Aid to African Agriculture: Lessons from Two Decades of Donors’ Experience
The book opens with an overview of the broad trends in donor assistance to the six countries under investigation and an analysis of country performance based on data from the records of governments and donors. Discussions are organized around several topics: 1) the policies donors adopted toward promoting agriculture; 2) how recipients ‘ perceptions of their development needs and priorities influenced the amount and form of aid given; 3) the context of assistance; 4) how strategic, commercial, and humanitarian constituencies in donor countries influenced the level and content of assistance programs; and 5) the comparative advantage of donors with respect to their ability to provide agricultural or other specific kinds of assistance. The book does not cover livestock and forestry in any detail, although both play an important role in alleviating poverty and in ensuring environmental sustainability. The book ends with an assessment of the donors ‘ effect on country policies and performance and outlines the study ‘ s implications for future donor assistance.