Download What role can agricultural development play in reducing poverty in

David Makeni Tarawali
B019571
Department of Politics, History and International Relations
What role can agricultural development play in reducing poverty in Sub-­‐
Saharan Africa; the case study of Ghana David Makeni Tarawali
Loughborough University
B019571
International Relations with Economics
April 2013
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Table of Contents Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 Concept Definition ................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 6 Chapter Questions ................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and the reasons for focusing on it 7 CHAPTER 2: Eradicating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa .................................... 8 CHAPTER 3: Why Should Agricultural Development be at the Forefront of
Government’s Development Agendas? ............................................................... 8 CHAPTER 4: Policy Recommendations .............................................................. 8 Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................... 10 Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and the reasons for focusing on it ........................ 10 Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa ........................................................................... 10 Impact of colonialism on poverty in Africa .......................................................... 11 Importance of Focusing on Alleviating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa .............. 12 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................... 17 Eradicating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa ........................................................... 17 Economic growth and development ................................................................... 17 Failure of development theories ......................................................................... 18 Dead Aid ............................................................................................................ 19 A more productive development theory ............................................................. 21 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................... 23 Why should agricultural development be at the forefront of government’s
development agendas? ......................................................................................... 23 Theoretical Arguments ....................................................................................... 23 Evidence from Ghana ........................................................................................ 27 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................... 32 2
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Policy Recommendation ........................................................................................ 32 Importance of smallholder farmers ..................................................................... 32 Women in Agriculture ......................................................................................... 34 Regional Liberalisation and Integration for Agricultural Development ............... 37 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 39 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 41 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 43 3
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Abstract
This dissertation’s main argument is that agricultural development in SSA countries
needs to be at the forefront on government’s development agendas, in order to have
an effective and sustainable impact on poverty. Growth in the agricultural sector
contributes proportionately more to poverty reduction than growth in any other sector.
In addition the development path used should be determined by Africans themselves,
unlike previously Eurocentric development theories. In order to give the project some
real purpose, the final chapter operates as a policy recommendation chapter, where
a few key agricultural policies are selected that have the ability to make big steps
towards reducing poverty in SSA. These should not be taken as the only policies for
government’s and related agents to focus on, but for reasons outlined; the
dissertation sees these as important to the success of agricultural development.
Interviews with agricultural scientists, with practical experience and knowledge within
the agricultural field have been utilised to buttress arguments this dissertation makes
in favour of agricultural development as a poverty reducing tool. Examples from
Ghana are extensively used because the SSA country serves as a good role model
to others. The Ghana Government is fully committed to the CAADP initiative which
requires the government to contribute 10% of their national budget to raise
agricultural productivity. The country has experienced agricultural growth of 5.5% in
recent years, compared with 5.2% for the whole economy and this has led to strong
decline in rural poverty.
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Introduction
This dissertation focuses on the issue of poverty in SSA through moral, economic,
security and environmental perspectives, (which the project will go on to explore in
its first chapter) and therefore recognises the need to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, or make as much progress towards them as possible before
2015. It takes inspiration, firstly from Paul Collier’s book ‘The Bottom Billion’ (2008),
which emphasizes the need to focus on the world’s poorest, and secondly from the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) which seeks
to address the issue of reducing poverty in Africa through agricultural development
(AD). Although overall poverty rates in the world are set to decline, the World Bank
predicts that poverty in SSA is set to rise and by 2015 constitute 50% of the world’s
poor, a figure up from 19% in 1990 (World Bank 2004: 10). Therefore it is crucial that
poverty in this region is focused on. It is important to note that because poverty is a
multidimensional issue (World Bank 2004: 10), it cannot be fought by simply focusing
on one sector in particular, be this agriculture, health, conflict resolution or
governance. But this review stresses the need for AD to be one of the sectors that
governments in SSA seriously focus on when attempting to eradicate poverty,
because as The World Bank’s 2008 Report ‘Agriculture for Development’ states:
‘Growth in the agricultural sector contributes proportionately more to poverty
reduction than growth in any other sector’ (2008: 1). In addition ‘farming is what the
great mass of the poor do’ (Lipton 2006: 61)
A reduction in poverty reduces inequality in the country and ‘in a situation where
there is less inequality, there is more potential for growth (Meirjerink and Roza
2007:1). Therefore AD inspires growth and poverty reduction which inspires further
growth which gives it an advantage over any other sector; it makes growth ‘pro-poor’
(Meirjerink and Roza 2007:1).
Concept Definition
For purposes of this dissertation, agriculture is defined by the World Bank (2008: 2)
as ‘consisting of crops, livestock, agroforestry and aquaculture’. This is a widely used
definition that this report will also adopt.
Collier (2008: 12) states: ‘to my mind, development is about giving hope to ordinary
people that their children will live in a society that has caught up with the rest of the
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world’. Collier takes a qualitative approach to the definition in this instance and looks
directly at the individual themselves.
