The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) is an Africa-wide network of regional nodes supporting the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Africa-based centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), to facilitate the implementation of AU/NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The ReSAKSS nodes offer high-quality analyses to improve policymaking, track progress, document success, and derive lessons for the implementation of the CAADP agenda. The goal of the ReSAKSS Working Paper series is to provide timely access to results of preliminary research and data analysis that relate directly to strengthening ongoing discussions and critical commentaries on the future direction of African agriculture and rural development.
The purpose of this report is to evaluate trends in agricultural development, performance, and spending in Africa, and to track corresponding progress in key poverty and hunger indicators following the recent food price crisis. The report also draws on policy research results in the literature to highlight some of the strategic policy options available to African governments for accelerating agricultural growth in line with CAADP principles. In this regard, it is a flagship report of the ReSAKSS initiative to inform and support the CAADP agenda by reviewing the progress of implementation and performance against a number of key benchmarks. The report begins by reviewing recent trends in agricultural development over the past year, including progress with the CAADP process and challenges posed by volatile food prices. The second chapter reviews resource flows to the agricultural sector by governments and donors, and reviews whether these flows have been of sufficient quantity and quality. The third chapter reports on recent agricultural and economic performance indicators, including growth, agricultural productivity, and trade trends. The fourth chapter reviews recent progress made at the regional and national levels towards poverty reduction and hunger alleviation in the context of volatile prices of the past year. The report concludes with policy recommendations and a summary of overall trends.