Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Research Articles

Does financing agriculture sustain economic growth in Africa? Implications for Africa Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

Does financing agriculture sustain economic growth in Africa? Implications for Africa Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

Identifying key sectors of sustainable development: A Bayesian framework estimating policy‐impacts in a general equilibrium

AbstractTransformation of the previous centrally growth‐oriented economic systems to a sustainable bio‐economy is a global political trend, where public policy is a key factor in making this successful. Designing effective and efficient policies requires understanding the linkages between policy choices and outcomes. Most existing studies are missing a direct link to policy choices and ignore fundamental model uncertainty present in policy analysis. We empirically estimate a sector‐specific, nested two‐stage policy impact function to address these shortcomings. We apply a Bayesian estimation approach that combines existing statistical data with a priori information from political experts, thus reducing data and estimation problems. This is linked with a Computable General Equilibrium to model the entire link from policies to outcomes. We derive a theoretical framework that allows the definition of indicators for key sectors of an efficient Pro‐Poor‐Growth strategy. In our generalized framework, we show that indicators based only on growth‐poverty linkages might be misleading. To deal with model uncertainty inherent in the application, we derive a set of metamodels via simulations conducted under different model parameter settings and apply Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling. Applying Bayesian model selection allows drawing statistical inferences on competing models to generate relatively robust policy‐relevant messages even under model uncertainty. The approach is empirically applied to Ghana, Senegal, and Uganda, analyzing the allocation of public spending on agriculture under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. [EconLit Citations: C11—Bayesian Analysis: General; C63—Computational Techniques, Simulation Modeling; D58—Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models; O55—Africa; Q01—Sustainable Development; Q18—Agricultural Policy].

Agricultural development promises more growth and less poverty in Africa: Modelling the potential impact of implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme in six countries

SummaryMotivationCountries of Africa have, through the Maputo and Malabo declarations and the companion Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) committed to increased public investment in agriculture. If implemented, this should contribute substantially to realizing several development goals, including reduction of poverty and hunger and making rural populations more resilient to climate change.PurposeHow much would implementation of National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) formulated within CAADP help achieve the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, and the Malabo Declaration—namely, to boost agricultural growth, eradicate hunger, and reduce poverty and inequality?Methods and approachWe use data from Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Rwanda compiled in a Social Accounting Matrix. We run Computable General Equilibrium models with microeconomic models for each country to simulate the potential effect of implementation of the NAIPs. Three different methods to finance increased spending on agriculture are simulated: one that reallocates public expenditure with no overall increase in spending; a second that finances extra spending by more taxes; and one that relies on external funding to increase total spending.FindingsResults show that agriculture‐led investment would significantly increase agricultural growth, raise farm productivity, reduce dependency on food imports, improve incomes of food producers, and cut poverty. In most countries, increased investment in agriculture does more to boost growth, create jobs, and cut poverty than investments in industry or services. Raising overall public spending to allow more agricultural investment is far more effective than shifting spending within a fixed budget.Policy implicationsFor the six countries modelled, an agriculture‐led investment strategy appears the best way to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty and inequality while building resilience of rural households.

Agricultural expenditure and agricultural total factor productivity growth in South Africa

<abstract> <p>The study investigates the impact of government agricultural expenditure on agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth in South Africa. South Africa subscribes to the African Union-inspired Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), established in 2003 to exterminate hunger and lessen absolute poverty. CAADP requires governments to allot at least 10% of government expenditure to agriculture and achieve an average 6% annual growth in agricultural GDP through doubling agricultural productivity. Despite launching CAADP in 2011, South Africa is off-track. Our analysis follows a two-step procedure using data for the period 1986 to 2018. Firstly, using input and output data, we estimate agricultural TFP indices using the growth accounting (GA) and the Malmquist-Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods. Secondly, we use the Autoregressive Distributed Lag econometric technique to estimate the agricultural TFP impact of government expenditure. Estimates from the GA approach proved more reliable. We find that government agricultural expenditure has a significant positive effect on agricultural TFP growth of 4% and 18.5% in the short-run and long-run, suggesting high and increasing marginal gains. Estimations on weather variables reveal that a 1% increase in average temperatures and rainfall would increase TFP by 2.7% and 1.4% respectively. We recommend that South Africa fully implements the CAADP. Also, given significantly positive estimates of imports and exports, we call for increased agricultural trade liberalization biased towards export promotion and more intra-Africa agricultural trade within the AfCFTA framework.</p> </abstract>

