Trade and Agriculture Events

OECD Global Forum on Agriculture 2010

 

Policies for Agricultural Development, Poverty Reduction and Food Security

Paris, France | 29-30 November 2010

 

Over a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day and a similar number suffer from hunger and undernourishment. Most are chronically hungry, chiefly because they are poor.

The OECD Global Forum on Agriculture 2010 was concerned with identifying ways in which governments can accelerate agricultural development and tackle the twin problems of poverty and food insecurity. Drawing on recent analytical work, primarily from the OECD, the 2010 Forum provided insights on common factors that explain the successes of some countries and faltering progress of others, and discerned key ingredients of the necessary policy mix.

It also provided an opportunity to discuss the specific role to be played by agricultural policy instruments, and how those instruments should be combined with other non-agricultural policies.

 

Agenda and background documents

 

Documents and presentations

Session 1: Policy Challenges

This session considered the potential role for agricultural policy in promoting poverty reduction, food security and economic development. It will situate agricultural policy in the overall mix of government policies that can facilitate progress on MDG1, providing a roadmap for the meeting.

  • Principles for effective agricultural policies design by Jonathan Brooks (OECD) | PPT | Brief | Paper 1 | Paper 2

 

Session 2: Agriculture's Role in Poverty Reduction

An enduring question is the relative contributions of agricultural and non-agricultural growth for poverty reduction in developing countries. This session presented both a general overview of the evolving debate among economists and policy makers as well as empirical findings obtained in case study analysis.

  • The role of agricultural development in poverty reduction by Luc Christiaensen (UN University-Wider) | PPT | Brief | Paper
  • Joe Dewbre (OECD) | Paper
  • Major findings from the APO Agricultural Policy Study based on the application of the PSE methodology by Kunio Tsubota | PPT
  • Methodological issues by Sunitha Raju | PPT
  • Economic importance of agriculture poverty reduction: Indonesia and Vietnam by Joe Dewbre (OECD) | PPT | Brief | Paper 1 | Paper 2
  • The role of agriculture for poverty reduction in Ethiopia and Ghana: forward looking scenarios by Xinshen Diao (IFPRI) - to be presented by Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse (IFPRI) - Ghana and Ethiopia | PPT | Brief | Paper 1 | Paper 2
  • André Jooste (National Agriculture Marketing Council, Pretoria, South Africa) | Comment
  • Income distribution and poverty impacts of alternative agricultural policies: results from the Development Policy Evaluation Model (DEVPEM) by Ed Taylor (University of California, Davis, USA) | PPT | Brief | Paper
  • Roger Martini (OECD) | PPT

 

Session 3: Choice of Policy Tools to Promote Agricultural Development

This session looked at issues related to the choice and use of specific agricultural policy instruments, and their potential roles within the overall policy mix. This will involve evaluating whether public expenditures are allocated appropriately, and whether individual policies are coherent and cost-effective.

  • Government expenditures in support of food and agriculture sector development - The case of Uganda by Joanna Komorowska (OECD) | PPT | Brief | Paper
  • Africa Union Statement at Global Agriculture Forum by Yemi Akinbamijo (African Union Commission) | PPT | Paper
  • Agricultural research, innovation, productivity, and poverty by Julian Alston (University of California, Davis, USA) | PPT | Brief
  • David Henley (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, KITLV) | PPT
  • Kunio Tsubota (Meiji University, Japan) | Comment
  • Stabilization policy in developing countries after the 2007-08 food crisis by Philip Abbott (Purdue University, USA) | PPT | Brief | Paper
  • Input Subsidies in Developing Countries by Steve Wiggins (Overseas Development Institute, UK) and Jonathan Brooks (OECD) | PPT | Brief | Paper
  • Andrew Dorward (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK) | Paper 1 | Paper 2

 

Session 4: Conclusions and Implications for Future Work

This panel discussion will draw together policy implications from the preceding sessions, from the overall framework conditions for effective policy decisions to reduce poverty and improve food security.

Panel discussion:

  • Phillip Glyde (Executive Director of ABARE-BRS and Deputy Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia)
  • Tahlim Sudaryanto (Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, the Republic of Indonesia)
  • Hafez Ghanem (Assistant Director-General for FAO's Economic and Social Development Department)
  • Stefan Schmitz (Head of Division, Rural Development and Global Food Security, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany)
  • Christopher Delgado (Strategy and Policy Advisor, World Bank; Program Manager of Global Agricultural and Food Security Program, GAFSP)

 

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