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Reaching the Poor - A Call to Action:
Investing in Smallholder Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
In 2003, FARM-Africa launched a campaign to raise the profile of agriculture as a development priority for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).
Our experience proves that small-scale agriculture offers viable solutions to the widespread hunger and poverty in Africa. Yet although calls to prioritise agriculture and support smallholder farmers have been made internationally, only a coordinated commitment by donors will realise the true potential of the small-scale agricultural sector.
Whilst DFID investment in agriculture has been steadily falling over the last five years, the amount of their budget spent on food aid has increased dramatically. Unless priority is given to the agricultural sector, the demand for food aid will continue to rise, making Africa’s rural poor increasingly dependent on foreign handouts. Sustained investment in smallholder agriculture is essential if we are to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the world's hungry by 2015.
The International Development Select Committee (IDSC), following their report on the Humanitarian Crisis in Southern Africa (2003), have called on DFID to increase its commitment to the agricultural sector. DFID’s response so far has been promising. A series of meetings with experts, such as FARM-Africa’s chief executive Christie Peacock, has been called to address agricultural policy development, and a new report 'Agriculture and Poverty Reduction - Unlocking the Potential' issued. We welcome these developments.
Momentum is certainly gathering within the donor community to prioritise smallholder agriculture and FARM-Africa is making sure that our knowledge and expertise is made available. We have written a policy paper with Harvest Help and Wye College, Imperial College London, addressing how and why donors should invest in African smallholder agriculture. This document identifies the inputs needed to make agriculture a success and explains why the smallholder sector offers the most promising pathway out of poverty, for Africa's poor.
Read our Policy Paper - Reaching the Poor - A Call to Action: Investing in Smallholder Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Full Report 
Summary Report
Read the IDSC's report - The Crisis in Southern Africa
Read online report
Read DFID's report Growth and Povery Reduction: The Role of Agriculture
Read online report
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