Koblah Agbeta 在他位于加纳 Abutia Kpota 的农场里拿着水稻种子。
图片来源：盖茨基金会
知识共享许可
非洲绿色革命联盟 (AGRA) 周一宣布了一项为期五年的项目，旨在通过在非洲创造更好的政策环境来增加小农的收入。
这项名为“非洲农业综合企业微观改革”(MIRA) 的倡议由比尔和梅琳达盖茨基金会资助，将确定、优先考虑和改革目前阻止或限制私人投资经营中小型农业综合企业的具体农业政策和法规在小农农业价值链中。
AGRA 表示，在五年内，其目标是在选定的国家推动至少 25 项重大政策或监管改革，从而显着增加私营部门对当地农业综合企业的投资。 “该项目预计将增加小农户的数量，使他们能够获得在当地主食价值链中经营的农业企业提供的改进技术。它还将帮助他们获得稳定、可预测的创收市场机会，”AGRA 说。
AGRA 补充说，增加投入和产出市场的准入预计将提高小农的生产力和收入，并减少依赖小农农场的家庭的贫困。
“We are very excited about this new initiative,” says AGRA President Ms. Jane Karuku. “It will help African Governments unlock agricultural potential in their countries by supporting their efforts to develop progressive agricultural policies that will attract increased private investment in smallholder agricultural value chains. The initiative aims reform retrogressive agricultural regulations that deter rather than encourage such investment”.
Dr. Steven Were Omamo, AGRA’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, said, “Current regulations often discourage private investment in small- and medium-sized agribusinesses that serve the needs of smallholder farmers. The project will help build the capacity of African Government leaders and analysts to make better-informed, economically-robust assessments and decisions about which regulations need to be reformed in order to facilitate increased private investment in smallholder value chains.
AGRA 列出了预期的三个主要成果：
- 改革农业政策和法规，为私营部门投资于五个国家经营小农价值链的当地农业企业创造更有利的环境；
- Increased private sector investment in the “throughput capacity” of existing and new local agribusinesses – those supplying inputs to smallholders and/or purchasing farm outputs from them; and
- 至少 25 项重大政策或监管改革，促使私营部门对在小农食品价值链中运营的当地农业企业的投资显着增加。