Institutional processes and
agricultural development
in sub-Saharan Africa
James Tefft
Economist
Agricultural Development Economics Division, FAO
Brussels Briefing on EC Communication on Advancing African Agriculture
17 October 2007

• Challenge: establishing effective
processes and institutional mechanisms
needed to achieve desired results
• We may know what to do to reduce
hunger and poverty but we often do not
know how to go to scale
• Dynamic learning

Examples of Institutional
challenges
• Emergency/development nexus
• Opportunities from decentralization and
civil society involvement
• Smallholders in dynamic supply chains
• Improving nutritional outcomes

Regional organizations and
Early Warning Systems
• Provision of methodological support
• Neutral instrument for validation of cereal
balance sheets
• Comparability of analyses
• Forum for discussion and collaboration

Regional organizations and
Early Warning Systems
• Future role of RECs depends on member
states’
– confidence in regional organizations
– articulation of needs and priorities
– agreement on comparative advantage
and capacity needs
– contributions for long-term financial
sustainability