Ending Hunger in Africa

In contrast to popular predictions of Africa’s worsening economic decline, recent research supports an alternative and more positive vision of Africa’s future. New political commitment and African ownership of the development agenda, combined with a renewed focus on and investments in smallholder-led agriculture, have the potential to halt or reverse the current downward spiral of hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, disease, and civil strife.

Building on lessons learned from past policy and implementation mistakes, this policy brief argues that now is the time to address key pillars of growth to revitalize the agriculture sector. To ensure success, these efforts must be coordinated through regional and national action plans, such as those recommended in the U.S. Agency for International  Development’s (USAID’s) new Agricultural Initiative to Cut Hunger in Africa (AICHA).

The plans must be designed jointly by donors and their African partners, to promote investments in African agriculture that are sensitive to local conditions and buttressed by rigorous analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of  program performance, while also encouraging transparency and accountability.