africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
Strong governance and institutions are a fundamental centerpiece to enhancing
resilience, which is hindered by poorly coordinated and weakly enforced policies
(Fan and others, 2014). Governance relies on a wide range of public, private, formal,
and informal organizations, policies, and processes that function at the local,
national, and international levels (Pasteur, 2011). Creating the enabling conditions for
effective governance is critical for resilience and food security, and for determining
household and community access to resources, skills, technology, services, markets,
and information. Policies that strengthen institutions, advocate for decentralized and
participatory decision making (including by women), strengthen linkages between
various levels of governance, and seek to address existing imbalances in power
relations will enhance the adaptive capacity of communities by assisting them to
anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from shocks and stresses.
A commitment to enhancing resilience provides opportunities to address a range of
complex governance issues including accountability, transparency, and corruption.
When appropriately designed and implemented, policies and programs aimed at
enhancing resilience can manage social, economic, and environmental variability
resulting from shocks. Policies in support of resilience must also overcome a common
disregard for the informal governance arrangements at the local level that have
evolved to allow the co-existence of diverse ethnic populations and the collective
management of livelihood resources.
Building and maintaining resilience in food security requires the participation of a
range of actors and institutions with complementary capacities and skills. By forging
mutually advantageous partnerships and drawing on diverse networks among communities,
civil society, research institutions, NGOs, technical agencies, government,
and the private sector, development actors can strengthen the ability of vulnerable
populations to adapt to change, improve their well being, and contribute to and
benefit from social development and economic growth.
Public-private partnerships and the clustering of donor, government, and privatesector
investments in agricultural markets, household and public assets, social
protection, climate change adaptation, and financial services have the potential to
enhance livelihoods and the resilience of food supplies. For example, private sector
involvement in skills training, marketing support, and input provision can facilitate
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