AFRICA AGRICULTURE STATUS REPORT 2016

level. The success of ReSAKSS is best illustrated by the
fact that it is being emulated in other developing regions.
ReSAKSS-Asia and ReSAKSS-Latin America are adapted
versions that are being supported by IFPRI in South Asia
and Central America.
CAADP has improved alignment by global development
agencies with country priorities and increased funding
for agriculture. In 2009, G8 leaders issued the L’Aquila
Joint Statement on Global Food Security, committing:
“…to provide resources in support of the CAADP and
other similar regional and national plans” and pledging to
mobilize US$2O billion to support agricultural and food
security (G8, 2009). Following the statement, the Global
Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) issued
the “Guidelines for Donor Support to CAADP Processes
at the Country-Level”. The MDTF was established at the
World Bank to support CAADP implementation activities
by countries, RECs, and lead pillar institutions—charged
with elaborating guidance frameworks for the four mutually
reinforcing pillars of CAADP. GAFSP was subsequently
established following the 2009 Pittsburgh G20 meeting to
provide funding for NAIPs. To date, GAFSP has approved
funding for 17 African countries to the tune of US$611
million.
All these global initiatives have been strongly influenced
by CAADP. For example, to qualify for GAFSP funding,
African countries need to have completed the CAADP
process illustrated by a technically reviewed investment
plan. Countries in other developing regions are required
to have CAADP-like processes to qualify for funding. This
a testament to the far reaching effect of CAADP on the
global agricultural and food security agenda, the first-ever
development model conceived in Africa to have been
espoused by countries outside of the continent.
More recent initiatives in support of CAADP include the
New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (New Alliance)
and Grow Africa. Grow Africa was launched in 2011 by
the AU, NEPAD and the World Economic Forum to raise
private sector investments in agriculture and accelerate the
implementation of investment plans. Under the New Alliance
Cooperation Frameworks, governments have committed to
pursue policies that create a competitive environment for
private sector investment and contribute to inclusive growth
and development. Meanwhile development partners and
the private sector have committed to, respectively, provide
nearly US$6 billion to support CAADP investment plans
and pursue investments in agriculture and food security
that maximize benefits to smallholder farmers.
Governments have made progress in implementing
policy reforms dealing with inputs, sector institutions,
and resilience and risk management (African Union,
2015b). Meanwhile, US$3.2 billion has been disbursed by
development partners to the 10 New Alliance countries and
the private sector has invested $2.3 billion since 2013 out
of the more than $10 billion pledged (Grow Africa, 2016).
Implementation Challenges and Lessons
Notwithstanding the progress highlighted, JSR assessments
facilitated by ReSAKSS reveal that the quality and pace of
CAADP implementation have fallen short of the measures
required for substantial and sustained progress in several
countries. Key obstacles to faster progress are observed in
the following areas:
Meeting required funding levels: Although nearly
all countries have significantly increased funding to
agriculture, only 5 have met the CAADP 10 percent
budget share target during 2008–2014. It is therefore not
surprising that most NAIPs have not been fully funded.
This is compounded by slow and weak implementation and
hence slow disbursement of funds, as revealed in country
JSR assessment reports.
Capacities for technical analysis and M&E: Program
implementation has also been hindered by limited staff and
technical capacities. In most countries, capacity limitations
are more profound at local levels (regional and district). For
example, in Ghana the ratio of agricultural extension agents
to farmers is 1:1,500 compared to a more ideal ratio of
1:400 (MoFA, Ghana, 2014). And in Senegal, the capacity
issues are compounded by the fact that a large proportion
of technical staff are approaching retirement age (MARE,
Senegal, 2014). The two examples are symptomatic of
impediments that are not unique to these two countries,
pointing to an urgent need to build capacity and raise
the number of technical experts to provide the required
technical guidance to boost agricultural sector growth
and transformation. Many countries still lack the capacity
for collecting timely and reliable data, and the analytical
skills needed to inform and guide program planning and
implementation. In nearly all cases, not enough effort is
made to effectively mobilize existing local expertise. The
SAKSS platforms discussed earlier are seeking to help
address some of these data and capacity challenges.
Aligning sector priorities and budget allocations:
Countries have not always allocated budget according to
NAIP priorities or areas that generate the most returns
in terms of growth and other development outcomes
(Benin, Nin-Pratt, & Wood, 2016). Moreover, uneven
policy and program priorities create challenges for overall
implementation. For instance, the growing popularity of
often poorly targeted input subsidies claim large shares of
26 AFRICA AGRICULTURE STATUS REPORT 2016