More aid for african agriculture: policy implications for small-scale farmers

After years of &lsquo;neglect&rsquo; in favour of health and education assistance in Africa, the food crisis has concentrated the donor community&rsquo;s minds on the need&nbsp;for overseas development aid for African agriculture. This is welcome, but what sort of policies are being proposed and what impact will they have for the African farmer? <br /><br />This report reviews policy documents of some of the major donors providing aid for African agricultural development &ndash; between 2004 and 2008 &ndash; as well as United Nations, international finance, agricultural research and African institutions. The research seeks to determine what underlies the expressed policy of each actor; how they influence each other&rsquo;s priorities; and what mainstream agenda has emerged. <br /><br />It also raises a number of pertinent questions&nbsp;over how the new aid to African farmers will be realised. These include: Aid effectiveness - will there be a shift in agricultural aid towards the production of <br />food by local food producers, involving local communities and farmers&rsquo; organisations?<br /> Market and private sector-led agricultural growth - will the &lsquo;growth agenda&rsquo; be dominated by export-led and high-value crop production, supported by proprietary technologies including GM crops and increased use of agrochemicals?<br /> Exiting agriculture -&nbsp;will the new agriculture agenda defend small-scale farmers, especially women, and protect local food production and food provision? <br /> Improved governance and political processes -&nbsp;will governance systems be able to deal with the pressures from the corporate-sector , seeking to benefit through dominance of the food system and the resources used, that limit options for local and national control?<br /> African ownership - will African peoples, from local communities to nation states, be <br />allowed to determine their own development of their own food systems? The research concludes by asserting that agriculture and rural development in Africa will have to concentrate on more people-centred, food-focused and environmentally sustainable approaches if the development of African agriculture is to serve the long-term interests of the majority of Africans. <br />