Welcome to the monthly newsflash of Idasa's Agriculture Expenditure Project, highlighting useful articles about Agriculture in Africa, including a focus on policy and small farmer participation.

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Activist Budget Monitoring

Monitoring the budgets of local and national governments is a key instrument in the toolkit of any accountability activist. Active budget monitoring can both prevent and expose corruption and can also lead to improved public services and infrastructure. See this free visual tool for sharing your graphs and data. Read more here.

Women farmers can play big role in reducing world hunger

Investing in women smallholder farmers is the key to halving hunger in Africa and results in twice as much growth as investment in any other sector, a new ActionAid report reveals. Less than one per cent of the agriculture budget is targeted at women in the three countries researched by ActionAid – Malawi, Kenya and Uganda - despite women's central contribution to the production of food. Read more here.

Global security depends on tackling world hunger

A comprehensive framework for action on global food security is being updated. This includes a set of policy and action recommendations first developed in 2008 for responding to the food price crisis that year. That crisis pushed millions of people into hunger and sparked riots in more than 30 countries. Ireland and the US are building a strategic partnership to tackle ongoing world hunger, a foreign policy priority of both governments. Read more here.

International Academic Conference on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ 6 - 8 April 2011

The Journal of Peasant Studies, in collaboration with the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is organizing an international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ to be held on 6-8 April 2011 at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the UK. The focus of the conference will be on the politics of global land grabbing and agrarian change. Papers are expected to address some of the most urgent and strategic questions around global land grab. Read more here.

UN official urges responsible investment in agriculture in poorer countries

Responsible investment in agriculture can help developing countries to tap the potential of farming. The head of the United Nations trade and development recently called for both national and international efforts to ensure domestic economies benefit. Read more here.

Tanzania’s agricultural drive – Kilmo Kwanza

Tanzania’s new agricultural drive, christened Kilimo Kwanza (Kiswahili for Agriculture First), is meant to inspire investment in agriculture as a catalyst for the country's industrial revolution drive.  Currently, agriculture contributes about 26 per cent of Tanzania's GDP, while the manufacturing sector accounts for about 9.5 per cent. Read more here.

More articles

Conclusions on an EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges

Making progress towards reducing hunger and poverty in Africa

Comprehensive agriculture development: call for action on building capacity at country level

Accelerating CAADP Country Implementation - Guide now available

Kenya aware that maize was GMO

Sub-Saharan Africans want governments to focus on agriculture and jobs

Ministers reaffirm support for CAADP

Need for a “green revolution” by Africa’s small famers

Agriculture and rural development key to African economies – evaluation of assistance

The right to food needs legal basis

Ghana: reviewing poverty reduction strategy

Angola's small-scale farmers welcome investment, urge careful targeting