Contribution of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in the Fight against Poverty in Zambia through Agriculture and Rural Development from 2010-2021

Background: The study was undertaken due to high levels of poverty in the COMESA region. It endeavoured to explore the contribution by COMESA towards the elimination of poverty using Agriculture and Rural development strategies. The objective of the study was to establish the contribution of COMESA in the fight against poverty in Zambia through Agriculture and rural development. The study employed qualitative approach with an exploratory research design and critical case sampling to choose 13 key informants to explore the contribution of COMESA in the fight against poverty in Zambia. Primary data was used from 13 key informants selected purposively using an interview guide to support secondary data. Data was analysed using thematic and content analysis. The study established that COMESA had been significant in the fight against poverty in Zambia. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) supported Zambia’s agricultural development policy formulation and implementation amongst others, establishing clear commitment to deliver on investing 10 percent of national budgets in the agricultural sector and achieving a six percent growth in agricultural domestic product. It was established that Zambia had worked with Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) through mobilisation of small-scale farmers in partnership with private and public institutions in regularising policy on staple foods, through policy outreach and research, creating market access, and building the capacity of the small-scale farmers to enable them compete in the domestic, regional and international markets. The study further established that Zambia’s livestock development received support from COMESA Livestock Unit which supported efforts aimed at driving sustainable livestock production and productivity, value addition and access to markets in the COMESA region. The Market Linkages Initiative (MLI) supported the ACTESA Secretariat and also focused on promoting growth in food staples trade in Zambia to ensure food security. Zambia through the COMESA Regional Agro-Inputs Programme (COMRAP) implemented by the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) in Zambia contributed to the improvement of rural household food security and livelihoods. The Integrated Production and Pest Management Programme (IPPM) became active in Zambia since 2014 and is an implementation mechanism of the support programme for the consolidation of the action framework under the European Union-Africa Partnership on Cotton. The study recommended that the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme should be strengthened as it continues to support investment in agricultural development in Zambia particularly enhancing support to small-scale farmers.

Exploring the Growth of Agricultural Productivity in AFRICA: A Färe-Primont Index Approach

The effort to increase agricultural productivity continues to receive interest in Africa as low productivity levels, poverty and food insecurity remain or even increase. This study used the Färe-Primont Index to estimate agricultural total factor productivity growth for 49 African countries. Panel data consisting of 833 observations for the period 2000 to 2016 were obtained from the United State Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service database. The results show that the average growth rate for agriculture in Africa is 0.73% per annum. The sector experienced increased growth after the Maputo Declaration, which was sustained during the global financial crisis. West Africa experienced the largest growth while Southern Africa suffered a substantial decline. The study also discovered that growth differed between countries indicating that customization of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme into regional and country-specific policy interventions is important to boost agricultural productivity. Finally, the growth was achieved through technical change, while efficiency change constrained growth. Policy-makers should increase investment in agricultural extension services, education and training to enhance managerial capacity (efficiency change) because improved managerial capacity could increase agricultural growth and thereby increase food security and alleviate poverty in Africa.

