Policy Engagement
FAC researchers are contributing to the development of agriculture policy by drawing from the experience and knowledg
e of twenty two researchers and eleven research institutions. FAC’s wide range of research themes is
based on evidence and the real challenges of Africa’s agricultural sector.
Our engagement with policy processes in Africa includes:
- Policymaker conferences and workshops
- African Green Revolution
- Fertiliser workshop
- Commentary to policymakers
- Dfid White Paper on development
- GCARD consultations
- CAADP engagement
- Ethiopia compact signing
Latest articles
Network & Communications
September 2, 2017 / Policy Engagement FAC’s Communications and Networking team works to ensure that FAC research is strategically communicated to make significant contributions to the agriculture policy (e.g. in Africa). As such, FAC is: Generating awareness of FAC’s existence; Building our presence via outreach/engagement throughout
Seeds in Ethiopia: Working with policy and research
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories Future Agricultures work on seeds in Ethiopia has made a significant contribution to influencing the development of the seed policy and wider seed system in the country, towards a more decentralised and liberalized system, which recognises both private and public
Drivers of Success: Understanding why African countries succeed in agricultural development
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories Over several years, Future Agricultures has engaged with the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) institutions to strengthen CAADP policy processes. In 2013, Future Agricultures was invited to participate in the ‘Drivers of Success in African Agriculture’ study, commissioned by
Malawi’s input subsidies: evidence & insight
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories Future Agricultures worked with Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and others to inform the development of the government’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). Part of a series of Impact Stories based on the Future Agricultures Consortium’s work from 2008-2015.
Civil society partnerships in Malawi
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories Future Agricultures worked with three civil society organisations (CSOs) which aim to inform and influence agricultural policy in Malawi. We have provided evidence, policy framing and analysis which is being used in advocacy and policy influencing around the issues of
Influencing policy change in pastoral areas of Kenya
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories In 2008, the Kenyan government established a new ministry to promote development and resilience in pastoral areas. Future Agricultures played an important role, providing evidence to create a more positive narrative about the potential of pastoralism. We worked over several
Informing the debate on land
July 24, 2015 / Impact Stories Following the financial crisis of 2007-8 there was a growth of private sector interest in land investments. NGOs and civil society raised awareness of ‘land grabbing’ and there was a rise in media interest, often with use of ‘killer facts’
Debating land governance at CAADP
March 25, 2015 / CAADP Future Agricultures was represented at the 11th CAADP Partnership Platform in Johannesburg on 24 March 2015, by Ruth Hall, convenor of the Land theme. Prof Hall spoke at a side event on ‘Improving Land Governance for Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural
Helping farmers get access to seeds
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories In 2009 Ethiopia’s cereal seed system was based on central planning, with no recognition of informal seed systems, or the role of markets in seed distribution. This system was not functioning effectively, such that farmers were unable to access quality
Informing ‘safety nets’ for food insecure Ethiopians
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories Since 2005, the Government of Ethiopia has implemented a Productive Safety Net (PSNP), with the objective to ‘graduate’ millions of chronically food insecure Ethiopians to productive livelihoods, supported by donors including DFID, the World Bank and USAID. By 2010 the
Bringing political economy thinking to CAADP
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories Over several years, Future Agricultures has engaged with the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) institutions to strengthen CAADP policy processes. In 2013, FAC was invited to participate in the ‘Drivers of Success in African Agriculture’ study, commissioned by the
Informing Malawi’s farm input subsidy programme through evidence
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories The Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) is one of the highest profile government policies in Malawi, comprising about 70% of the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget. It features in the election pledges of all the political parties and has been strongly
Supporting Civil Society on agricultural policy in Malawi
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories Future Agricultures provided evidence, policy framing and analytical input into three civil society organisations (CSOs) in Malawi – the Civil Society Agricultural Network (CISANET), the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) and the National Association of Smallholder Farmers of Malawi (NASFAM)
Shaping policy for Kenya’s pastoralist areas
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories Through its work with the Ministry of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands (MNKAL), Future Agricultures contributed to a significant process of longer term policy development in the Arid and Semi Arid Lands in Kenya, culminating in a shorter-term opportunity
Co-convening the Land Deal Politics Initiative
