POLITICS MATTER: POLITICS AND POLICY PROCESSES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE Future Agricultures Consortium Workshop on Politics and Policy Processes for the 2008 World Development Report on Agriculture 22-23 January 2006 Institute of Development Studies, UK www.future- agricultures.org WDR meeting Jan 07
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POLITICS MATTER: POLITICS AND POLICY PROCESSES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
WDR meeting Jan 07. www.future-agricultures.org. POLITICS MATTER: POLITICS AND POLICY PROCESSES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE. Future Agricultures Consortium Workshop on Politics and Policy Processes for the 2008 World Development Report on Agriculture 22-23 January 2006 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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POLITICS MATTER:
POLITICS AND POLICY PROCESSES IN
AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
Future Agricultures Consortium Workshop onPolitics and Policy Processes for the
2008 World Development Report on Agriculture
22-23 January 2006Institute of Development Studies, UK
• growth, transitions• technology potentials• problems of subsidies• role of private/non-govt sector• environmental issues • distortions of OECD policies
• ‘transmission’ (how growth links to poverty reduction); • ‘decision-making logics’ and ‘political will’ (how actually
policy works in practice)• ‘democratisation’ (and how interests are negotiated in
reality)• ‘structure of the agricultural economy’ (how economy
and politics are linked)• ‘descaling the state’ (how ‘the state’ functions in practice)• ‘public-private’ (how relationships are constructed)• ‘globalisation’ (as a socio-political process) … and more (politics of knowledge/framing).
“The welfare effects of [the new agriculture] will depend on the extent to whichthe rural poor capture direct benefits as producers and indirect benefits asworkers and consumers of food”…and “the behaviour of ruralhouseholds and their different abilities to seize the benefits of growth”.
Yes, but… • Multiple pathways of growth – and not all are ‘pro-poor’ or ‘broad-
based’, within farming/labour/migration options• Lack of capture by poor of benefits and limited influence on
directions of policy• Wage employment in ‘new agriculture’ not always beneficial to
“Political constituencies and vested interests mobilise support for unproductive subsidies”…..”rather than core public goods”
“Willingness to invest …enhanced by the rising power of civil society, the spreadof representative democracy, the extensive decentralisation of governance, and thecommitment to achieving development outcomes through agriculture [e.g. NEPAD]”
Yes, but what about…
• Neo-patrimonial politics inc. in ‘democratic’ countries• Politics of food staples and national ‘food security’• Simplistic donor prescriptions (no subsidies, good governance etc.)
and early withdrawal of funding from public sector (reform conditionalities)
• Sectional interests of ‘civil society’ and lack of (poor) farmer political organisation and representation in policy processes
“Urgent international action is needed to reduced OECD tariffs and subsidies and to address the political economy of current policy” (p.18)… “In poorer countries reducing heavy taxation and protectionist tendencies will require tackling the political economy forces underlying these policies” (p.19)
Yes, but what about….
• Addressing the political economy of globalisation – and whose ‘rules’, standards, etc. count?
• Negotiating power and capacities of poorer countries in globalised (privatised) economy?
• Addressing the rent-seeking behaviour and vested interests of elites who influence tax and trade policies to capture benefits?
1. Changing structures of agricultural economies and relationships between ‘old’ and ‘new’ agricultures - the implications for politics and policy (voice, representation, accountability etc.)
2. The untackled agenda of agrarian reform and the consequences for lack of growth and, potentially, conflict, and why governments, donors and others continue to avoid it (linking to 1).
3. The changing role of the state and the dangers of reifying ‘civil society’ and the ‘private sector’ as an alternative in the provision of public goods.
4. Global political economy of agri-food systems and implications for investment patterns, technology choices and trade.
5. The role of donors – good and (often) bad – in policy processes
1. Building the capacity for effective representation and voice of diverse ‘farming’ (livelihood) interests across ‘old’ and ‘new’ agricultures through inclusive and deliberative policy processes
2. Agrarian reform as a central plank of agricultural growth policy in unequal agrarian societies (most and increasing) linking agricultural policy to conflict/security issues
3. Re-imagining the coordinating, regulating state and (re)building the capacity of (bits of) the ‘post-adjustment’ state
4. Engagement in global dynamics through regional bodies, and building of national capacities to resist, negotiate and transform rules, organisations and investment flows.
5. Establishing real accountability of donors and governments in aid budget/programme planning processes, e.g. through rethinking PRS/SwAP models, roles of ministries of agriculture etc.