Savoirs

Aujourd’hui, plus de 30 millions d’Africains vivent loin de leur pays d’origine. En 2012, les migrants issus du continent africain ont fait parvenir chez eux plus de 50 milliards d’USD, par le biais d’envois de fonds internationaux. Ces flux revêtent une importance vitale pour le continent puisqu’on trouve en Afrique près d’un quart des 40 pays du monde dans lesquels les transferts des migrants contribuent à 10% ou plus du PIB.

There are three major poverty divides in Ghana: rural-urban, northsouth, and between women and men. To meet these challenges, IFAD, the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana are investing in rural northern Ghana to create viable economic opportunities – particularly for women – while improving market linkages with the south and neighbouring countries. The Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) is spurring agricultural and rural growth and poverty reduction with innovative approaches like District Value Chain Committees (DVCCs). IFAD-supported NRGP worked in partnership, for example, with the Association of Church Based Development (ACDEP), a local NGO in northern Ghana to establish the DVCCs. Today, DVCCs are responsible for the effective planning, implementation, coordination and monitoring of activities in the maize, soya and sorghum value chains. The committees include buyers, input providers (seeds and fertilizers), service providers (extension and tractor services), financial institutions like rural banks, and farmer-based organizations (FBOs). 

[FRENCH] When the seasonal rains came to some regions of south-eastern Senegal, the flooding used to cut off the inhabitants from the rest of the country. But that has changed with the IFAD-supported project known as PADAER – Projet d’Appui au Développement Agricole et à l’Entreprenariat Rural. Thanks to the projects’ work on rebuilding roads, rural people have new possibilities to make a living, they can access health services and education, and bring their products to markets.

A new lifeline; a new way of life

For poor rural people, lack of infrastructure often translates into lack of options and alternatives. The project is changing that.

This paper looks at the role of agriculture in fostering inclusive and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses how improving agricultural productivity, smallholder access to markets and expanding agribusiness opportunities can accelerate transformation, investment and industrialization. The paper presents key investment and policy elements to be considered and points to the centrality of smallholders for the rural transformation process to be inclusive.

Farmers’ Africa is a capacity-building programme that aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural producers in Africa. It works with farmers’ organizations (FOs) to help them evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises.

The programme supports the main functions of FOs, promotes their engagement in policy processes and contributes to their professionalization. It also supports the efforts of FOs to provide economic services to their members. 

This paper is a guide to current debates about agricultural development. It analyses the changes in development approaches and thinking in recent decades and explores today's critical issues in agricultural and rural development policy. With the main focus on Africa, the paper also includes insights from Asia and Latin America.

Le présent étude a été demandé par le Mécanisme de financement pour l’envoi de fonds (MFEF) du Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA), et réalisé par Taylor Nelson Sofres, TNS-RMS, dans le cadre de l’Initiative relative aux services financiers postaux en Afrique (APFSI). 

L’importance des transferts d’argent en provenance et à destination de l’Afrique, qui ont franchi le seuil des 60 milliards d’USD et continuent de croître rapidement, commence légitimement à attirer l’attention au niveau mondial.