With minimal spending on agriculture, EA countries getting poorer
Farmers sort out coffee berries in Kenya. East African Countries are spending less than five percent of their budgets on agriculture Photo/FILE
East African countries are giving less than the recommended budgetary provisions for agriculture, pushing the region deeper into poverty, despite its dependence on the industry.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are spending less than five per cent of their budgets on agriculture.
According to the 2009 report by the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), that evaluates trends in agricultural development, performance and spending in Africa, agricultural production is on the decline and so is donor support, while aid for food emergencies is on the rise.
In reviewing progress towards ensuring food security and reducing poverty on the continent, recent trends showed that 10 countries had met the 6 per cent agricultural growth rate in 2008, and a decline in the average malnutrition rate but this is still high at 29 per cent.
About 13 countries were making progress towards the hunger or poverty targets but only Ghana was on track to achieve both the targets by 2015.Â
Estimates from the Global Hunger Index of The International Food Policy Research Institute show that the majority of countries had managed to reduce hunger and poverty but Africa as a whole, was not on track to achieve the primary Millennium Development Goal. Agriculture is crucial for development in Africa, where at least 70 per cent of rural workforce is engaged in the sector, yet over the last 20 years, support to the sector has declined.
The share of countries meeting the 10 per cent target though is increasing. In 2003, only 6 per cent of African countries were spending the recommended ratio of their total budget allocations on agriculture, but this changed to 15 per cent in 2007 and 35 per cent in 2008.
Only Nigeria and Malawi are reported to be spending more than what is allocated, with a corresponding increase in production.Â
Although the share of agricultural expenditure had risen in a number of countries — Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, Malawi, Mali and Senegal — there was cause for concern because case studies in Ghana and Uganda indicated that implementation of their Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks may constrain the increase in budget allocation to agriculture.
Asia spends 8 -10 per cent on average compared with 5- 7 per cent in Africa where only three countries have exceeded the 10 per cent mark. These are Malawi, Botswana and Zambia.Â
On the continent, donor spending for agriculture saw a consistent decline, from an average of 15 per cent between 1980 and 1995 to 12 per cent between 2000 and 2002. In 2006, the ratio had declined to about 4 per cent.
