It has been over 25 years since AIDS was first publically reported. This virus has over the years transformed societies, influenced policies, and has been at the core of governments’ interventions especially in sub-Saharan Africa. There have been endless attempts to find a cure to this disease, none of which have yet been successful.
The evolution of AIDS is society has changed from being an abomination or cause of hysteria to a showbiz event. In some cases, politicians have argued that HIV does not cause AIDS and they were rightly criticized for it. What they should have been praised for, is raising the question of whether HIV solely causes AIDS. What is important now is not that knowledge of what causes AIDS but rather how to prevent the transmission of the disease. HIV together with a series of complex social and political factors causes AIDS.
Take the society drivers of HIV for example. Beliefs abound that having sex with a young virgin could cure AIDS. Of course science and common sense tells us that is not true. But looking deeper reveals the heart of the problem. Virginity has always been associated with purity, and in some societies AIDS victims are somehow considered unclean. The stigma against those infected, together with the need for acceptance encourages coherence to traditional dogma. In these same societies, counsel and information are derived from elders, traditional healers, and possible witch doctors whose word is deemed gospel truth. In the absence of more credible information about HIV/AIDS, all listeners will believe what they are told. In such cases, societal perceptions, more than just HIV would have aided and abetted AIDS.
Attempts at finding a cure for AIDS should therfore be concentrated as much in the societal and political realms as in the laboratories.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
A missed opportunity for small holder farmers
Over the last two years, food prices especially of staples have increased at unprecedented rates. In many countries, the prices have doubled or tripled. Between March 2007 and March 2008, wheat and maize prices increased by 130% and 35% respectively. Rice prices increased by 80% in the period up to 2008.
The effect of increased food prices is felt worldwide especially by poor (both urban and rural) net food buyers. They reduce real income, which pushes poor people deeper into poverty and worsens food security. However, farmers may stand to benefit from high food prices. High prices result in higher revenue per unit of production which culminates into a higher profit margin. Also, high prices provide an incentive to farmers to increase production. As such the price hikes caused by growing food demand can be met by increasing food supply. Unfortunately this is theoretically sound but hardly plausible in practice. Under the current state of agriculture in Africa, it would be impractical to consider the high food prices as an opportunity for small holder farmers.
First of all, smallholder farmers lack the necessary means to increase agricultural productivity. Farmers cannot afford the much required seeds, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals to increase productivity. High input prices increase costs of production which reduce the profit.
Secondly farmers do not have access to markets because roads are poor or transportation is expensive. To take advantage of increased prices in food markets, farmers need to have access to them.
In addition, high food price increases do not often filter down to the farm-gate of smallholder farmers. Due to logistical constraints, they are forced to depend on middle men with whom they have little bargaining power.
Thirdly, a huge amount of farm produce is gets spoilt due to lack of storage and processing facilities, as well as value-adding systems.
A fourth reason is that small farmers are constrained in their access to credit and other financial services. Credit is an important source of capital to finance fixed and variable costs, as well as to cover other operating expenses in farming.
Finally, smallholder farmers do not have access to the latest market information with which to make production and supply decisions.
In order to truly capitalise on the price increases, Africa requires structural and policy reform. Appropriate investments in development oriented policies and programmes will increase the smallholder farmer’s potential to increase production and benefit from high food prices. Increased investment in agriculture is necessary both in the short and long-run.
Strategies to improve smallholder agriculture must start with making agriculture more favourable to smallholder farmers. An example would be to provide subsidised or cheap inputs (fertilizer and seed), credit, and information to farmers. Malawi has been successful in its efforts to increase agricultural production of the poor through provision of subsidized fertilizers and seed. Cheap inputs reduce production costs, giving small holder farmers a competitive edge in the formal economy.
Coupled with this is the need for improved infrastructure. Substantial investments are required to improve roads and railways. It is important for smallholder farmers to have direct access to well-functioning input and product markets. As such, the middle man is eliminated, or his influence is reduced therefore the high food prices translate to increased profit for farmers. Furthermore, farmers must have access to technology and other communication systems.
