Land tenure is an institution, i.e. the rules that govern the legal and customary relationship among people with respect to land. These rules define access to use rights, control, transfer, obligations and restraints to land. Secure land tenure means possessing fully exclusive and transferable property rights. This creates a strong incentive to invest in among others fixed improvements to increase land productivity. Insecure land tenure discourages private investment and overall economic growth.
In Africa, many rural households rely on land for their livelihoods. Land is therefore critical for food security and poverty eradication. Increased access to land (with all other factors held constant) leads to an increase in agricultural activities such as food (and cash crop) production hence income growth and food security. In the contrary, loss of access to land reduces food production and income. Again, long term guaranteed access to exclusive use rights to land promotes resource use which results in more efficient and profitable agricultural production, therefore increasing food availability and income.
Inappropriate land policies are a constraint to growth and development and put the disadvantaged at risk of food insecurity. For example, many African communities have customary systems, where land is owned and controlled by traditional practices. Customary leaders will, at their discretion, lease or rent land out to whomever they deem worthy. Recently in Ghana, hundreds of farmers have had their land forcefully taken over by a biofuel firm which bought the land from the chiefs. There was apparently no consultation with the farmers who have not yet been compensated. This has caused a major food security issue for the affected farmers. In open access systems, there is no incentive to invest in good farming practices and fixed improvements as benefits will accrue to free-riders who do not contribute to developing the gains. For example in communal grazing areas, with unrestricted land use, high stocking rates lead to soil erosion and land degradation. This reduces productivity of the land in question and will necessitate the conversion of marginal land into productive use, thus causing further environmental damage. The reduced productivity has an effect on food security and income generation. In some areas, absence of land markets translates into the underutilization of land and land-based resources. Land markets may facilitate the transfer of land to the most effective users.
Food security and poverty reduction policies must take into consideration the links that access to land and land systems have with food availability, hunger, access to income/capital, and poverty. Land policies should take into account livelihoods, environmental issues and markets as these are directly linked to food availability and access.
Showing posts with label African agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African agriculture. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Does biotechnology offer a solution?
The recent price hikes of food all around the world have created fear of increasing food insecurity in African countries. Much of the blame for the hikes has been put on speculations on the world markets. However, other factors have also contributed. Increased consumption of meat in growing economies has led to higher demands for grains on which the livestock feed. High oil prices, erratic and unreliable weather patterns (a possible symptom of the ongoing climate change), and increasing demand for biofuels, also play a role in changing the supply-demand relationship for food. What the African continent perhaps needs is to fully commit itself to endow in biotechnology.
African agriculture is in most parts extensive and subsistence. This means that few inputs such as fertilizers, agrochemicals and irrigation are used, and only the surplus is sold in markets. Such farming systems on their own cannot sustain the population of a country. Measures like increased soil productivity or increased crop productivity have to be undertaken. Soil productivity can be increased through organic manure, which may not be readily available, or inorganic fertilizers, which if not subsidized are usually unaffordable by farmers. Crop productivity can be increased through the use of pest resistant varieties, drought tolerant crops, high yielding varieties, all of which are good examples of biotechnological innovations.
Biotechnology is the purposeful and controlled manipulation of biological systems to manufacture or process useful products. Biotechnology has been successfully used to develop Bt corn, potatoes and cotton, which are pest resistant and so eliminates the need for expensive and toxic pesticides. Hybrid maize and pearl millet varieties that significantly increase maize and millet yields, disease-free cassava cultivars, disease resistant bananas; drought resistant soybeans are all part of the wider applications of biotechnology.
Theoretically, biotechnology has the potential to increase the supply of food and accordingly minimize price hikes. In practice however, other factors come into play. As mentioned above, demand for biofuels will divert cereals and other foods from consumption purposes to industrial purposes. High oil prices will have an effect on transport, processing and storage costs, which are factored into food prices. And unpredictable weather patterns may force farmers choosing crop varieties with lower, but more reliable, yields.
Adding to this is the fact that biotechnology is costly, and requires a large amount of investment in research and development. Well-trained extension officers are required to disseminate information to farmers. Knowledge and previous experience have to be channelled out of the universities and into the field. Furthermore, increased supply of food through biotechnology must go hand in hand with improved road networks to make markets accessible to farmers. Processing and storage facilities are required to maintain a constant supply of food in lean years and increase rural incomes through value-added products.
The success of biotechnology depends very much on collaboration between different government ministries, institutions of higher learning, NGOs and CBOs. It is not only about implementing the full use of this technique in agriculture in Africa, but equally important is to enforce it. Make it work, for now and for the future. This requires a committed government that views agriculture as an important vehicle to eradicate poverty and drive development.
