This document discusses agricultural growth corridors and their implications. It notes that urbanization and farm sizes are changing, presenting new research challenges. Corridors tend to exclude the poorest and deepen disparities, while governments invest in large-scale public-private partnerships to achieve development goals. The document outlines a workshop to discuss the implications of transformational change for the CGIAR's research strategies, targets, and metrics, given ambitious goals like those in the Malabo declaration.

1. Agricultural Growth
Corridors
ISPC 12 meeting, Rome 14-16 Sep. 2016
Jeffrey Sayer & R. Serraj

2. http://ispc.cgiar.org
Who will be farming, where and what in 20 years?
 Foresight and partnerships
 ISPC trying to get this on the CRP agenda
 Links with NEPAD, CAADP and ECDPM
 NRM challenges

3. http://ispc.cgiar.org
Urbanization & farm size (Masters et al. 2013) –
 Innovation will spread along transport routes;
 average area per farm is likely to keep falling in Africa and start
rising in Asia;
 Diverse and changing farm systems will present new research
challenges.
 Vast reduction in the proportion of the population engaged in
agriculture and a large move out of rural areas. (Collier and Dercon
(2014)
 Conflict with commitment to smallholder agriculture as the main
route for growth in African agriculture and for poverty reduction?
 Need realism - not just a narrow focus on existing smallholders
situations.

4. http://ispc.cgiar.org
 Tendency of corridors to exclude the poorest and
deepen existing power disparities - hinterlands.
 Many governments investing in SDIs and large-scale
public-private partnerships to achieve development
goals.
 Spending on public works to “jump-start” global
economy – AIIB – impacts on agriculture visible
 Malabo declaration – Ambitious goals: implications for
CGIAR’s research strategies, targets and metrics?

5. http://ispc.cgiar.org

6. http://ispc.cgiar.org

7. http://ispc.cgiar.org
1. Introduction
Corridors in perspective
Research and agricultural corridors
Outline of this paper
2. Typology of existing growth corridors in Africa
Corridor origins?
Geographical scope
Aims and scope of activities
...to agricultural corridors
Different drivers different challenges?
3. Corridor governance mechanisms
Managing corridor complexity
Coordination mechanisms
Instruments for corridor development
Corridor-linked policies & regulations
Learning
Measuring the impact of corridors
4. Key risks and opportunities
Corridors of opportunity
Risks
5. Knowledge gaps, potential research priorities
Transformational change through scale and partnerships
The development nexus: turning corridors into sustainable developmental investments
Strengthening the link between agricultural research and development outcomes through corridors
Research on more technical issues
Research on political issues: smallholder inclusivity and land rights
Cross-cutting issue: capacity building
Agricultural Growth Corridors - an overview and key questions for
further research – An ISPC commissioned background paper

8. ©Bill Laurence
Next steps for ISPC -CGIAR
Exploring implications for CGIAR
Meeting in Africa – late 2015
Dialogue –CRPs – NEPAD, CAADP
Reflection on agricultural transitions

9. Corridors, Clusters, and Spatial Development Initiatives
in African Agriculture
Workshop Announcement
A side event of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture in Africa
30 November 2015, Durban, South Africa
The CGIAR Independent Science and
Partnership Council (ISPC) will be co-organizing
a one-day workshop as a side event of GFIA-
Africa, in collaboration with ECDPM and NEPAD.
The workshop on “Corridors, clusters, and
spatial development initiatives in African
agriculture” represents a step in the ISPC’s
efforts to develop a strategic study for the
CGIAR on this topic.
The workshop will discuss the potential implications for the CGIAR of transformational change,
with participants from the scientists and research managers community as well as
representatives of major promoters of change and other key partners and stakeholders.