ABSTRACT
The World Food Programme (WFP) update on world hunger in March 2016 flagged the worsening food situation in several African countries. From Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria to South Sudan and Zimbabwe, the food problem is a combination of conflict and drought conditions. African agriculture has been the focus of several policy and institutional initiatives in the past two decades. This chapter provides a brief overview of African agriculture, placing the key agricultural dimensions of both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the policy and institutional environment. It examines and accounts for the performance of African agricultural within the MDGs and beyond. The chapter presents remarks on policy and institutional imperatives for the future and planning priorities of African agriculture. The agricultural research system in Africa is the most dependent on donor funding compared to other developing regions of the world.