African agriculture is in most parts extensive and subsistence. This means that few inputs such as fertilizers, agrochemicals and irrigation are used, and only the surplus is sold in markets. Such farming systems on their own cannot sustain the population of a country. Measures like increased soil productivity or increased crop productivity have to be undertaken. Soil productivity can be increased through organic manure, which may not be readily available, or inorganic fertilizers, which if not subsidized are usually unaffordable by farmers. Crop productivity can be increased through the use of pest resistant varieties, drought tolerant crops, high yielding varieties, all of which are good examples of biotechnological innovations.
Biotechnology is the purposeful and controlled manipulation of biological systems to manufacture or process useful products. Biotechnology has been successfully used to develop Bt corn, potatoes and cotton, which are pest resistant and so eliminates the need for expensive and toxic pesticides. Hybrid maize and pearl millet varieties that significantly increase maize and millet yields, disease-free cassava cultivars, disease resistant bananas; drought resistant soybeans are all part of the wider applications of biotechnology.
Theoretically, biotechnology has the potential to increase the supply of food and accordingly minimize price hikes. In practice however, other factors come into play. As mentioned above, demand for biofuels will divert cereals and other foods from consumption purposes to industrial purposes. High oil prices will have an effect on transport, processing and storage costs, which are factored into food prices. And unpredictable weather patterns may force farmers choosing crop varieties with lower, but more reliable, yields.
Adding to this is the fact that biotechnology is costly, and requires a large amount of investment in research and development. Well-trained extension officers are required to disseminate information to farmers. Knowledge and previous experience have to be channelled out of the universities and into the field. Furthermore, increased supply of food through biotechnology must go hand in hand with improved road networks to make markets accessible to farmers. Processing and storage facilities are required to maintain a constant supply of food in lean years and increase rural incomes through value-added products.
The success of biotechnology depends very much on collaboration between different government ministries, institutions of higher learning, NGOs and CBOs. It is not only about implementing the full use of this technique in agriculture in Africa, but equally important is to enforce it. Make it work, for now and for the future. This requires a committed government that views agriculture as an important vehicle to eradicate poverty and drive development.
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.
Friday, February 27, 2009
African farmers can learn from Israel
Israel is an arid nation faced with land and water constraints. Many farmers in Israel farm under difficult conditions on an average farm size of 2ha, and yet meet 70% of the country's food needs, and produce goods for export worth 2 billion US dollars annually. Can the African governments, agricultural sectors, and smallholder farmers with similar land size holdings, and better climatic conditions learn from Israel's success?
Israel's agriculture is characterised by intensive production supported by a close collaboration and interaction between scientists, extension advisors, farmers and agro-industries. This results in mordern agriculture in a "desert country". Agricultural success in Israel rests in government investment in the sector and a two-way information flow from farmers and researchers.
A lot of Israel's agriculture is based on cooperative societies. Members of a cooperative may produce collectively, or may own individual farms but purchase inputs and market their products collectively.
In Israel, farmers strive to maximise production on a limited space of land. One of such ways is through close-spacing. Yield per hectare can be increased simply by increasing the seed sown by decreasing the space between plants.
In addition farmers focus on growing short-term vegetables which ensure income every three months, rather than planting long-term crops.
Israel is one of the world's most advanced agriculture users with half its arable land under irrigation. Over the past 25 years, agriculture output has increased sevenfold with hardly any increase in water used. This has been attributed to advanced water saving and irrigation technologies, notably the drip system which directs water flow straight to the root zone of the plants.
Africa, which is blessed with good climate and soils is many places should learn fron Israel that is limited by land and water. Africa should learn to maximize her resources sustainably to feed her people and the rest of the world. All it take is committment from the governments, researchers, and farmers. A lot of agricultural research is on going in many Universities and agricultural colleges. The next step is to convert the research output and information into action.
Israel's agriculture is characterised by intensive production supported by a close collaboration and interaction between scientists, extension advisors, farmers and agro-industries. This results in mordern agriculture in a "desert country". Agricultural success in Israel rests in government investment in the sector and a two-way information flow from farmers and researchers.
A lot of Israel's agriculture is based on cooperative societies. Members of a cooperative may produce collectively, or may own individual farms but purchase inputs and market their products collectively.
In Israel, farmers strive to maximise production on a limited space of land. One of such ways is through close-spacing. Yield per hectare can be increased simply by increasing the seed sown by decreasing the space between plants.
In addition farmers focus on growing short-term vegetables which ensure income every three months, rather than planting long-term crops.
