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- What Will It Take for Africa to Achieve the MDGs?
- Commentary: Is Agriculture Still Important for Economic Development and Poverty Reduction?
IFPRI ForumAcross Africa, urgent development challenges are eroding prospects for improved livelihoods and attainment of global benchmarks, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But, according to a new IFPRI study, significant changes in policy and investment priorities starting now could reverse this trend and put the continent on the track to success.
Released in August in advance of the United Nations Millennium+5 Summit, Looking Ahead: Long-Term Prospects for Africa's Agricultural Development and Food Security (2020 Vision Discussion Paper 41) uses state-of-the-art computer modeling to project Africa's food security outlook over the next two decades. Three scenarios-"business as usual," "pessimistic," and "vision"-reveal the impact of different policy and investment choices on agriculture, food security, and nutrition.
A key finding of the report shows that Africa could come close to achieving the MDG target to cut child malnutrition in half by 2015, but this will only happen if policies and investments are put in place now to accelerate agricultural productivity and economic growth; reduce population growth rates; and improve access to education, health care, and clean water. Such findings provide a reality check about Africa's future prospects, particularly as world leaders go home from the United Nations summit this month to make good on their promises.
"Our findings reveal that an additional US$4.7 billion per year in investments above business-as-usual levels, along with appropriate policy changes, would enable Africa to confront child malnutrition as effectively as the rest of the developing world," says Mark Rosegrant, director of IFPRI's Environment and Production Technology Division and the lead author of the report.
As global attention now turns to the follow-up to the United Nations summit, journalists are particularly keen to know what it would take for Africa to overcome hunger and poverty and achieve the MDGs on time. Following its release, the report garnered significant coverage in prominent media outlets, reflecting widespread interest in the region.
For more information on the report and related background materials, visit www.ifpri.org/media/20050811Outlook2025.asp.