Publications
The Future Agricultures Consortium produces research in a variety of formats.Several key research series are available for download, circulation and citation.
Use the search field below or review our thematically structured research archive.
Latest articles
Reclaiming Policy Space: Lessons from Malawi’s 2005/2006 Fertiliser Subsidy Programme
May 15, 2010 / Research PapersBlessings Chinsinga
July 2007
This paper is based on research work carried out the under auspices of the Politics and Policy Processes theme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC). It demonstrates that political context matters in agricultural development policy issues, using as illustration the case of the fertilizer subsidy programme (FSP) launched in Malawi in the 2005/2006 growing season.
Commercialisations in Agriculture
May 15, 2010 / Working PapersBy Jennifer Leavy and Colin Poulton
September 2007 
Accelerated growth in agriculture is seen by many as critical if the MDGs are to be met inAfrica. Although there are debates about the future viability of small farms (Hazell et al.2007), the official policies of many national governments and international development agencies accord a central role to the intensification and commercialisation of smallholder agriculture as a means of achieving poverty reduction.
According to this thinking,smallholder agriculture is uniquely positioned to deliver broad-based growth in rural areas(where the vast majority of the world.s poor still live). However, others fear that strategiesfor commercialising agriculture will not bring benefits to the majority of rural households, either directly or (in the view of some) at all. Instead, they fear that efforts to promote a morecommercial agriculture will benefit primarily large-scale farms.
At best, the top minority ofsmallholders will be able to benefit.In this paper, therefore, we discuss what is meant by the commercialisation of agriculture,emphasising the different pathways that commercialisation can take. We also examine whatneeds to be done if agricultural commercialisation is to be inclusive, bringing benefits to alarge proportion of rural households.The potential benefits of commercialisation and engaging in trade are well documented.These include stimulating rural growth, which poor people can gain from directly, forexample through: improving employment opportunities (depending on the labour intensity ofcrops grown); increasing agricultural labour productivity; direct income benefits foremployees and employers; expanding food supply and potentially improving nutritionalstatus. Multiplier effects encompass increased demand for food and services in the local area (von Braun and Kennedy, 1994).
The Political Economy of Ministry of Agriculture at the District Level: The Case of Rumphi District
May 14, 2010 / Research PapersBlessings Chinsinga
March 2008
The main motivation of this research is to understand the functioning of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) at district level and beyond in a changing context shaped by political and market liberalization in which policy reforms have been greatly driven by the economic reform agenda of the IMF and World Bank (Omamo & Farrington, 2004). These reforms were designed to reduce the role government, cut back on public sector expenditures, improve balance of payments, reduce government deficits, enhance macroeconomic performance and help developing countries achieve higher economic growth rates. Referred to as structural adjustment programmes (SAPs); the key elements of policy reforms included macroeconomic restructuring, privatization of government agencies, liberalization of markets, removal of the government from the agricultural markets and elimination of subsidies. In the agricultural sector, SAPs “forced African governments to dismantle public agricultural research and extension programmes and drop whatever protection and incentive mechanisms existed for their small farmers” (UK Food Group, 2008: 9). The main goal of the SAPs was “to convert the role of the state into that of facilitator and regulator of the private sector” (Omamo and Farrington, 2004: 1). The MoAs would thus act merely as part players and not as the principal architects and drivers of agricultural policies and policy reforms.
Ministries of Agriculture: Structures, Capacity and Coordination at District Level in Malawi
May 14, 2010 / Research PapersBlessings Chinsinga
February 2008
This study was carried out under the auspices of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) politics and policy processes sub-theme. Building on the earlier work of the sub-theme on the debates about the Ministries of Agriculture (MoAs) in developing countries, the study was intended as an entry point for grasping the functions, structures, rules, financial and human capacities of MoAs in Africa.
Democratic Politics and State Capacity Building: Ministries of Agriculture in Malawi and Kenya
May 14, 2010 / Research PapersOctober 2009
Although fluctuating in intensity, debates about the role of the state remain fundamental to strategies for rural development and poverty reduction. Under structural adjustment African states were scaled back to play a minimalist public goods provider role, motivated in large part by the weakness and over-extension of the state prior to that. Whilst there is now broad recognition that a more activist, coordinating role is required to stimulate market development (World Bank, 1997, Dorward et.al. 2004), this places extra demands on the capacity of the state. Meanwhile, most African states are almost two decades into a transition to democracy. Whilst the median voter in most of these states is rural and poor, it remains unclear as to whether democratic politics can generate the incentives for the creation of “developmental” states that will serve the needs of such voters.
The Role and Performance of the Ministry of Agriculture in Rachuonyo District
May 14, 2010 / Research PapersGeophrey O. Sikei, Booker W. Owuor and Colin Poulton
June, 2008
A widely accepted objective of agricultural development is to achieve sustainable intensification. With many people especially in the rural areas deriving their livelihoods directly or indirectly from agriculture, the performance of the sector is therefore reflected in the performance of the whole economy. Growth in agriculture is expected to have a greater impact on a larger section of the population than any other sector. For effective realization of the sector’s goals, the structure, capacity and coordination capabilities of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) cannot be overlooked.
