While the profile of PHL has been raised for a number of commodities in SSA, this report focuses on grains, which still constitute the basis for food security for the majority of the population in the region and are a vital component in the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Crop production is estimated to account for roughly 70 percent of typical incomes, of which grain crops account for about 37 percent, on average. Recorded production amounts to 112 million tons per year, although records for some crops and some countries are not available. Most grains are produced and consumed by small farming households. This report was prepared by Sergiy Zorya, Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD) Department World Bank; Nancy Morgan, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) liaison to the World Bank; and Luz Diaz Rios, ARD Department, World Bank, based on the background papers prepared by Rick Hodges and Ben Bennett from the Natural Resources Institute in the United Kingdom. This report was developed in collaboration with the UN FAO. Stephanie Gallat, Divine Njie, and Edward Seidler provided valuable professional support. The FAO organized and provided fi nancial support for the technical workshop in Rome. The overall task was led by John Lamb, Agricultural and Rural Development Department, the World Bank.