This document surveys the poor, performance and gloomy prospects for agriculture in Africa, which can be improved only if every country undertakes heavy investment to increase food production, storage, processing and distribution and 1mprove the over-all structure, institutions, research and training in the field of food and agriculture.

Au cours des deux dernières décennies, l'Afrique a graduellement perdu les moyens qu'elle avait de nourrir sa population et de financer ses investissements dans le secteur agricole. Elle dépend de plus en plus des pays industrialisés pour la satisfaction des besoins. La question logique est par conséquent de savoir s'il existe un quelconque espoir pour les populations d'Afrique.

This paper identifies and discusses some key issues and challenges in financing agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis first reviews recent trends in agricultural financing focusing on both external and domestic sources. The paper then discusses a number of issues and challenges that affect agricultural financing in SSA. The four areas, which show a certain degree of inter-relationship, are: government commitment to support agriculture; the role of public and private sector; emerging aid modalities to agriculture; and financing regional public goods.

This paper states that the development strategy of most African countries, since independence, has depended mainly upon the exploitation of their natural resources. These include agriculture, minerals, energy, water and other biological resources. Unfortunately, the strategy did not bring about the expected results but created environmental degradation and increased poverty (World Bank, 2003).

This paper focused on managing land based resources for sustainable development: highlights on the status of sustainable development in Africa.

Le présent document se compose de trois parties. Dans le première sont passes en revue les résultats médiocres et sombres perspectives de l'agriculture en Afrique. La seconde partie retrace succinctement l'historique, du point de vue institutionnel de la division mixte CEA/FAO de l'agriculture et xposse brièvement son programme de travail. La troisième et dernière partie du document a trait au fonds international pour le développement de l'agriculture.

The programme of work of the ECA/FAO Joint Agriculture Division outlined in the programme of work and priorities, 1971-1973 with projections to 1976 and presented by the Chief of the Division.that the development of intra—African trade in agricultural products offers great prospects for surmounting the problems raised by the unsteady and falling prices of the traditional export products in the world

market and for the expansion of agricultural production.

The paper suggests a way forward to increase considerably the food-production in the Sub-Saharan African countries which have perpetually been suffering from acute shortage of food grains. Contrary to observed trends in most parts of the world, food production in Sub-Saharan Africa has failed miserably to keep pace with the growing population. Consequently, the region has been one of the most famine-prone regions on the planet. There is a lot to be learnt from the experience of many of the Asian countries who have made it on the food front inspite of equally difficult population pressures.

The agricultural and rural sector is very important in Africa and enormous efforts have been made to develop it, not only at the national level, but also at the regional and subregional level. However, despite this, the growth of the sector has not kept pace with population growth: according to FAI, the population is increasing by 3.3 per cent per year, but agricultural output by only 1.5 percent per year.

The first four years of the 1990s indicate that African economies have grown by a mere 1.5 per cent per annum worse than during the "lost decade" of the 1980s when Africa's economic annual growth rate was on average 1.8 per cent during the period 1980-1990. This growth is barely half of the rate of growth of Africa's population and is well below the annual average growth target of 4 per cent set by the World Food Conference in 1974, and still worse than the 6 per cent set in the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s.

Dans son budget programme pour la période biennale 1986-1987 qui a été entérine par la onzième réunion do la Conférence des ministres tenue à Addis-Abeba en mai 1985 et ultérieurement approuve par la quarantième session de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unie. Le présent rapport, est un résume des principales questions soulèves lors du séminaire et des mesures pratiques envisagées pour améliorer les moyens des pays dans le domaine de la commercialisation agricole pour ce qui est des arrangements sous-régionaux en matière de CTPD.

This document focuses on implication of agricultural reform for the alleviation of rural poverty in Africa. The document also was prepared for presentation at the Advisory Committee meeting on mobilization of domestic resources, agricultural reform and self-evaluation of good governance scheduled to be convened by the Global Coalition for Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 1-3 June 1994.