Africa to Invest In Agricultural Research to Reduce Poverty


Lazarus Sauti

Agricultural research – a discipline dealing with the selection, breeding, and management of crops and domestic animals for more economical production – can reduce poverty in Africa.

This means countries in this region should embrace agricultural research as a way not only to reduce poverty but to effectively transform the fortunes of the continent.

An important 2011 paper by economists Luc Christiaensen, Lionel Demery and Jesper Kuhl shows that agriculture is roughly three times more effective at reducing extreme poverty than non-agricultural sectors.

Sharing the same views with the economists, Kevin Cleaver – the Associate Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), believes African governments should invest in agricultural research to reduce poverty in the continent.

Cleaver notes, “There is clear evidence that where agriculture contributes a significant portion of gross domestic product, rapid agricultural growth is an effective tool for generating overall economic growth and reducing poverty.”

Players in the agricultural sector should therefore fund agricultural research to stimulate agricultural growth.

Furthermore, stakeholders in the Agricultural sector in Africa must come up with enabling policies that propagate agricultural research since it is a catalyst that can transform the economies of African countries.

Cleaver asserts, “If policies are not enabling, big programs at scale are much less likely to work.”

 

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