“This book examines the potential of agriculture to contribute to national
growth and poverty reduction. It also evaluates the financial costs of accelerating
agricultural growth. The analysis is based on ten country case studies that apply
similar economywide approaches to linking growth, poverty, and investment. The findings indicate that, in most African countries, improving agriculture’s
performance is essential to achieving pro-poor growth. They also point to export
agriculture having high growth potential and becoming a prominent part of agricultural
strategies. The research shows that broad-based growth will be difficult to achieve without expanding staple-food crop production and livestock production, since only they have the scale and linkages to poor households needed to reduce national poverty within a reasonable period of time. Finally, the case studies confirm the need for greater investment in agriculture. This book provides a structured approach to evaluating agricultural development
strategies at the country level. The case studies demonstrate the application of
important analytical methods that can be adopted by governments and researchers in developing countries.”
