Agricultural Policy-Making in Sub Saharan Africa: Kenya's Past Policies

Abstract

Introduction

For most Sub-Sahara African countries, agricultural development is key as it has particular and direct significance in attaining the first MDG (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger) and the seventh MDG (ensuring environmental sustainability). Agriculture remains the economic base for the majority of the poor in Africa as it constitutes a key economic sector in most African countries and its importance in poverty reduction and sustainable development cannot be overstressed. According to EU (2007), agriculture accounts for about a third of Africa’s GDP, while in many countries the sector provides 60-90% of employment. Most agricultural production comes from small-scale farms and low-income farmers account for most of the staple food production on the continent. At the same time, most of Africa’s poor live in rural areas, where they depend, directly or indirectly, on agriculture for their livelihood. Accelerating pro-poor growth in agriculture is therefore one of the major avenues for reducing poverty and hunger. There are important linkages with the rest of the economy, implying a potentially high multiplier effect for agricultural growth.