The first agriculture sector dialogue was held on 29 and 30 July 2013 in Dakar, Senegal. The dialogue participants included budget and agriculture officials from 10 countries: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. There were also policy experts from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Department of Agriculture at the University of Pretoria, Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) and the Initiative Prospective Agricole and Rurale (IPAR). The dialogue provided a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience in planning, budgeting and financing, and management of expenditure in the agriculture sector.