Developing an understanding of agricultural production and marketing systems and their sources of vulnerability can be a challenging task, particularly if it involves considering mechanisms to help people leave agriculture, as in contemporary China. Common problems include insufficient time for broad consultation; gaps in the required knowledge base, particularly concerning reliable data on poverty in agroecological and local government areas; problems with in-country expertise; and lack of political and/or bureaucratic champions. BenefitsEffective processes for preparing an ADS rely on intensive fact-finding, diagnostic studies, analyses, and program monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessments. An ADS will present combinations of policies and programs around which stakeholders can form a consensus and mobilize the resources that are needed (box 1.9 ). This process helps to identify political champions for reform, and it can promote the interchange of experiences among practitioners to learn what works and what does not work in sectoral institutions, programs, and markets. Overall, an ADS can focus efforts in ways that reduce the duplication of projects and conflicts among different initiatives, and it can enhance collaboration among stakeholders (including donor agencies, governments, the private sector, and farmer and community organizations). Box 1.9 Uganda: plan for modernization of agriculture To raise agricultural growth rates, the Government of Uganda developed a Plan for Modernization of Agriculture through a broad-based consultative process. This plan is part of Uganda's broader strategy, which is defined in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). The plan has been used as an important input into the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and subsequent Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs), in which agriculture has high priority. A focus point of the plan is the transformation of subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture to accelerate growth through technical change throughout the sector. Priority areas for action are research and technology development; agricultural advisory services; rural finance; agroprocessing and marketing; agricultural education; sustainable natural resource utilization and management; and supportive physical infrastructure, particularly roads. The plan provides a strategic and operational framework for sustainable agricultural transformation, but it does not provide a detailed plan for action. It describes the types of policy interventions required to promote agricultural and rural development and defines the roles of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society in this process. Prioritized actions have been included in the PRSCs that have continued to support implementation of the PEAP.  Source: Government of the Republic of Uganda 2000 |
Policy and Implementation Issues  Agricultural and rural development strategies. There is now a recognition that rural development is broader than agricultural development, involving substantially more attention to social, off-farm, and infrastructural investments. While an ADS can be developed as a component of a Rural Development Strategy, there is a trade-off between the benefits of approaching agriculture as part of the larger rural picture and the potential problems of coordination and dilution of focus in analyses and planning.       |
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