THE BIGGER PICTURE

In addition to undertaking specific agricultural projects, many countries are increasingly taking a broader view and embarking on programmes that cover the entire agricultural sector or specific subsectors.

Sectoral reviews

Sectoral reviews not only assess the constraints and opportunities with the sector, but also identify individual investment opportunities and project how these might fit together and how they can be complemented by institutional reforms and changes in public policy. For these types of review the Investment Centre is in a strong position to help. It can draw in experts from other FAO technical units and consultants to assemble multidisciplinary teams that cover the whole spectrum of agricultural activity.

International financing institutions frequently request such reviews as the basis for multi-donor Sector Wide Approaches (SWAps) and Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs) that will provide funds both to finance investments and to support policy reforms. While SWAps can include measures to strengthen agricultural services, they can also include efforts to decentralize services or make them more accountable to rural farming communities.

Development Options Reviews

The sectoral approach has also proved fruitful in a number of countries that have emerged from natural disasters or conflict. In these cases the Investment Centre has been able to provide Development Options Reviews to suggest the policy changes and investment choices that would restore agricultural productivity and output - and show how emergency relief operations can dovetail with long-term agricultural development programmes. The Investment Centre has recently carried out such reviews in Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Turkmenistan.