An internal report by the World Bank, which wealthy countries finance to help poor ones, concluded last year that the institution had long neglected farming in sub-Saharan Africa. US congressional investigators said last week that African-bound food aid, particularly from the United States, has increasingly been sent for short-term emergencies rather than to help long-term agricultural development.

“We tend to deal with what is happening now, today, tomorrow or next week, and insufficient attention is given to more fundamental processes such as population growth, or the need to invest in agriculture research for people living in difficult environments,” said Timothy Dyson, an expert in agriculture and famine issues at the London School of Economics.