Impact Stories
African agriculture needs policies and action based on high-quality research and analysis.
To this end, Future Agricultures engages with policy makers, government ministries, the private sector, civil society and the wider academic community.
The stories in this section show how our research and engagement activity have informed and influenced policy debates in Africa and beyond.
Read our evaluations for detailed and independent analysis on FAC’s impact.
You can also download selected impact stories in a printable format.
Latest articles
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’
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
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