Posted October 1999

Information note

Technical consultation on the evolving role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources in sub-Saharan Africa

I. Introduction

The Rural Development Division of FAO (SDA), in close collaboration with other technical divisions, in particular the Policy Assistance Division (TCA) and the Investment Centre (TCI), is carrying out several normative and operational activities to assist FAO member nations, particularly in Africa, in the restructuring of their rural institutions and in promoting the role of civil society. The purpose of these activities is to render public institutions compatible with their evolving role in a market-oriented economy, promote decentralization, provide the necessary powers and resources to local institutions, foster farmers' and rural people's organizations and strengthen their capacity to participate, at local, regional and national level, in the definition and implementation of rural development policies and programmes, as well as in the sustainable management of natural resources. These activities are being carried out in close collaboration with governments, farmers' organizations and international partners, in particular the World Bank, in many African countries, such as Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Senegal, etc. This FAO-WB-IFAD-GTZ-UNCDF collaboration led to the joint organization of the Technical Consultation on Decentralization (TCD) which was held in Rome from 16 to 18 December 1997. In its conclusions, the consultation stressed the need for developing countries to embark on a decentralization process and promote the role of civil society actors in rural development. It recommended as a follow-up activity the organization of a Technical Consultation on the Evolving Role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Africa. Discussions are underway to ascertain the interest of FAO technical divisions, the World Bank and other partners to contribute to and/or co-sponsor such a consultation.

The purpose of the technical consultation will be to (i) analyze the experiences of these countries in institutional restructuring, including those implemented with FAO's support and in the framework of structural adjustment programmes in agriculture, and (ii) draw lessons from these experiences in order to adapt the role and improve the efficiency of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and related institutions in promoting rural development in collaboration with local governments and rural people's organizations.

In the Africa region, as in most developing countries, there is an urgent need for institutional restructuring. This type of restructuring, already well advanced in several African countries, is being technically supported by FAO and other organizations, in particular the World Bank.

It is now time to extend the exercise to several other countries with the support of their international partners and to take advantage of the experiences carried out so far.

In order to achieve the objectives of the WFS Plan of Action of food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development, the restructuring should be based on the recommendations of the TCD and include major structural and legal changes. It should, in particular:

• make public institutions, mainly Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, compatible with their evolving role which should be to concentrate on the main functions of policy orientation, regulation and control as well as the provision of high-level technical support, in collaboration with civil society actors;

• promote decentralization and strengthen local institutions and farmers' organizations in order to enable them to actively participate in the elaboration and implementation of rural development policies and programmes at different levels;

• encourage private initiatives and guide them toward the provision of better services and input supplies to rural producers and the population in general.

II. Purpose, themes and expected results

In order to adapt Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and other public institutions involved in rural development to the new demands and to make them able to efficiently provide public services, they need to be restructured and their roles redefined. Civil society actors, especially farmers' organizations, also need to be strengthened in order to efficiently participate in achieving the goals of food security and sustainable development.

The Rural Development Division (SDA) and other divisions of FAO have on several occasions provided technical assistance in the restructuring of rural institutions, particularly in Africa, as have other international development agencies.

These activities have induced each agency to reflect on the role of the State, especially Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in guaranteeing sustainable development, food security and poverty alleviation.

The time has come to collect and analyze the results of these reflections and experiences in order to draw from them useful lessons and recommendations to assist members nations in defining the evolving role of their public rural institutions, in particular Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as in their most appropriate restructuring. At the same time, it would be useful to establish a regional framework of concertation that would facilitate exchange of experiences and cooperation among rural institutions in the region, the harmonization of the approach and coordination of the support provided by the different partners in the field of rural institution building.

Objectives

Its objective is to provide interested governments in the region and their partners the opportunity to analyze the present role of their Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, their incompatibilities with the new economic orientations and the consequences for rural development. Consequently, it is expected that the technical consultation will come up with useful orientations and recommendations for the definition of the evolving role of these institutions and their restructuring. The purpose is to make them compatible with the market economy, decentralization and people's participation and capable of contributing efficiently to the achievement of the objectives of food security and sustainable development, in partnership with civil society actors.

