Monitoring of Public Spending in Agriculture in Southern Africa

Chilonda, Pius; Olubode-Awosola, Femi; Minde, Isaac J.; Njiwa, Daniel; Govereh, Jones

Monitoring of Public Spending in Agriculture in Southern Africa

Autores

Chilonda, Pius

Olubode-Awosola, Femi

Minde, Isaac J.

Njiwa, Daniel

Govereh, Jones

Descripción

Public resources are limited and have competing demands, hence prioritization will be critical. Policymakers want to know what public spending on agriculture sector will have the largest impact on the poor and how the resources should be allocated among the different sub-sectors. This brief examines the SADC region’s progress toward meeting the commitments made by African Heads of State and Government in the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgetary resources to agricultural sectors. Further, to build understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing governments as they strive to meet this target, the results of case studies of public expenditures on agriculture in Malawi and Zambia are summarized. Implications for policy and research are drawn. A case for increased public spending on agriculture is presented first, followed by a region-wide perspective and a focus on Malawi and Zambia.