February 11, 2015 / Impact Stories The Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is a platform for generating, highlighting and discussing political economy evidence on land deals globally for and with policy-makers, NGOs and civil society and building the capacity of young, largely African, researchers. Through co-convening
CAADP Policy Brief series
October 4, 2013 / CAADP Our CAADP policy briefs respond to the developing issues addressed by the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme, exploring the implications of new research for policy-making and practice. So far 12 briefs have been published, and many translated into French: they
African agriculture: lessons learned
September 27, 2013 / CAADP Future Agricultures researcher Steve Wiggins gave a talk on “African agriculture in a changing global context: lessons learned” at a briefing in Brussels on 2 October. The 33rd CTA Brussels Development Briefing on “The key Drivers of Agricultural transformation in
Future Agricultures at ICAAAE conference
September 17, 2013 / CAADP Future Agricultures was at the 4th International Conference of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), held on 22-25 September 2013 in Tunisia. Sam Asuming-Brempong attended the conference to highlight recent work on the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Dr
CAADP at 10: Progress toward agricultural prosperity
January 16, 2013 / CAADP In 2003, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was set up to address fundamental obstacles to African agricultural development. Poor productivity, and a lack of investment, were identified as major problems. Now, 10 years on, a new paper, CAADP
Political Economy and the Future of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme in Malawi
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories A presentation was made on 23 February 2012 about the Political Economy and Future of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in Malawi. This presentation was made at an Agriculture Policy Dialogue, a forum convened by the Civil Society Agriculture
Informing Research on Integrated Seed System Development
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The FAC Science, Technology and Innovation Theme carried out two phases of research in five countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe) on the ‘Political Economy of Cereal Seed Systems in Africa’, from which 10 FAC Working Papers were produced
Agricultural Climate Change Policy discussion roundtable, Kenya
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The FAC Climate Change theme convened a policy discussion roundtable in Nairobi, 31 January 2012, to discuss key findings of recent FAC research on the status of agricultural climate change policy process in Kenya. The roundtable was attended by mix
Land Theme: Policy Engagement Meeting in Kwara State, Nigeria
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The Policy Engagement Meeting noted the government’s appreciation of the enormous agricultural potential of Kwara State, Nigeria. It highlighted the requirements of commercial agriculture and the imperative of state support, especially in the areas of access to land with secure
Journalism competition on Youth, Farming and Food
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories In the run-up to our international conference on Young People, Farming and Food in March, we held a competition to find the best media reporting in Africa on young people and agriculture. This competition aimed to encourage young and early
International conference on youth, jobs and agriculture
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories FAC’s international conference on the future of the agrifood sector in Africa was held at the Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana at Legon, Accra, on 19-21 March 2012.
The Political Economy of Climate Change
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The Climate Change and Agriculture Theme of FAC was launched amidst an increasing focus on, and pledges of funding for, activities to address climate change in the agricultural sector. Through a combination of presentations at major policy events, comparative case
Mobilizing finance for smallholders in Kenya
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories Kenya's agricultural sector has been starved of finance and financial services for decades. This makes it difficult for smallholders to intensify their farming activities and commercialise their activities. Most smallholders are served by traders similarly low on capital and without
Malawi’s Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme: Informing government and civil society actors
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The Malawi Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme (MAISP) which started in 2005/06 targeting smallholder farmers through a voucher programme has benefited from periodic evaluation and research conducted by FAC researchers Ephraim Chirwa and Andrew Dorward and other members of the Social
Fertilizer subsidies and FAC?s policy influence in ‘real time’
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories FAC researchers' evaluation of Malawi's 2006/7 Agricultural Input Support Programme (MAISP) continued with completion of core sections of the programme evaluation for 2007/8 and 2008/091. FAC team members continue to work closely with the Ministry to help maximise the long-term
Pastoralists moving with the times
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories The FAC Pastoralism Theme organised an international conference with Tufts University on the "Future of Pastoralism in Africa", which was held on 21-23 March 2011 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa. Over 100 scholars from around
The AU-AfDB-UNECA land policy initiative
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories Meeting in Lisbon FAC coordinator Ruth Hall (South Africa) and FAC researcher Joseph Yaro (Ghana) were invited to participate the Land Policy Initiative & Coalition for Dialogue on Africa event, a Policy Forum on Foreign Direct Investments in Land in