Household and Community Gardens Surge in the Philippines and Senegal during COVID-19

Household and Community Gardens Surge in the Philippines and Senegal during COVID-19

Mechanisms Implemented for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture: An Overview of Cabo Verde Performance

In 2005, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted the Common Agricultural Policy of ECOWAS (ECOWAP), as an instrument for implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). The main goals of ECOWAP/CAADP were set to promote agriculture development and end hunger by 2025. In this study we focused on the Cabo Verde archipelago as one of the best performing countries within ECOWAS in terms of overall sustainable development. In this paper, the evolution of the ECOWAP implementation and of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with agriculture in Cabo Verde, were assessed by semi-quantitative (e.g., agricultural policies, agrarian periodical literature) and quantitative (modeling regression of ECOWAP implementation and Sustainable Development Goals—SDGs—performance) analyses. Our integrated results suggest that the agriculture development strategies, the signature of ECOWAP/CAADP by the national government, and political stability might explain the progress made towards poverty reduction and the improvement of food security. The results also show that agriculture-related SDGs in Cabo Verde are higher than the mean values obtained from the remaining West African countries, well above the top 25% WA countries. Nevertheless, Cabo Verde public expenditure into agriculture under the ECOWAP was generally below the targeted 10% of the national budget, with food import required to meet internal food demands.

TRANSDISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF IRRIGATION INNOVATIONS IN AFRICA. LINKAGES TO PRINCIPLES OF CAADP: A COMMENTARY

AbstractExpanding arable land under irrigation is cardinal in the quest to attain Africa's aspiration of transforming agriculture and realizing its true value and positive impact on wealth creation, economic growth, food security and nutrition for all. Over the last three to four decades, many initiatives have been designed to harness both small‐ and large‐scale irrigation technologies towards increasing agricultural production and productivity. The EAU4Food (European Union and African Union cooperative research to increase food production in irrigated farming systems in Africa) project was a collaborative project under the EU–African Union Scientific Partnership aimed at enabling the successful adoption and upscaling of appropriate irrigation support innovations. The project applied a transdisciplinary approach to design, test and disseminate innovations across the continent. The project was designed to gain better insights vis‐à‐vis how the innovation process can be enhanced, and to share insights for supporting the implementation of national agricultural development programmes and strategies conceived within the context of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework. This note highlights linkages between the CAADP framework and the EAU4Food project and suggests some future areas of attention on Africa's agenda for enhanced agricultural production, facilitated under the auspices of CAADP. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sustainable development in East Africa: impact evaluation of regional agricultural development projects in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda

AbstractInvestments in agricultural technologies, capacity building and policy harmonization are needed to support sustainable development across Africa. Regional development projects can facilitate the adoption of agricultural technologies and innovations across nation‐state borders and generate benefits for shared prosperity. This paper uses panel data from 1,160 smallholder households including beneficiaries and non‐beneficiaries from five countries in East Africa ‐ Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. From a pool of over 90 projects implemented over a span of 15 years, 23 regional projects are included in this study. The major economic benefits to smallholder participants are higher crop productivity and income, access to adaptable technologies, access to markets, higher livestock and milk production, gender equality, enhanced food security, resilience and capacity building for uptake and scaling up of future innovation platforms. For example, the adoption of low‐cost tissue culture banana by the beneficiaries increased their incomes by 15% in Rwanda while the adoption of appropriate land and water management technologies increased the potato yields from 2.8 tons (USD 2,840/ha) to over 7.5 tons (USD 7,410/ha) in Kenya. The beneficiaries ensured value added to commodities like bananas (for export) and orange‐fleshed sweet potatoes (a nutrition‐sensitive intervention for enhancing domestic intake of vitamin A) in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Additionally, milk production increased from 6 to 11 L per cow per day in Uganda and from 6 to 8 L per cow per day in Tanzania, with increases in sales generating USD 115 per cow per month above the non‐beneficiaries. These results are supported by previous studies on technology adoption, investments in agriculture and well‐being outcomes. Our findings with the higher farm income Difference‐in‐Differences (DiD) estimator for the female beneficiaries compared to male beneficiaries might have important implications for investing in regional development projects that will close the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Africa. Regional projects can also support post‐conflict development efforts for food security and peace in fragile contexts such as in Burundi. Our findings might serve as an input to the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, localization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to food security and agriculture in Africa and an input to monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Impact of smallholder farmers’ welfare through participation in on-farm regional projects in East Africa

