OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORY
Results
Report
2009
Initiative on soaring food prices. Country responses to the food security crisis: Nature and preliminary implications of the policies pursued
The report intends to examine the short-term measures adopted by some 81 countries and is intended for policy makers and analysts. Prices of staple foods, such as rice and vegetable oil, have doubled between January and May 2008. High food prices together with record petroleum and fertilizer prices have spurred inflation. Poorer households with a larger share of food in their total expenditures are suffering the most from high food prices, due to the erosion of purchasing power, which has a negative impact on food security, nutrition and access to school and health services. Higher prices also result in [...]
Issue paper
2006
Food Security and Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Building a Case for More Public Support. Policy Assistance Series 2
There are four main reasons for which agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) deserves more public support. First is a moral imperative: SSA governments cannot and should not ignore a sector on which about 70 percent of their population directly depend for their livelihoods, if they are serious about their commitment to MDG1. Second, in spite of their generally poor performance, SSA countries do not have any realistic strategic option that they can rely upon for achieving sustainable economic development, other than agriculture. Third, there is evidence that appropriate policies and direct public sector investment have combined to trigger agriculture sector-led [...]