Israel is one of the world's most advanced agriculture users with half its arable land under irrigation. Over the past 25 years, agriculture output has increased sevenfold with hardly any increase in water used. This has been attributed to advanced water saving and irrigation technologies, notably the drip system which directs water flow straight to the root zone of the plants.
Africa, which is blessed with good climate and soils is many places should learn fron Israel that is limited by land and water. Africa should learn to maximize her resources sustainably to feed her people and the rest of the world. All it take is committment from the governments, researchers, and farmers. A lot of agricultural research is on going in many Universities and agricultural colleges. The next step is to convert the research output and information into action.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Why did the chicken cross the road?
We all know that the chicken crossed the road to get to the other side. But what did the chicken want to do on the other side? I think he had the following issues on his mind:
· It wanted to speed up the peace process in “the most dangerous place in the world”- Somalia. Somalia has for decades failed to reach a peace agreement. This has badly affected the food security and poverty in that East African nation. One in six children in Somalia is malnourished
· Support Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s new finance ministers revive “the world’s worst economy”. Zimbabwe may soon become part of the South African Rand monetary Union.
· Release more aid to compensate victims of human rights violations such as amputees, rape victims, war widows of Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war.
· To help stop the spread of cholera in Zimbabwe
· Provide humanitarian and government relief to the people in Karamoja, N.E Uganda. This semi-arid area is plagued with border conflicts, armed cattle raids, among other things and has experienced 14 droughts in 25 years.
· To speed up the clean-up process of the oil spill that occurred in Ongoniland in Nigeria.
· To reach out to the farmers in Guinea that have lost crops and livestock on which thousands depend for food and cash as a result of extreme cold conditions.
· To join the Ghanaian farmers in their demonstrations against cheap rice imports that are destroying their livelihoods.
· And many other issues.
· It wanted to speed up the peace process in “the most dangerous place in the world”- Somalia. Somalia has for decades failed to reach a peace agreement. This has badly affected the food security and poverty in that East African nation. One in six children in Somalia is malnourished
· Support Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s new finance ministers revive “the world’s worst economy”. Zimbabwe may soon become part of the South African Rand monetary Union.
· Release more aid to compensate victims of human rights violations such as amputees, rape victims, war widows of Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war.
· To help stop the spread of cholera in Zimbabwe
· Provide humanitarian and government relief to the people in Karamoja, N.E Uganda. This semi-arid area is plagued with border conflicts, armed cattle raids, among other things and has experienced 14 droughts in 25 years.
· To speed up the clean-up process of the oil spill that occurred in Ongoniland in Nigeria.
· To reach out to the farmers in Guinea that have lost crops and livestock on which thousands depend for food and cash as a result of extreme cold conditions.
· To join the Ghanaian farmers in their demonstrations against cheap rice imports that are destroying their livelihoods.
· And many other issues.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Poor infrastructure stifles agriculture development
Agriculture palys a major role in the economic growth of many African countries. However, poor infrastructure is a major contributory factor to the slow pace of Africa’s agriculture development. Many rural farmers struggle to get their produce onto the market, while at the same time, urban dwellers have to pay a high price for food due to high transport costs resulting from poor road networks.
In between the farm and the market, a large amount of food is wasted because of lack of storage or preservation facilities. Many African countries do not have the capacity to maintain a constant supply of food between harvests. During the harvest season, farmers incur losses because the large supply of food drives the food prices so low that farmers’ production costs are barely met. Additionally, farmers cannot withhold the sale of food for the future when the supply of food is lower than the demand hence fetch a higher price.
With better infrastructure and market information, food can be transferred from the food surplus regions to food deficit areas, while at the same time promote inter and intra-regional trade within the continent. Also, inputs (such as fertilizers and farm equipment) and technology necessary for increased production and yield can reach the farmers.
Governments must increase their investment in infrastructure as an important step in promoting the development of agriculture and consequently promoting economic growth in Africa.
In between the farm and the market, a large amount of food is wasted because of lack of storage or preservation facilities. Many African countries do not have the capacity to maintain a constant supply of food between harvests. During the harvest season, farmers incur losses because the large supply of food drives the food prices so low that farmers’ production costs are barely met. Additionally, farmers cannot withhold the sale of food for the future when the supply of food is lower than the demand hence fetch a higher price.
With better infrastructure and market information, food can be transferred from the food surplus regions to food deficit areas, while at the same time promote inter and intra-regional trade within the continent. Also, inputs (such as fertilizers and farm equipment) and technology necessary for increased production and yield can reach the farmers.
Governments must increase their investment in infrastructure as an important step in promoting the development of agriculture and consequently promoting economic growth in Africa.
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