Utafiti Sera (Research-Policy Community): First Forum on Wage Employment Creation in Agriculture and Agro-Processing in the Context of Inclusive Growth

Abstract

On 7th June 2016, the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), with support from the Knowledge Platform for Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE), IDRC, and UKAID, organised a forum that brought together 38 participants to discuss current and pertinent issues on wage employment in agriculture and agro-processing in Kenya.

Membership to the forum followed a stakeholder analysis conducted to identify institutions with the power, interest, motivation, and capacity to influence policies and programmes in agriculture and agro-processing in Kenya.

Despite high levels of economic growth in many African countries, the continent’s wage employment figures remain low. This pattern of “jobless growth” undermines the notion of ‘Africa rising’, as growth has not been inclusive. Inclusive growth should generate substantial employment opportunities, increase wages, and enable citizens to influence the direction of the growth process.

Amid this jobless growth, many researchers have examined the constraints to wage employment creation across different sectors. However, it remains unclear how much of this research has informed and influenced existing employment policies and programmes in African countries.