An overview and implications for policy

Acknowledgements This paper has benefited from conversations and collaborations with colleagues, including most notably Stefan Dercon, Cheryl Doss, and Chris Udry. None of them has read this manuscript, however, and they are not responsible for the views expressed here. Steve Wiggins provided critical comments on the first draft of the document and persuaded me to rethink a number of points. The aim of the Natural Resources Group is to build partnerships, capacity and wise decision-making for fair and sustainable use of natural resources. Our priority in pursuing this purpose is on local control and management of natural resources and other ecosystems. The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is a leading global Institution for international development research, teaching and learning, and impact and communications, based at the University of Sussex. Its vision is a world in which poverty does not exist, social justice prevails and sustainable economic growth is focused on improving human wellbeing. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is a leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. Its mission is to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods. Smallholder agriculture has long served as the dominant economic activity for people in sub-Saharan Africa, and it will remain enormously important for the foreseeable future. But the size of the sector does not necessarily imply that investments in the smallholder sector will yield high social benefits in comparison to other possible uses of development resources. Large changes could potentially affect the viability of smallholder systems, emanating from shifts in technology, markets, climate and the global environment. The priorities for development policy will vary across and within countries due to the highly heterogeneous nature of the smallholder sector.