Africa remains the only region in the world where the number of hungry people will still be on the increase in 2020, and the number of malnourished children will have increased correspondingly. In this report I have acknowledged the general public policy trends across Africa in terms of macroeconomic policy reforms and political transitions. These welcome trends have to still produce stable nations and economies. Although economic development is the long-term solution to Africa's challenge on hunger and poverty, this will take time. And it follows therefore that African nations have to pursue policies and strategies that promote long-term growth while at the same time offering short-term safety nets for the poorest of the poor. The growth and development strategy will have at its core the need to increase significantly the levels of public-sector investment in agriculture and rural development and to give top priority to the commercialization of smallholder agriculture so as to increase productivity and competitiveness. But food security at the household level is ultimately a balance between availability and access, and in this regard governments need complementary food security policies that increase the probability of food access by the vulnerable groups.

Summary. -The National Agricultural Research Systems (NARSs) in sub-Saharan Africa have made enormous progress over the past four decades in replacing European with African scientists, increasing the number of scientists and shifting priorities from export to food corps. Nevertheless, most NARSs are having difficulty in producing a steady stream of new technologies for small-scale farms and in generating adequate financial support from their governments. Zimbabwe and Malawi are among the first countries in Africa to mount indigenous-led reforms of their NARSs. This paper documents the steps taken by the Agricultural Research Council of Zimbabwe to generate a consensus among scientists, farmers and policy makers to reform the National Agricultural Research System by increasing the voice of smallholders and other stakeholders in setting research priorities, making scientists more accountable to smallholders and generating new sources of financial support from user fees and taxes on commodities. Malawi is pursuing a commodity approach to revitalizing its NARSs. The experience of both Zimbabwe and Malawi has shown that there is no blueprint for reforming NARSs in Africa. Donors can assist the reform process by supporting local initiatives to craft smallholder-driven research systems that are staffed with accountable scientists who are adequately financed from local sources.

SUMMARYBecause of shortages of oxen for mouldboard ploughing, delayed planting of maize is common in Mangwende, Zimbabwe and reduces grain yield by 32%. On-farm experiments over four years tested the possibility of using a ripper tine, with atrazine herbicide, to allow smallholders to plant maize earlier. Compared to mouldboard ploughing, tine cultivation increased grain yield at 13 out of 18 sites. All these sites had less than 240 mm of rainfall in January (which coincided with crop anthesis) and long term rainfall records suggest tine cultivation should raise yields in two out of three years. Handweeding and atrazine treatments gave similar grain yields when used with tine cultivation, provided weeds were controlled within 14 days of crop emergence. Tine cultivation was economic at sites where the yield was greater than that with the mouldboard plough. The farmers could manage the combination of tine and atrazine use on a field scale.

The resources for agricultural and natural resources research have declined in Zambia. Therefore, there is a need to generate evidence on the rate of return (ROR) on past investments in sorghum research. Zambia's sorghum research programme has released seven widely adapted varieties and management practices. The objective of this study is to assess the socio-economic impact of sorghum research in Zambia from 1983 to 2010 and to assist in identifying priority areas for future research. A multistage sampling procedure was used in the study and a total of 278 farmers comprising 241 small-scale, 25 medium-scale and 12 commercial farmers was interviewed. A surplus approach was used to estimate the ROR to research and development investment. The Akino-Hayami and simple benefit-cost analysis techniques were used to estimate the ROR to investment. The estimated adoption rate in the sorghum producing sector in Zambia was 33.5%. Farmers identified early maturity, drought tolerance and high yield as the most important attributes of improved varieties. About half of the respondents cited a lack of improved seed and information as reasons for non-adoption. The estimated ROR for investment in sorghum research and complementary services ranged from 12% to 19%, depending on the future adoption path.

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