l l l
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

9. Green Revolution will help achieve CAADP goal in Africa
While challenges persist.. ...there is positive trends afoot
• Limited use of GR technologies • 2003: Maputo Declaration
• Limited level of public investments • 2004: Kofi Annan calls for a unique
• African farmers are very poor African Green Revolution
• Structural adjustment has failed • 2006: AGRA launched
• Markets alone are not enough • 2006: Paris Declaration
• Need stronger public sector role • 2007/8: WDR 2008 focus on agriculture
Achieving the African green revolution will require
comprehensive investments in technology, infrastructure,
markets and policy
9

10. Policies have often failed:
Challenges in the past
• Lack of country ownership of policy agenda
• Weak policy analytical capacity at country levels
• Poorly financed national policy institutions
• Supply-driven policy work - low demand by policy makers
• Lack of coordination on policy efforts

11. What is needed now
• Build local capacity for evidence-based policy development
• Strengthen policy centers of excellence
• National
• Regional
• Stimulate demand-driven policy research
• Inclusive policy dialogue processes
• Move from policy research to policy action
• Strong sector policies to stimulate rapid agricultural growth
and reduce food insecurity
• A framework for comprehensive policy support to achieve
CAADP pillar goals and the African Green revolution

12. New opportunities to coordinate policy
support for agriculture
• CAADP endorsement by African governments
• integrative framework for African agricultural growth
• Paris declaration/Accra HL meeting
• country ownership
• Need for donor harmonization
• Food Crisis slows economic growth
• need appropriate policy responses
• Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA)
• need for proactive policies in support of farmers
• Regional trade critical for addressing growth
• Need for stronger regional policies to spur agricultural trade

13. How to achieve policy alignment
• Support countries to develop National Green Revolution (GR) strategies
and align with CAADP
• Support National Policy Hubs (NPH) to:
• develop enabling policy frameworks for achieving green revolution
• Provide policy analytical support for CAADP roundtable processes
• lead national agricultural expenditure reviews to meet GR-CAADP goals
• Build data and statistical systems for evidence-based policies
• NPHs become institutionalized national platforms for policy initiatives in
support of the GR/CAADP agenda
• Provide strategic support for ReSAKSS and link these with the National
Policy Hubs
• Develop comprehensive Country Policy Engagement Frameworks (CPEF)
to promote CAADP and GR goals
• Link Macro-economic policy think tanks and NPHs
• Coordinated financing by donors

14. Policy strategies to achieve a green revolution
“What African agriculture needs today is a policy revolution” – Kofi A.
Annan, Dublin 2008
1. Country-
specific GR
strategies
2. New policies to
5. Mapping of
stimulate GR
Bread Basket
technology
Areas
Green uptake
Revolution
in Africa
4. New institutional
pathways to policy 3. Strengthen
development and policy analytical
implementation capabilities
100M farmers removed from poverty through
greater access to GR technologies in 5 years 14

15. 1. Development of coherent and comprehensive country-specific GR
strategies is critical to spark national GR
The old model The new model
Paris Declaration Country-driven,
Donor priorities specific strategy
Government priorities
Agriculture and expenditure
Ministry Plans
Stakeholder
No Green alignment
Revolution
Green Revolution
• Creates real local ownership
• Mobilizes public investment
• Aligns donors priorities
• Creates framework to assess progress
15

16. Roles for National Policy Hubs
• Identify national breadbasket areas where GR can be achieved with
CAADP investment targets
 Link to ReSAKSS
• Create a critical mass of public good investments to launch the GR at
country levels
 Link to ReSAKSS
• Develop national data systems to support evidence-based policy
development in support of the GR
 Link to ReSAKSS
• Identify and advocate market and regional trade policies to expand
markets and growth
 Link to ReSAKSS
• Identify and advocate for input policies to rapidly expand access of
farmers to GR technologies
• Develop national-level M&E systems for tracking investments for GR
 Link to ReSAKSS

17. 2. Immediate support is required to develop new policies that stimulate uptake of GR
approaches and technologies
Examples of Challenges Target positive results
Seeds and • Demand constraints • Accelerate uptake of
Fertilizer • Supply constraints technologies
• Expanded benefits to
Land and
• Systems biased against women women farmers
Property • Expanded food security
• Under-developed land markets
Rights and higher incomes
Risk • Weather and market risks
Management • Correlated risk of default
Credit and • Limited lending to agriculture
• Limited access to finance for •Need multiple policy
Finance entry points
the value chain actors
•Need country-specific
Markets policy interventions
and Trade • Poorly developed markets
Policy • Limited value addition
17

18. 3. Strengthening policy analytical capacity in target countries is
important to sustain a local enabling environment
Current situation Goals
•Create local capacity to address
•Limited capacity to develop analyses current and emerging policy
and adjust policies accordingly challenges
•Over-reliance on external advisors •Provide platform for evidence-
based policy analysis and decision
•Reduced ability to push back on making
donor driven interests
•Provide credible local entry point
•Limited local ownership of the policy for engaging policymakers on GR
process
18

19. 4. Development of new institutional pathways to policy development
and implementation
Government
Farmers Improve dialogue Donors
Mobilize support
needed for
investment
Develop pro-poor
policies
Policy
Private sector
Analysts
For a Green Revolution to occur, multiple
stakeholders must be aligned in intention and action

20. 5. Bread Basket Areas (BBAs) are high priority targets for sparking
GR at country and regional levels
Identify high potential BBAs
within and across countries Comprehensive Trigger new
GR investment and investments
Articulate investment levels necessary in low
delivery strategies
to tap the potential of BBAs potential
at national levels areas for
Define gap in investments and a equity
plan on how it can be closed
20

