1. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Achieving the Millennium Development Goal of Halving Poverty by 2015 Successes, Challenges and Perspectives for Western and Central Africa

2. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Achieving the MDGs is a major challenge Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa will have difficulty reaching the MDGs as average per capita incomes must grow by 4 to 5% annually (Human Development Report 2004) However, the annual per capita growth rates required vary greatly : –The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone require more than 8% –Guinea-Bissau requires 11.7%, while Benin only needs 0.8%

3. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Proportion of undernourished in total population Improvements in West Africa, but broad divergences among countries Crisis in DR Congo outweighs performance in other Central African countries West Africa Central Africa

4. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Successes in agriculture Expansion of food crop production and marketing, based on demand-oriented, participatory scaling up of innovative technologies  NERICA, cassava, cowpea, millet and sorghum Expansion of agricultural exports from West Africa  cotton, cocoa, fruits and vegetables Natural resource management: widespread adoption of soil and water conservation practices in semi-arid zones

5. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Cereal yields, 1961-2001 1961197119811991 FAOSTAT (2001) China South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa 0 2 4 6 Tons per hectare 2001

6. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Fertilizer nutrient consumption Netherlands Vietnam Japan UK China France Brazil USA India South Africa Cuba Benin Malawi Ethiopia Mali Burkina Faso Nigeria Tanzania Mozambique Guinea Ghana Uganda 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Kg/ha Sources: FAOSTAT (July 2002); Norman Borlaug (2004) Sub-Saharan African countries use less than 10 kg/ha of fertilizer (versus an average of 100-200 kg/ha in Asia)

7. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Insufficient infrastructure Africa’s road density today is lower than India’s in 1960 –Colonial transport infrastructure was designed to exploit commodity resources, resulting in underdeveloped networks High transportation costs: To move 1 ton of fertilizer 1 000 km requires:  USD 15 in the United States  USD 30 in India  USD 100 in sub-Saharan Africa  Double if truck returns empty (Vijay Modi, Columbia University) To move 1 ton of maize requires:  USD 50 from Iowa to Mombasa (13 600 km)  USD 100 from Mombasa to Kampala (900 km) (World Bank) The proportion of transportation costs of retail prices of cassava in Central Africa amounts to 60% (IFAD)

8. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Political dynamics Regional political collaboration and economic integration (AU, NEPAD, ECOWAS, ECCAS, UEMOA, CEMAC) Major strides taken in democratization and civil society development in many countries, but further need to: raise the capacities of organizations, build synergies and cohesion at the grass-roots level, and strengthen linkages between the different levels make decentralization responsive and accountable to rural people exploit information technology for increased transparency Ongoing post-conflict recovery, e.g. in DR Congo, the Congo and Sierra Leone

9. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Key challenges Population growth and urbanization provide challenges but also market opportunities and incentives  Over 50% of sub-Saharan African populations will be urban by 2025 Social linkages reducing vulnerability are increasingly replaced by individualistic livelihood strategies  Reduced reciprocal exchange of family labour  Transformation of access to natural and financial assets  Market economy and technical innovations, which can weaken women’s traditional rights and entitlements without promoting acceptable alternatives

10. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Creating an enabling environment for achieving the MDGs Peace and stability are a prerequisite Decentralization policies need to be implemented Enhancing poverty responsiveness of public institutions Stronger public investment in the agricultural and rural sector (Maputo pledge) Development of domestic and regional markets through trade policies and infrastructure investments Sustainable rural financial mediation Increased agricultural production and processing in response to market opportunities linked to growing domestic and regional urban demand

11. Sharing experiences between Asia and the Pacific and Western and Central Africa Perspectives from Asia Significant increase in infrastructure investments, linking agricultural areas to national and regional transportation systems Approach to human capital development with focus on labour productivity and strong institutions Importance of broad-based growth to prevent deepening of inequity and conflict (especially in mineral-rich and oil-exporting countries) Country ownership in defining development paths