Because individual smallholder farmers do not possess much bargaining power, collective action (e.g. cooperatives) among these farmers is vital to make small holder farmers more competitive and sustainable. Through collective action, farmers gain economic power, and the unit transaction costs associated with marketing and distribution of farm produce are reduced. The South African government identified cooperatives as a means to empower the rural poor and smallholder farmers and as such increased its support to cooperative organisations by providing grants, loans, training, market and other resources.
To sum it all, a conducive policy environment is required if farmers are to benefit from the current high food prices. Although it is not known how long the food prices will stay high, government can never go wrong with increasing its support for farmers. Investment in agriculture has a compound effect on increasing rural income, improving food security, eradicating poverty, and thus economic development. Governments of Africa, through the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) have committed to increasing agriculture growth by 6 percent annually. This is good news for the continent as Agriculture-led development is the key to Africa’s development.
The effect of increased food prices is felt worldwide especially by poor (both urban and rural) net food buyers. They reduce real income, which pushes poor people deeper into poverty and worsens food security. However, farmers may stand to benefit from high food prices. High prices result in higher revenue per unit of production which culminates into a higher profit margin. Also, high prices provide an incentive to farmers to increase production. As such the price hikes caused by growing food demand can be met by increasing food supply. Unfortunately this is theoretically sound but hardly plausible in practice. Under the current state of agriculture in Africa, it would be impractical to consider the high food prices as an opportunity for small holder farmers.
First of all, smallholder farmers lack the necessary means to increase agricultural productivity. Farmers cannot afford the much required seeds, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals to increase productivity. High input prices increase costs of production which reduce the profit.
Secondly farmers do not have access to markets because roads are poor or transportation is expensive. To take advantage of increased prices in food markets, farmers need to have access to them.
In addition, high food price increases do not often filter down to the farm-gate of smallholder farmers. Due to logistical constraints, they are forced to depend on middle men with whom they have little bargaining power.
Thirdly, a huge amount of farm produce is gets spoilt due to lack of storage and processing facilities, as well as value-adding systems.
A fourth reason is that small farmers are constrained in their access to credit and other financial services. Credit is an important source of capital to finance fixed and variable costs, as well as to cover other operating expenses in farming.
Finally, smallholder farmers do not have access to the latest market information with which to make production and supply decisions.
In order to truly capitalise on the price increases, Africa requires structural and policy reform. Appropriate investments in development oriented policies and programmes will increase the smallholder farmer’s potential to increase production and benefit from high food prices. Increased investment in agriculture is necessary both in the short and long-run.
Strategies to improve smallholder agriculture must start with making agriculture more favourable to smallholder farmers. An example would be to provide subsidised or cheap inputs (fertilizer and seed), credit, and information to farmers. Malawi has been successful in its efforts to increase agricultural production of the poor through provision of subsidized fertilizers and seed. Cheap inputs reduce production costs, giving small holder farmers a competitive edge in the formal economy.
Coupled with this is the need for improved infrastructure. Substantial investments are required to improve roads and railways. It is important for smallholder farmers to have direct access to well-functioning input and product markets. As such, the middle man is eliminated, or his influence is reduced therefore the high food prices translate to increased profit for farmers. Furthermore, farmers must have access to technology and other communication systems.
Because individual smallholder farmers do not possess much bargaining power, collective action (e.g. cooperatives) among these farmers is vital to make small holder farmers more competitive and sustainable. Through collective action, farmers gain economic power, and the unit transaction costs associated with marketing and distribution of farm produce are reduced. The South African government identified cooperatives as a means to empower the rural poor and smallholder farmers and as such increased its support to cooperative organisations by providing grants, loans, training, market and other resources.
To sum it all, a conducive policy environment is required if farmers are to benefit from the current high food prices. Although it is not known how long the food prices will stay high, government can never go wrong with increasing its support for farmers. Investment in agriculture has a compound effect on increasing rural income, improving food security, eradicating poverty, and thus economic development. Governments of Africa, through the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) have committed to increasing agriculture growth by 6 percent annually. This is good news for the continent as Agriculture-led development is the key to Africa’s development.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)