REPORT: Public expenditure on food and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

​FAO (2021). Public expenditure on food and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: trends, challenges and priorities. Pernechele, V., Fontes, F., Baborska, R., Nkuingoua, J., Pan, X. & Tuyishime, C.  Rome, FAO, 120 pp.

Monitoring and analysing food and agriculture policies and their effects is crucial to support decision makers in developing countries to shape better policies that drive agricultural and food systems transformation.

This report is a technical analysis of government spending data on food and agriculture during 2004–2018 in 13 sub-Saharan African countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. It analyses the level of public expenditure, including budget execution, source of funding and decentralized spending, as well as the composition of expenditure, including on producer or consumer support, research and development, infrastructure and more to reveal the trends and challenges that countries are facing. It also delves into the relationship between the composition of public expenditure and agricultural performance.

As a way forward for future policymaking, the report offers a set of recommendations to strengthen policy monitoring systems and data generation for effective public investments in food and agriculture.

The report is produced by the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme at FAO in collaboration with MAFAP country partners.

Related: 

07 May 2021. Launched with a high-level webinar, the technical report delves into over 10 years of public expenditure data, revealing the trends, challenges and priorities that governments in sub-Saharan Africa are facing in terms of public spending on food and agriculture.

• Opening remarks by QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Presentation on report's findings by Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director, Agrifood Economics Division (ESA), FAO
• Statement by Godfrey Bahiigwa, Director for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission

• Yassia Kindo, Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation Development and Mechanization, Burkina Faso
• Tewodaj Mogues, Senior Economist, IMF* (*Ms. Mogues’ remarks will draw on her analysis carried out in her professional work prior to joining the IMF).
• Apollos Nwafor, Vice President for Policy and State Capability, AGRA
• Leonard Mizzi, Head of Sustainable Agri-food Systems and Fisheries, European Commission
  Leonard Mizzi of the European Commission, insisted on inter-ministerial dialogue: "Food and agriculture are not just a matter for agriculture ministries," he said, in a context of competition for resources exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Business as usual will send us hurtling into a wall," he added, echoing the general call for transformative approaches to food security in Africa.
• Shenggen Fan, Chair Professor at China Agricultural University and CGIAR Board Member
• Thule Lenneiye, Coordinator, Agricultural Transformation Office, Kenya