21. Policy Revolution: smart subsidies and public goods
investments are needed to jump start the African Green
Revolution to achieve the CAADP goal
Share of
spend
Public and Private
Investment
Subsidies
Time

22. Malawi’s success with home-grown
policies offers new opportunity
“Poverty will not be a national
endowment of Malawi. We must
feed ourselves. I will not suffer
the indignity of begging for
food”
His Excellency Dr Bingu wa
Mutharika, President of Malawi,
explaining his country’s farmer
support programs at an
international forum in Oslo

23. How are these strategies made operational? No/Limited role
Partial/Potential role
Core role
1. Country 2. New policy 3. Develop 4. New 5. BBAs
GR development policy institutional
strategies analytical pathways
capability
A. Creation of in-
country Policy Hubs
B. Expanding Post-
Graduate training
C. Innovative
financing to unlock
new capital for Ag
D. National and
regional GR Policy
Forums
E. Commissioning
policy studies

24. A. Creation of in-country policy hubs
Required resources Role of the hubs Location considerations
General Staffing • Support implementation • Determine on a country
• Director of the national GR by country basis via
•Program Officers strategy and policy comprehensive study of
framework options.
In-country advisory board
to ensure connection at • Advocate for evidence- • Options include:
highest levels in based policy − Independent unit
Government and industry. improvements within Government
(typically Ministries of
• Provide core research Finance and
support to Government Agriculture)
and stakeholders
− Embedded within a
• Align expenditure and existing institution
investment towards
critical GR needs − Create a new entity
where necessary

25. B. Expand Training of the Next Generation of Policy Analysts in Africa
Scale up Masters’ Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics for Africa
(CMAAE)
Current situation Specific goal
•Launched program in East and Southern Develop applied economic
Africa graduates with strong skills in policy
analysis and policy implementation
•Implemented in 16 public universities in across Africa
12 countries
Broad goals
•Goal: train 400 + policy analysts in ESA
•Strengthen local policy making
•Cost-effective and world-class training in environment across the continent
Africa
•Build capacity for evidence-based
•Great demand now to expand to West policy research and analysis
and Central Africa
•Promote agricultural development

26. C. Africa needs financing support to achieve CAADP goal
Current challenge Potential solutions
• Need to leverage domestic financial markets
• Overall ODA for agriculture has to work for the GR
decreased in the last decade
igure 1: Agriculture, Rural Development, and Total ARD ODA: Africa 1974 -2005 • Existing AGRA initiatives on unlocking
(Millions of 2005 Constant $US)
6000 private financing are promising
– Equity Bank in Kenya
– Standard Bank in 4 target countries
5000
4000
Millions $ US
ARD Total
3000 Agriculture
Rural Development
2000
• Global Fund to scale up public
1000 financing for GR at country levels
0
• Partnerships with Governments
1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992
Years 1974 - 2005
1995 1998 2001 2004
to scale up innovative financing
Agriculture, rural development and total for GR from commercial banks
ARD ODA for Africa, 1974-2005

27. Required agricultural growth and expenditure
to meet MDG 1 in African
• Agricultural growth rates
• 7.5% - 8.5%
• Agricultural expenditure growth rates
• 21% - 24%
• Annual agriculture expenditures
• $ 32 Billion - $ 39 billion
Source: Fan et al., 2008.

28. AGRA launches innovative financing
models to leverage commercial banks
• Excess liquidity exists in financial markets
• Need to reduce risk of lending to agriculture
• Loan guarantees with commercial banks
• Successes in Kenya and Tanzania
– Kenya: $5 million loan
guarantee leverages $50
million from the Equity Bank
– AGRA working with partners
to launch a $200 million
facility for 4 African countries

30. D. Facilitate national and regional GR policy forums
• Rally in-country stakeholders to develop and
National roundtable execute a common GR strategy
discussions • Focus on the critical bottlenecks within countries
• Occur every 6 months
• Regional forums for senior Government officials
(PS, Chief Economist of Ag etc.)
Inter-governmental
• Opportunity to engage with peers to share GR
forums strategies, policies and experiences
• Occur annually
• Hosted by respective regional economic
institutions (e.g., COMESA, SADC, ECOWAS, ECA,
Regional economic NEPAD/CAADP)
forums • Focus on regional policy and trade issues
• Occur every 6 months

31. E. Policy studies to inform evidence-based policy development and
implementation at national levels
Current situation Need strong, Africa-relevant case-
•Policies are not informed by studies to inform policy dialogue
robust understanding of best
practices Examples:
• Seed policies and
•Paucity of data limits harmonization
development of evidence-based • Fertilizer policy best-practices
policies by analysts
• Land policy best practices
•Governments are under pressure • National public expenditure
to implement policies without reviews/investment strategies
sound analysis of alternative • Food security policies
options • Market and trade policies
31

32. Asia green revolution was triggered by global financing:
African agriculture needs a Global Fund to succeed

33. Policy Partnership for African Agriculture
• Move towards an African Consensus on the policy agenda
• National policy institutions lead the policy agenda
• GR policy work will be aligned with CAADP goals and targets
• Stronger and more analytically-driven policy inputs into the CAADP
roundtable processes
• Comprehensive support for building a coherent “policy ecosystem” at
national and regional levels
• Strong policy support for Regional Econ. Communities
• Strong partnership between AGRA, NEPAD-CAADP, World Bank, IFPRI
and others partners at national levels
• Coherent and comprehensive framework for policy support to Africa

34. AGRA-NEPAD-IFPRI-WB
Policy Partnership for African Agriculture:
The time is now!