The Insiders’ Perspective

In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile initiatives to promote agricultural development in Africa. These initiatives attempt to address one of the most pressing development challenges in Africa: increasing farm productivity amidst an expanding population, smaller farm sizes, and increasing levels of soil degradation. In the international development community, there appears to be a consensus that overcoming this challenge is the key to reducing poverty, generating nonfarm employment, and triggering a process of structural transformation. The objective of this IFPRI roundtable event is to bring together exceptional individuals who have been key to the conceptualization and implementation of these initiatives to share their experiences and perspectives.

Three policy and implementation experts will provide their unique perspectives on the role policy reforms and policymakers have to play in transforming African agriculture. The panel includes Dr. Yaya Olaniran, chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and Mr. Khalid Bomba, CEO of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency.