Putting Small-Scale Farmers First: Improving the National Agriculture Investment Plans of Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania

Report for Acord International (January 2014)

This report analyses the National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) of five countries – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Burkina Faso – and assesses the extent to which they are likely to benefit smallholder farmers. The NAIPs are the flagship strategies of governments, outlining how they will support the agriculture sector in the coming years, and include ambitious spending plans. If the NAIPs are to transform agriculture, and promote broader development, they must focus on the people who do most of the farming – smallholder farmers. The report finds that, while the NAIPs of these five countries show a significant commitment to the agricultural sector, there are five key problems: insufficient prioritisation of the real needs of smallholder farmers; a poor focus on women farmers; a lack of explicit prioritisation of sustainable agriculture; unrealistic funding; and limited community participation in implementing the NAIPs.

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