Secretary of State launches DFID's agriculture policy paper
7 December 2005
Following
a statement to the House of Commons, Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for
International Development launched DFID's new agriculture policy paper: 'Growth
and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture'
(290
kb), at a public meeting of the all party parliamentary group on overseas
development in Portcullis House on Wednesday 7 December.
The paper proposes principles and priorities to guide DFID's work and to help decision-makers to weigh up the potential growth and poverty impact of agriculture compared with other competing demands on resources in specific countries.
Agricultural growth has strong links to growth in other sectors of the economy. Increasing agricultural productivity is essential in many of the poorest countries and especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, if they are to escape the trap of slow growth. In many of the countries where DFID works, small-scale farming will be the engine of agricultural growth for some time, so we need to tackle the barriers to improved performance that they face.
In recent years donors and governments have neglected agriculture. As a result, the sector has stagnated and the pace of overall economic growth has slowed down. The need for an increased emphasis on agriculture has now been recognised. Agriculture is a priority area for the African Union (AU) and its New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
DFID will work with others to follow up its G8 commitment to build
coordinated donor support for agriculture and particularly for AU/NEPAD's
Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). With African
leaders now highlighting the priority they attach to agriculture, there is a
real opportunity to get behind Africa's own efforts to make a difference to the
lives of people who rely on agriculture for a living.
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development said:
"It is a simple fact that virtually no country - be it China, India, the USA or the UK - has achieved economic progress and improved the welfare of its people without first achieving progress in agriculture. …We know that ultimately it is the economy outside of agriculture - where growth and job creation are faster and wages higher - that really changes the lives of poor people and the economies of poor countries. But it's growth in agriculture that makes this happen"
Professor Richard Mkandawire, AU/NEPAD's Agriculture Advisor said:
"On behalf of NEPAD, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the UK Government for recognising agriculture development as a major source of economic growth in Africa and supporting the development of sector under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
African Leaders are determined to change the negative statistics about Africa as stipulated under the MDGs. This is evident through African commitment to allocate at least 10% of the national budget to agriculture development, and establish an appropriate investment climate.
NEPAD believes that the fastest way to achieve the MDGs is by quickly realising the productivity gains embodied in existing agricultural technologies, including those generated through DFID funded research and technology generation."
Further information
