Agricultural transitions and the weight of government policies

Transitions in African agriculture must encompass a triad of issues: farm diversification, the interaction between agrarian systems and other sectors, and a secure political and economic environment. This requires a deliberate process of building bridges between the government and all stakeholder categories and, more specifically, efforts to relegitimize and fortify agencies in charge of government policy, strengthen the role of civil society, and refocus development assistance interventions away from a pattern of uncoordinated supply and more toward the principle of demand-driven intervention, involving partners with stronger institutional capacities for meeting the challenges. (Résumé d'auteur