ABSTRACTThis paper uses panel data from 1,160 smallholder farmers, especially participants and non-participants in twenty-three regional projects from five countries in East Africa – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In this paper, regional projects mean projects implemented jointly in at least three countries, thereby providing sustainable regional public goods. Propensity score matching analysis is used to determine the difference in net benefits accrued to the on-farm participants compared to non-participants. The propensity scores show that participants have overall higher crop and livestock productivity, enhanced household income, increased soil and water management, and access to biofortified foods compared to non-participants. These findings indicate that regional projects can catalyse the achievement of smallholder farmers’ food and nutrition security, besides enhancing achievements of the African Union Commission's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nurturing natural capital

Nurturing natural capital

Agriculture and Structural Transformation in Africa: An Overview

Agriculture is the mainstay of most African economies and economic performance in these countries is intricately linked to the performance of the agricultural sector. Indeed, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the majority of the population resides in rural areas and the majority of farmers (up to 80%) are smallholders. However, productivity of these smallholder farmers is low compared to other developing regions, and this has perpetuated poverty in rural Africa. Agriculture has the greatest potential to reduce poverty in rural Africa. This special issue looks at efforts to transform agriculture in rural SSA to not only raise incomes of farmers, but to also foster broader structural transformation of African economies. The focus is on what needs to be done from a policy and practical point of view to kick-start, and in some cases, entrench structural transformation of the agricultural sector, taking cognizance of the need to transform across the value chain. Commitment by African governments, through initiatives such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, is a starting point. Over and above this, there is need to better understand why smallholder farmers are reluctant to invest in modern agricultural technologies, including use of modern seeds and fertilisers. Further, there are several constraints to be overcome for structural transformation of African agriculture to be a reality. These include: investing in development and diffusion of new and appropriate agricultural technologies; investing in infrastructure, including irrigation; addressing post-harvest challenges that small holder farmers face, etc. To better entrench the impacts, structural transformation in agriculture should happen concurrently with structural transformation of the rest of the economy, thus allowing for better allocation of scarce resources throughout the economy.

Tapping Potentials of Innovation for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Growth: An Africa-Wide Perspective

While in the past, increased use of inputs and expansion of agricultural land accounted for a good part of agricultural growth in Africa, improvements in productivity will need to be a major driver of growth in the future. Thus, agricultural innovations are needed to sustainably increase productivity, i.e. output per unit of all inputs, while maintaining environmental quality and resources. Such innovations require enhanced investments in research and development. This study identifies potentials in agriculture and food systems in Africa for enhanced food security.For maximum impact, the Special Initiative “One World – No Hunger” of BMZ needs to take note of the whole African landscape of actions in agriculture and food security. Therefor this study provides a detailed review of related ongoing and recent initiatives, in order to help identify in what ways investments under the “One World – No Hunger” Special Initiative from a broad strategic perspective might best connect and serve in coherent and complementary ways to increase food and nutrition security and sustainable agricultural productivity growth.Innovations in the agricultural sector are key to ensure food security and achieve the right to food. Investments in the agricultural sector are crucial not only to increase food production but also because the returns on investments in terms of poverty reduction effects are often highest in in this sector. Furthermore, food insecurity and violent conflicts are inextricably interlinked with food insecurity being both a driver and a consequence of violent conflicts and related refugee flows.African countries have recently made major commitments to invest in agriculture. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), that was initiated in 2003 and has been reinforced by the Malabo Declaration in 2014, is now the reference point and measure of commitment in Africa. With CAADP, African countries committed to spend 10% of their total public expenditures on agriculture to achieve an annual agricultural growth rate of 6%. Other African and international initiatives, including new partnerships between African governments, donors and the private sector like the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition or Feed the Future, have since been launched to support the CAADP process.Investment opportunities differ across Africa. In view of the above mentioned goals, it is suggested here that development investments by Germany target countries which reveal potentials indicated by:1. having a track record of political commitment to foster sustainable agricultural growth, as indicated by performance under CAADP, and2. showing actual progress in sustainable agricultural productivity driven by related innovations, as indicated by comprehensive productivity measurement and innovation actions on the ground, and3. prioritizing actions for hunger and malnutrition reduction and showing progress (for instance measured by the Global Hunger Index), but where agricultural and rural development and nutrition interventions are likely to make a significant difference, as indicated by public policy and room for civil society actions.The records and potentials of 42 African countries are identified accordingly, using comprehensive assessments of agronomic, economic and governance criteria that can be transparently tracked.

