Publication: Cultivating Knowledge and Skills to Grow African Agriculture: A Synthesis of an Institutional, Regional, and International Review
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2007
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2021-08-16
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Africa is unlikely to register significant developmental advances. Recognizing this reality, African governments adopted in 2002 a comprehensive Africa agriculture development program under the auspices of New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). This program states that larger investments in agricultural research, extension, and education systems are required to achieve the targeted increase in agricultural output of 6 percent a year over the next 20 years. The World Bank initiated a series of studies on agricultural education and training (AET) in 2005. These comprised six thematic studies that in turn drew on analyses of 15 country cases, a survey of donor financing trends, an operational review of Bank investments, a survey of the literature, an annotated bibliography, and consultations with stakeholders and donors. The purpose of this report is to synthesize the findings of this research and gives a set of strategic measures for strengthening the contribution of AET to agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The target audiences are African practitioners and policymakers concerned with boosting food supply and agricultural output, donor representatives, and World Bank staff. This report presents a case for increased investment in AET, analyzes issues in the subsector, and outlines possible options for policies and interventions to build skills and capacities appropriate for the changing circumstances of African agriculture in the 21st century. The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives the context for agricultural education and training in Africa; chapter two presents agricultural education is vital for African development; chapter three presents African agricultural education and training in perspective; chapter four gives constraints on building AET capacity; chapter five focuses on what guidance can global experience provide; chapter six provides priorities for modernizing agricultural education and training; chapter seven gives approaches vary by AET level; and chapter eight focuses on the time to act is now.
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“World Bank. 2007. Cultivating Knowledge and Skills to Grow African Agriculture: A Synthesis of an Institutional, Regional, and International Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36122 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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The objectives of this document are: a) better understand how the country is performing in agriculture; b) learn lessons from the past in terms of budgetary execution in agriculture to make new programs more effective; c) increase the knowledge of the government and his partners on their resources so they can make knowledgeable decisions regarding the agriculture budget; and d) contribute to the internalization of the review of public expenditures.Publication Evaluative Lessons for Agriculture and Agribusiness(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-01)Agricultural investments made by developing countries and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have declined in recent decades. This decline is associated with a slowdown in the growth of agriculture productivity. Most development institutions have recognized the damage caused by this past neglect, in part evident in rising food prices, and renewed attention to agriculture and agribusiness is emerging. But this renewed interest will need to deliver results, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the MDBs have had the least success but where the needs and opportunities are enormous. This paper synthesizes recent work by the independent evaluation agency members of the Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG) and incorporates lessons from related research by MDBs and from the academic literature on agriculture and agribusiness. The objectives of the paper, in addition to distilling evaluative lessons for agriculture and agribusiness, are to examine the key constraints on the sector and to provide evaluators, operational staff, and policy makers with an evaluative perspective on interventions in countries at different stages of development.
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