Social Protection and Agricultural Development in Kenya
May 14, 2010 / Working PapersPatrick Irungu, Lydia Ndirangu and John Omiti
March 2009
Patrick Irungu, Lydia Ndirangu and John Omiti March 2009 This paper focuses on social protection programs in Kenya’s agriculture. A case study approach was used where three cases were examined: (a) emergency seed distribution in the arid and semi-arid lands and remote areas which are inadequately served by the formal seed sector, (b) hunger and safety net programme in northern Kenya, and (c) Njaa Marufuku Kenya. The study found that while social protection programs/strategies are necessary to cushion vulnerable groups from covariate risk, these have not been properly domesticated in the Kenyan policy and legal frameworks. In fact, the national response to shocks and stresses among the vulnerable groups has largely been ad hoc. Emergency interventions have been implemented in rather haphazard and knee-jerk approach with minimal strategic policy focus. And even where social safety nets have been implemented, these have largely been untargeted, uncoordinated and humanitarian in nature. Hence, although some efforts have been made in the past to entrench social protection in the Kenyan society (e.g., the Equity Bill, the Affirmative Action Bill and the Constitutional Review), these initiatives have suffered from lack of political goodwill, ethnic and class chauvinism and political patronage. There is therefore need to for the Kenyan society as a whole to re-define its strategic direction with regard to empowering poor households to enable them cope with shocks. The starting point would be to design a comprehensive social protection policy which is now in progress.
Agriculture and Social Protection in Ghana
May 14, 2010 / Working PapersRamatu Al-Hassan and Colin Poulton
January 2009
Ghana was one of the first countries in Africa to embark on structural adjustment reforms. 25 years on, its continuing commitment to reform for national economic development has yielded impressive gains in growth and poverty reduction. Poverty in the country is measured through periodic Ghana Living Standards Surveys (GLSS). In 1991/92 GLSS3 found that 51.7% of the population were living below the national poverty line. By 1998/99 (GLSS4) this had fallen to 39.5% and by 2005/06 (GLSS5) it had fallen to 28.5% (Ghana Statistical Service 2007). In absolute terms the number of poor people in Ghana has fallen from 7.9 million in 1991/92 to 6.2 million in 2005/06. At current growth rates, Ghana should achieve MDG1 before 2010.
Kofi Annan Calls For A ‘Uniquely African Green Revolution’ To Address Food Crisis
April 30, 2010 / Media30 April 2008
International Conference: Towards a Green Revolution for Africa
Kofi Annan has called for a “uniquely African Green Revolution” founded on “bold pro-poor policies” to address the food crisis facing Africa and the world.
As food prices escalate at an unprecedented rate and shortages worsen, the Former Secretary General of the United Nations and Chairman of the Board of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has called for a new approach to finding equitable solutions.
small and big farms
April 30, 2010 / Communique30 September 2009
Smallholder agriculture was at the centre of a recent online discussion by the IDS-hostedFuture Agricultures Consortium where researchers debated farm scale and the food crisis in light of recent editorials and news stories about land grabs, food prices and the future of smallholder agriculture. The importance of small farming was underscored by a call for rural investment and context-sensitive policy making.
Farmer voices needed for success at GCARD
April 30, 2010 / CommuniqueAfrican smallholders say that enhancing farmer voice in strategic R&D processes and investing in innovations to improve market access, soil fertility management, small-scale irrigation and water management, and access to ICTs and credit should have more emphasis in agricultural research for development (AR4D) reform agenda promoted by GCARD. In three national workshops with representatives of nearly 100 smallholder organisations, the Future Agricultures Consortium shows how decisions made in Montpellier in March 2010 can be stronger with true farmer inclusion.
Building synergies between social protection and smallholder agricultural policies
April 14, 2010 / Working PapersRachel Sabates-Wheeler, Stephen Devereux and Bruce Guenther
January 2009
The paper explores how social protection and agricultural policies interact, creating either synergies or conflicts between them. To the extent that social protection measures help poor rural people expand their assets, use them more efficiently and adopt higher return activities, there should be strong synergies with agricultural development. Reverse synergies can also arise, if agricultural policies help farmers improve their livelihoods and reduce their vulnerability. But conflicts can occur if policy objectives are inconsistent with each other, and these are also examined in this paper. We draw on numerous examples from the across the globe, but with specific emphasis from the African continent to highlight issues including, liquidity constraints, scale and threshold effects, timing, seasonality and policy complementarities. In conclusion we consider lessons for how the agricultural policies and social protection instruments can be designed and implemented to exploit welfare and growth synergies.
The limits of decentralised governance: the case of agriculture in Malawi
March 31, 2010 / Policy BriefsPolicy Brief 33
Decentralisation reforms and the new policy extension in Malawi held the promise of a stronger role for districts and lower levels in agricultural governance and increased plurality of agricultural service providers. Such potential is yet to be realised. There is an impasse with the decentralisation process and local government performance and interaction with other service providers face considerable institutional and operational challenges. Such challenges are compounded by the increasing politicisation of Malawian agriculture policy. In the absence of progress in decentralisation or in the development of a diversi ed and competitive supply of agricultural services, traditional leaders are, in some cases, emerging as progressive actors with capacity to mobilise people to agricultural activities in a developmental way.