What we have done so far: some key findings

The importance of politics and policy processes in making policies and plans real on the ground and a framework for thinking about the political economy of agricultural policy. Insights drawn from our comparative studies in FAC’s focal countries fed into the World Bank’s 2008 World Development Report on ‘Agriculture for Development’ and informed and influenced several national-level policy debates. The policy process theme is central to all the work of the Consortium.

Agricultural growth and social protection. Why linking social protection and agricultural production measures in integrated development efforts is critical for sustained pro-poor outcomes. Our agricultural growth and social protection research has examined how investments in agricultural production and efforts focused on rural welfare and social protection can be integrated in redesigned programmes. FAC has produced a whole suite of publications, linked to influencing work with national social protection and safety net programmes, in collaboration with the FAO. Current comparative work on the experience of safety nets and social protection efforts in Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya and Ghana focuses on the dynamics of graduation from social protection support to longer-term processes of livelihood improvement and pro-poor agricultural growth.
Ministries of Agriculture in the 21^st Century. Why the ministry of agriculture in the 21^st century will have different structures and functions from those in the previous century. Using comparative FAC studies, we examined how these key ministries are operating, highlighting what they might look like in future and identifying of some of the challenges of reform. This has been taken forward in a series of practical, action-oriented engagements with ministries and further field studies, particularly at the district level. Here we have been examining the realities of ministries of agriculture on the ground, asking how ministries interact with other players – the private sector, NGOs, and farmers’ organisations for example – and what are the roles of the state should be in conditions of extreme resource constraint and decentralization.
Diverse pathways of commercialisation. How agriculture and growth are linked through diverse pathways of commercialisation in agriculture, and how different options are appropriate for different settings. A particular focus has been on the relationship between household food security and commercialisation options. Unless people have enough food, the risks of investing in commercialisation options are high. This means that a focus on staple crops – as food, but also as a potential route to commercialization – is a vital. With growing demand for food from urban areas, this pathway to commercialisation may be just as significant as the more high-profile export-oriented trajectories.
How social and political dynamics influence policy outcomes. Too often we assume that the key to policy change is technical design, yet very often the best designed policies falter when implemented. The best technologies or the most sophisticated economic analysis may not be enough. On the ground social and political dynamics are critical. Understanding how gender relations influence agriculture production, marketing, technology adoption and so is in vital. Perceptions matter too. How do young people – potentially the future farmers – see the future of agriculture? And political interactions at the local level are important too: contests between different authorities, and the role of corruption and patronage, are all critical elements of the policy processes. Across our research themes these issues are central to our analysis and policy. Getting research into policy, we argue, requires getting real about the actual conditions and processes on the ground.
Informing policy processes and critical debates on the future of agriculture from the bottom up. Across all themes the Consortium’s work continues to emphasise how bottom-up perspectives on policy issues are vital and, in Ethiopia, an approach has been developed and tested with regional dialogues aimed at influencing national policy-making processes. Lessons from this work will be adapted and applied in the other FAC countries in this new phase.

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