Tackling rural poverty, together

OECD Global Forum on Agriculture: Constraints to Development of Sub-Saharan Agriculture

The OECD Agriculture Directorate takes pleasure in extending an invitation to the OECD Global Forum on Agriculture to be held in Paris on 16th – 17th May 2006 to the development community via the Development Assistance Committee.

The OECD Global Forum on Agriculture is a regular event, bringing together OECD countries and non-member economies to share experiences on how policies can more effectively achieve stated government objectives. Themes for the Global Forum on Agriculture have revolved around the linkages between domestic policy reform, trade liberalisation, economic growth and poverty reduction, but the focus has been on agricultural policy. More recently the issue of policy coherence for development has been addressed, in particular the kinds of policy reforms required in both developed and developing countries to enhance global agricultural trade and to reduce poverty and alleviate hunger.

The Forum usually takes a global view but in this case the focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent decades, the productivity of agriculture has improved markedly in virtually all developing regions with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa where, except for some specific cases, output has stagnated. Large proportions of the rural population exist on the threshold of poverty and suffer from chronic food insecurity. Sub-Saharan Africa has important natural and human resources but this potential has not been harnessed. To date, the efforts undertaken by African governments have not resulted in strong and sustainable growth in the agriculture sector. However, there is renewed commitment to agriculture both by African governments through the NEPAD-inspired Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and by donors who are gradually reversing years of declining aid to the sector.

The main objective of this Global Forum on Agriculture is to identify and evaluate the importance of the main constraints to the development of Sub-Saharan African agriculture. On-going analytical work will be examined with respect to the 'real world' needs of policy makers. Participants will include senior level government representatives from most OECD countries, West and Central Africa, intergovernmental organisations, international and African NGOs, African regional research organisations and selected academics. Participants from other developing regions will be encouraged to contribute their experiences.