This background paper, commissioned by the GIZ sector project Agricultural policy and food security on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), summarises the current state of thinking on agricultural policies for development.
The report aims to assess and summarise the current state of thinking about policy for agricultural development in developing countries, recognising that ideas have developed rapidly in recent years.
Specific objectives are to:
- Assess the role of the public sector, including reviewing previous past mistakes, in a contemporary agricultural development policy;
- Review the main areas of agricultural development policy to identify points on which there is general agreement, those which are in debate and those on which there are significant uncertainties. Reasons for differences of opinion and the evidence typically cited will be documented;
- Review experience and debates over coordination and coherence of agricultural development policy to address the question of how best to ensure that agricultural policy supports and complements that in other sectors; and,
- From these reviews, identify the skills and competences that a contemporary agricultural policy advisor should ideally have.