Engaging the Pan African Parliament on land deals
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories Future Agricultures (through the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, South Africa – PLAAS) partnered with the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to hold a continental seminar with African parliamentarians, entitled “Making Investment Work for Africa: A Parliamentarian Response to
FAC at the 8th CAADP Partnership Platform
April 13, 2012 / CAADP Future Agricultures members were at the 8th CAADP Partnership Platform meeting in Nairobi, 3-4 May 2012. We have published three new Policy Briefs on pastoralism and technology transfer: Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa: diverse livelihood pathways From technology transfer
Farmer First: Shifting Paradigms in Agricultural Technology Development
March 19, 2011 / CAADP Edited by Kate Wellard Technology – seeds, breeds, fertility inputs, disease control, water management – is key to getting agriculture moving. Major investments have been made to support technology development and transfer, but impacts have been patchy. Lessons from across
Food and Hunger: Protecting Livelihoods Through Agricultural Growth
March 19, 2011 / CAADP Edited by Kate Wellard Agricultural growth is critical to reducing poverty and hunger. But even in Asia, where the Green Revolution drove economic development and reduced hunger, it is clear that growth alone is not sufficient to eliminate hunger and
Pathways to Commercialisation: Supporting Small Farmers
March 19, 2011 / CAADP Edited by Kate Wellard Accelerated growth in agriculture is critical to meeting the MDGs in Africa. Intensification and commercialisation of smallholder agriculture are seen by many governments and international agencies as the principal means of delivering this. However market-based approaches
Policy into Use: Accelerating Agricultural Growth through CAADP
March 19, 2011 / CAADP Edited by Kate Wellard Agriculture is the mainstay of most African economies. Millions of smallholders depend on farming for their livelihoods, it underpins food security and poverty alleviation efforts, and supports wider economic development. But agricultural growth has generally been
Land and Livelihoods: Securing Broad-based Sustainable Growth
March 19, 2011 / CAADP Land and Livelihoods: Securing Broad-based Sustainable Growth Edited by Kate Wellard Land is central to sustainable development. Agriculture and other land-based activities underpin most rural people’s livelihoods strategies. With investment in appropriate technologies, sustainable management and the right land policies,
Rural Futures: unlocking a continent’s hidden promise (A. Teshome’s report)
September 23, 2010 / CAADP Amdissa Teshome, on behalf of Future Agricultures, was invited to this workshop by the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Secretariat (NPCS). This is the first time that FAC has been invited without us contacting the AU/NEPAD/CAADP so it is a progress
Rural Futures: unlocking a continent’s hidden promise (Report by Amdissa Teshome)
September 23, 2010 / CAADP Amdissa Teshome, on behalf of Future Agricultures, was invited to this workshop by the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Secretariat (NPCS). This is the first time that FAC has been invited without us contacting the AU/NEPAD/CAADP so it is a progress
Network Meetings in Kenya
May 4, 2010 / Policy Dialogue John Omiti hosted two FAC network meetings to discuss how to move the FAC agenda forward at country level. In the first meeting, four items were discussed:
Collective action in farmer organisations
May 4, 2010 / Policy Dialogue John Omiti and consortium members participated in an international workshop onpromoting the development of farmer associations in Africa in order to improve delivery of farm inputs (e.g. seed, and fertilizer) and requisite services (extension and financial services) to farmers.
Consultations with farmers on global agricultural development
April 29, 2010 / Policy Dialogue The Kenya country team convened a farmers’ meeting to talk about the challenges facing agriculture with a view to include local farmer voices in two specific areas: Post-Salzburg ‘African Green Revolution’ strategic recommendations Input into GCARD for the future of
National and Regional Panel Discussions on the future of Agricultural/ Pastoral Extension System
April 29, 2010 / Policy Dialogue The Ethiopian extension system has a long history relative to many African countries and has been delivered through a variety of approaches and models. Despite this history, the system is still in its infancy in terms of coverage, communication and
FAC team presents at EEA
April 29, 2010 / Policy Dialogue In June 2009, John Thompson and David Hughes travelled to Ethiopia to attend the Seventh International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy organised by the Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA). FAC’s Samuel Gabreselassie and colleagues at the Ethiopian Economics Policy Research Institute
ReSAKSS conference
April 29, 2010 / Policy Dialogue FAC at the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System's first conference
Opportunities for FAC to engage with CAADP Process
March 26, 2010 / CAADP Following the 3rd CAADP review and partnership platform meeting, March 2008, four engagement opportunities for Future Agricultures in the CAADP process were identified. Engagement Opportunity No. 1: Emphasis on farmer organizations is a potential area for Future Agricultures contribution to
ReSAKSS – Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System
March 23, 2010 / CAADP The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) is an Africa-wide network established to provide readily available analysis, data, and tools of the highest quality. It promotes evidence-based decision-making, improves awareness of the role of agriculture for development in