An assessment of mango famer's choice of marketing channels in Makueni, Kenya

Improving market access for small-holder farmers is important in helping towards raising rural incomes and reducing poverty. The Millennium development goal number one is to eradicate poverty. Most of the poor are small scale farmers in rural areas of Africa and Asia. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) anticipates that improving access to market for these farmers will help towards reducing poverty. Small scale farmers in developing countries are excluded from markets due to long value chains, lack of transparency, and presence of too many players. Mangoes are produced in the Eastern and Coastal areas in Kenya. Farmers in the Makueni have taken up mango farming quickly, making Makueni the leading producer of mangoes in Kenya. Marketing is however not organized. Despite the presence of several mango buyers in the country, mango farmers are experiencing up to 30 percent post-harvest losses, and gross margins are low at Kshs. 1.70 per piece. Profit should guide farmers’ choice of market channel, yet this is often not the case, it is not clear what drives farmer decision of the channel to sell to. There is no study that has actually been carried out to determine the factors that influence farmers’ decision to participate in the available market channels; this is the literature gap that this study sought to fill. The aim of this study was to assess the factors that influence mango farmers’ choice of market channels in Makueni County. The study used data collected in 2014 from a sample of 227 farmers using multistage and random sampling techniques. Analysis of Variance was used to determine the difference in the prices offered by the different channels, while Multinomial logit model was used to quantify the factors affecting channel choice. Results of the study show that farmers sold to three major channels, which are brokers, exporters, and direct market. Majority of the farmers (58 percent) sold to brokers, 30 percent to export, while the rest sold to direct market. Price analysis results show that farmers selling to direct channel earned the highest average prices, while brokers offered the lowest prices. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results find sufficient evidence that prices offered by the channels are different. The multinomial logit results show that farmers who were members of producer marketing groups, had attended training, and had a large number of mango trees were more likely to sell to exporters relative to brokers. In addition, farmers who owned a vehicle, were closer to the tarmac road, and had access to market information were more likely to sell to direct market relative to brokers. Results of this study provide insights for the ongoing efforts to transform agriculture from subsistence to market oriented activity for farmers in Kenya. There is need to assist farmers link with organized and formal markets to bolster their incomes. The study recommends that interventions aimed at providing market information, as well as training and extension to farmers should be reinforced. Producer marketing groups can fill the gaps left by marketing boards through linking farmers with buyers, and assisting farmers attain quality and safety requirements of especially export market. These quality and safety requirements are a major impediment to access to niche markets. In addition, it is more effective and cheaper to offer training and extension services to farmers through the groups. The study recommends further research on the marketing side, to determine the constraints and challenges faced by marketers would also be beneficial for policy and/or practice.

Democratisation and the Political Incentives for Agricultural Policy in Africa

In theory, democratisation, which has proceeded unevenly across Africa during the past two decades, should encourage pro‐poor agricultural policy, as the majority of voters in many countries remain rural and poor. This article draws on case studies of recent policy change in six African countries, plus a review of the literature on political competition and voting behaviour, to explore the evolving role of competitive electoral politics in agricultural policy‐making. It finds that democratic pressures for pro‐poor agricultural policy remain weak, which may help explain the limited delivery thus far on commitments to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). However, exogenous factors – most strikingly, sustained threats to regime survival – can create positive incentives for agricultural investment. The implications for participants in agricultural policy processes are explored.

Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Setting the Stage for a Post-2015 Take-off

The MDGs have provided opportunities for addressing undernutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa. The link between addressing undernutrition and human capital development has been a key message. The African Union (AU) now realises the unique role nutrition plays in Africa's development. The AU's NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) and CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme) have incorporated nutrition in their programmes. Additionally, 30 October is now commemorated as Africa Food and Nutrition Day. Through the SUN Movement, many African countries have committed to address undernutrition. Moving forward, the momentum for nutrition must be sustained. Commitments made must be reflected in increased resources and effective programmes. Africa must take advantage of ICT (information and communication technology); strengthen democratic structures and empower women to maximise their contribution to development; create safety nets for the vulnerable; and close the inequity gap. Civil society must remind governments of their commitments. Sub‐Saharan Africa must take advantage of this favourable environment and put the continent on an accelerated course of action.

An Obstacle to Africa's Green Revolution: Too Few New Varieties

Under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) the African Union proposes 6 percent annual growth in agricultural production, of which more than half is to come from productivity growth. However, the recent rate at which new varieties (including hybrids) are being introduced – less than one per country per crop per year for food field crops in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa – is too low to achieve such growth. Low rates of variety introduction can be traced to government controls involving variety performance tests and fees followed by government committees deciding if varieties will be useful for farmers and therefore permitted for seed sales. Because governments do not consider all the factors that farmers might appreciate in a variety, these procedures deny farmers access to useful varieties. The time, cost, and uncertainty involved in these procedures discourage private companies from introducing new varieties, especially for crops and countries with small markets. In countries without such controls – including South Africa and many low to high income countries outside Africa – farmers have access to much larger flows of new varieties. African governments could open the door to much larger flows of new varieties by making variety registration optional or automatic and very low cost or free.

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Program as a Collective Institution

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), an initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), was developed in response to the neglect of the agricultural sector by African governments as well as donors. The program is also a response to concerns about the ineffectiveness of development aid due to absence of ownership and fragmented development interventions. Similarly to other NEPAD initiatives, especially the African Peer Review Mechanism, CAADP can be understood as an institution by which African countries aim to build a collective reputation regarding their commitment to improve governance and to develop agriculture. Most member states expect improved reputation to be rewarded by increased and superior forms of aid. A number of factors favor a collective strategy for African countries to build their reputation regarding improved governance and commitment to agriculture. These include negative spillover effects of poor governance (for example, obstacles to developing regional markets), improved bargaining power of African governments vis-a-vis the donor community, long-standing political efforts to build a positive African identity, and a donor interest in reducing transaction costs by interacting with African countries though regional organizations rather than individually. While realizing these potentials, the CAADP effort to build collective rather than individual reputation involves the classical free-rider problem of collective action: Countries may not honor their commitments after having received increased aid — a strategy that will harm all member countries since it undermines the collective reputation. Since CAADP involves a collective commitment by the donor community as well, donors face similar problems of collective action. They, too, may fail to honor their commitments or revert to individual rather than harmonized approaches to support African agriculture. The paper discusses the strategies that CAADP can use to overcome these collective action challenges.

The role of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in the attainment of household food security in Kenya: A policy and organizational review

The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is a government organization mandated to conduct research into, among others, crop and livestock production and marketing. In 2009, it launched a new strategic plan for the period 2009–2014, together with its implementation framework. This strategic plan aims to position KARI as a facilitator of growth in the agricultural sector in order to enable an average growth rate of 7 % per year over the next 5 years, as stipulated in the Kenya Vision 2030 policy. This paper reviews KARI’s new strategic plan within the context of recent policy reforms at national, regional and global levels. It specifically examines the strategy in the context of Vision 2030, the Kenya Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), and the Millennium Development Goals. The paper then discusses KARI’s newly adopted Agricultural Product Value Chain (APVC) approach, which is expected to position KARI strategically as a key player within the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). It also highlights progress in the implementation of the new strategic plan and APVC approach with specific emphasis on partnerships, markets and gender as key focus areas and the implications of these on food security in Kenya.