Is Agriculture still relevant to Poverty Reduction in Africa?

Accelerated agricultural growth, based on increasing land and labour productivity, has been a cornerstone of successful poverty reduction. With increasing productivity, millions of poor people in Africa benefit through cheaper food and higher rural incomes, but also linkages mean that rapid agricultural growth stimulates economic diversification to other activities where growth is generally faster and labour productivity and wages are higher.

Growth in other sectors may not match agriculture in the immediate term in achieving broad-based poverty reduction and stimulating wider economic growth, but there is no single ‘key’ to unlock agricultural growth – interventions have to take place simultaneously in a number of areas.

Speakers from IFPRI and Oxford University/World Bank will discuss whether African government policy and the major share of investment should focus on smallholders and staple crops or on large farms and high value crops.