Revitalising the Agricultural Landscape: Unleashing the Potential of Sub-Saharan Africa through the 2003 Maputo Declaration

Africa is considered as an agrarian economy, with agriculture recognised as the most effective approach to reducing rural poverty, building a resilient foundation for socio-economic development and securing a sustainable future. The study analyses the effectiveness of the Maputo policy in promoting agricultural productivity and value-added growth rates. Using a quasi-experimental Difference-in-Differences (DiD) methodology, the research focuses on thirty selected Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990-2018. The analysis reveals that the policy’s public agricultural expenditure has a significant positive effect on agricultural production, supporting the importance of government spending in driving agricultural development. However, the policy’s impact on agricultural value-added growth rates is found to be statistically insignificant, possibly due to challenges in implementation and a need for complementary investments in infrastructure, education, and technology. The study highlights the need for a holistic approach, combining public and private sector efforts, to fully unlock Sub-Saharan Africa’s potential, alleviate poverty, and achieve sustainable development. Keywords: Agriculture development, Maputo Declaration, Public Agricultural Expenditure, Sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural productivity.