Addis Ababa, 17 November 2015 (ECA) – Most African countries could make more money from their agricultural sectors if they prioritise investments and policy reforms in the sector. How they can achieve this will be one of the main topics of discussion at the 43rd plenary session of the African Economic Research Consortium’s Biannual Research Workshop, opening on November 29, 2015 in Addis Ababa.
With the theme ‘Agricultural transformation in Africa’, workshop participants will hear three presentations by thought leaders on the subject. Three academics will present papers on structural transformation of rural economies, the green revolution, and on the significance of agricultural transformation.
The two-day workshop aims to provide a forum in which the participants deal with issues relevant to Africa’s economic development. They also provide an opportunity for monitoring the progress and quality of the various research projects sponsored by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). One of the AERC’s principal mandates is to strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into problems facing the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Included in the proceedings will be a public-private sector policy panel discussion that should contribute to finding solutions to the agricultural challenges in Africa, by focusing on the practical opportunities and challenges.
The 42nd plenary session emphasisedthe need for greater understanding of sovereign wealth funds in the context of harnessing natural resources for growth. The workshop participants of the 43rd session will leave with an understanding that most African countries could realize more potential from their agricultural sectors, yet in recent decades countries have given vastly different levels of prioritization to investments and policy reforms.
Senior African policy makers, distinguished economists from all over the world, development partners and researchers from Africa and beyond will be participants at the workshop.
Concurrent sessions of the workshop start on November 30, 2015. They will feature 84 presentations of research proposals, work in progress, final reports and PhD theses proposals. These will cover topics such as poverty, labour markets and income distribution; macroeconomic policy and growth; finance and resource mobilization; production, trade and economic integration; agriculture, climate change and natural resource management.
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