NEPAD initiatives and their repercussions on agricultural policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

"For most Sub-Saharan African countries, agriculture is a key to achieving broad-based (pro-poor) economic growth and attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Approximately 70–80 % of the continent’s employment and 40 % of its export earnings stem from agricultural activities. A stronger agricultural sector is considered to be fundamental for Africa’s overall economic growth as well as for addressing hunger, poverty, and inequality. However, the sector is not performing well for various reasons. Therefore, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) – the economic programme of the African Union (AU) – has set itself the task to revitalise the sector. For this purpose, it has initiated the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in order to improve agricultural policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In addition, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), another NEPAD initiative, seeks to improve African political, economic and business governance in general. Together, CAADP and APRM should be expected to improve substantially the institutional and political conditions for agriculture. This paper analyses CAADP and APRM policy-making processes in the agricultural sector. The analysis shows that CAADP and APRM have a potential to bring fundamental qualitative changes in the way policies are made in member countries. While the present paper is mainly a desk-based study, it provides a foundation for conducting further research on the topic on the ground." [Autorenreferat]