It is also important to define a framework that would facilitate the exchange of experiences and promote rural institutional cooperation at regional level.

Themes

1. Analysis of the role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources over the past decades and its consequences:
   • the role of the State in agriculture and rural development, including that of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and related public institutions;
   • the effects on the organization, working conditions and performance of public institutions involved in agriculture and development;
   • the relations between Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, other ministries (especially Finance and Planning) and other rural development operators and their effects on the organization and participation of civil society actors, particularly farmers' organizations.

2. An attempt to define the evolving role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the new context of market economy, decentralization, capacity building and civil society participation. This includes a reflection on:
   • the global mission of the State in agriculture and rural development; and consequently
   • the role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in particular in exercising the following functions:
     • elaboration, implementation and monitoring of sectoral and global development policies;
     • extension, advice, training and research;
     • regulation and control in different fields (veterinary, plant pathology, land tenure and natural resources, irrigation, food quality control, etc.);
     • natural resources management, hydro-agricultural equipment and maintenance.

3. The restructuring of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources according to their evolving role and its implications:
   • Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources need to be transformed in order to make them more efficient and compatible with their evolving role (activities, organizational structure, decentralization of responsibilities and budget, new working methods and relationships, changes in personnel profiles, redeployment of human and material resources, capacity building of the restructured services, programme for the assessment and privatization of the activities to be transferred to the private sector, reconversion of personnel not corresponding to the needs of the restructured services, etc.);
   • technical, social and financial implications and appropriate accompanying measures;
   • the effects of the new structures on the capacities and participation of farmers' organizations and other civil society actors, as well as on the services provided to the farmers and other actors in the food chain.

4. Transition to the new situation:
   • conditions to be satisfied and inputs required to implement the restructuring of ministries;
   • main phases of the transition toward the envisaged situation;
   • accompanying measures and changes required to ensure that the restructured ministries are able to play their new roles efficiently (new mentality and attitudes, global decentralization, capacity building, participation of representative farmers' organizations, partenarial relations between ministries and private sector and civil society actors, especially with farmers' organizations, legislative changes in the attributes and functions of ministries, cooperatives and associations, reorientation of the agricultural education and training system, reform of research, extension and advice to farmers, etc.)

5. Main partners and their relationships with the restructured Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Expected outputs

• exchange information on the role of the State in agriculture and rural development in Africa and its consequences on the organization of public institutions and their relations with the farmers and other civil society actors involved in development;

• draw lessons from these experiences and based on them elaborate useful recommendations to assist member countries in defining the evolving role of their Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources according to the new economic orientation and particular conditions of each country;

• identify relevant issues in order to develop useful methodologies, norms and recommendations to assist member countries in restructuring their Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources according to the evolving role and environmental changes, with particular attention to decentralization and civil society participation;

• define a framework for collaboration at regional level, in order to harmonize the assistance provided to the countries in this field and to orient them toward the achievement of the objectives of the WFS Plan of Action.

III. Tentative agenda

Day 1: Plenary Session : Analysis of the present role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and its consequences

Day 2: The evolving role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources

• Plenary: The evolving role (principles and guidelines)
• Working Groups: The evolving role in:
  • Agricultural and rural development policies
  • Extension, advice, research, training and information
  • Regulation and control
  • Natural resources management, hydro-agricultural equipment and maintenance

• Plenary: Synthesis of the evolving role of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources

• Transition toward the new role (restructuring and decentralization)
• The partners of Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources and their new relationships.

IV. Scope

Africa: Approximately ten case studies and country reports and a regional report funded by SDA and prepared under its technical supervision, as well other technical inputs by other FAO divisions and partners will be presented or distributed during the meeting.

Other regions: A few case studies will be presented as comparative examples, if possible.

V. Participants

1. Countries: Number to be determined.
2. International agencies and other participants, indicatively:
   • FAO-HQs: 3 participants; FAO Regional and Subregional Offices: 3 participants
   • About 12 participants from partner agencies, who will fund their own participation.