Institutional and capacity challenges in agricultural policy process: The case of Democratic Republic of Congo

This paper is an exploratory study that looks at early stages of the decentralization and other reforms in the policymaking and planning processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The paper develops a conceptual framework and adopts an innovative mapping tool to identify capacity and incentive challenges impeding the effective design and implementation of policy processes. Findings suggest that the decentralized platform, through the Agriculture and Rural Management Councils, has shown some improvement in civil society participation in local-level and national-level policy and planning processes; however, these councils are being threatened by sustainability of funds and lack of demonstrated benefits and impact of participation. The weak institutions for managing, coordinating, overseeing, and monitoring seriously hinder the attainment of an evidence-based and inclusive policy process. Findings also suggest an alarmingly inadequate and aging staff in key public-sector organizations both at the national and local levels, which warrants an urgent and speedy design and implementation of the civil service and human resource reform process to accelerate recovery and development in the economy. This paper concludes with specific suggestions and considerations for priority actions to address the institutional challenges in the reform process and strategic training investments. Finally, we identify key areas for future research.; Ethiopia is susceptible to frequent climate extremes such as disastrous droughts and floods. These disastrous climatic events, which have caused significant adverse effects on the country’s economy and society, are expected to become more pronounced in the future under climate change. To identify the potential threat of climate change to the Ethiopian economy, this study analyzes three major factors that are changing under global warming: water availability under higher temperatures and changing precipitation patterns, the impact of changing precipitation patterns on flooding, and the potential impact on crop production of the carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization effect. These issues are analyzed based on an existing multi-market-sector model for the Ethiopian economy, with a focus on agriculture. Our analysis finds that the major impact of climate change on Ethiopia’s economy will result from more frequent occurrence of extreme hydrologic events, which cause losses in both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors. To adapt to these long-term changes, Ethiopia should invest in enhanced water control to expand irrigation and improve flood protection.