Ravallion (2010) highlights another important point about the issue of poverty makes
uniquely by beginning his essay with two quotes: “Our dream is a world free of
poverty” (World Bank Motto) and “the poor you will always have with you” (The Bible
Mathew 26, 11). The significance of this is to demonstrate the difference between
absolute and relative poverty. The World Bank target absolute poverty, whereas the
Bible is referring to relative poverty. ‘Absolute poverty can probably be eliminated
with sufficient growth…..outcomes for relative poverty depends more on how income
distribution changes’ (Ravallion 2010: 3). This project, as the World Bank does will
focus on absolute poverty because this is the real are of concern in SSA, saving
lives. The issue of relative poverty comes much later in SSA’s development process.
Therefore from all these sources, this dissertation can establish its own definition of
the concept ‘agricultural development to reduce poverty’: ‘Through agricultural
development in SSA, hope is given to the ordinary people that their children will live
in a society improved from the ones they currently find themselves in.’ Because the
dissertation does not involve itself extensively with measuring the poor, it is not
necessary to entertain methods on how to do this. The qualitative approach
highlighted above proves sufficient.
Methodology
This research project will be qualitative based, characterised by the usage of a case
study (Ghana). A brief historical analysis of the issue of poverty and agricultural
development in SSA will be considered. In addition, the dissertation utilises
interviews conducted ( interviewees interviewed in September 2012) with individuals
from agricultural organisations including the African Agricultural Technology
Foundation (AATF), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Animal
Research Institute (CSIR-ARI) and International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD). These interviews will prove valuable because, as Flyvbjerg (2006) argues,
there is a need for qualitative research methods to deliberately blend with applied,
real-world problems (cited Vromen 2010: 254).
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In terms of focusing on the ability and results of AD, real life, practical examples
need to be consulted and therefore the case study of Ghana proves valuable. The
usage of a case study in qualitative research comes with potential strengths and
weaknesses. As Meyer (2001: 329-330) highlights. the fact that, when using a case
study there are ‘virtually no specific requirements’ means that there has been several
poor case studies. This also proves to be the method’s benefits because it facilitates
the design and data collection procedures to be tailored to the research question
(2001: 330). Leonard-Barton (1990, cited Meyer 2001: 334) makes the point that
case studies prove to be useful when dealing with ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions and is
therefore relevant to this project. Therefore this project will make use of Meyer’s
(2001) article, which sets out well how to conduct an effective case study research,
enabling this project to effectively answer the question posed.
In terms of possible limitations to this research study, because Africa is so diverse,
complex and dynamic, it is very hard to cover all issues and aspects to do with
development and poverty in SSA (Binns, Dixon and Nel 2012: xv). For example in
Nigeria alone there are around 140 million people and 400 language groups (Binns,
Dixon and Nel 2012: 10). Therefore the review and project has to be very selective in
what issues it focuses on. Due to this same point, the methods Ghana has used in
agricultural development will not be exactly the same across SSA. Different countries
will need different solutions but Ghana’s successes can assist in the formulation of
other countries solutions. Another limitation is that because poverty is a
multidimensional issue, by this project focusing on AD, it has not solved the issue of
poverty. The issue has to be attacked from a variety of angles and by focusing on
many different sectors and industries simultaneously. This study is only making the
case that AD needs to be one of the sectors seriously focused on by governments.
Finally because the dissertation is constantly reviewing literature throughout the
chapters and it sees no need to write a separate literature review.
Chapter Questions
CHAPTER 1: Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and the reasons for focusing on it
The first chapter begins by exploring the current situation of poverty in SSA, as well
as the impact colonialism in the region has had on poverty. It moves on to
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demonstrate reasons to why the global community, and not just the governments
and peoples of SSA should focus on poverty in the region. It argues that the fact that
focusing on poverty and AD in SSA saves human lives and reduces human suffering
is the strongest reason to focus on the topic. Yet it also explores economic, security
and environmental benefits.
CHAPTER 2: Eradicating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Following on from the previous chapter, the 2nd chapter focuses on the pathways
out of poverty for SSA. Both economic growth and human development are crucial in
order for this to occur and therefore the chapter discusses the relationship between
the two concepts. It also considers the failure of previous, Eurocentric development
theories and argues future development theories need to be led by Africans
themselves. In addition development policies and interventions should be centred on
the poor and utilise their cultures, values and traditions in order for them to shape
their own development path out of poverty. In a sense the chapter coheres to its own
argument by developing its own development theory, being written by an African and
based on focusing on the poor in SSA.
CHAPTER 3: Why Should Agricultural Development be at the Forefront of
Government’s Development Agendas
The penultimate chapter rigorously argues and demonstrates that AD has the ability
to make a big impact in reducing poverty in SSA. It is split into two sections. The first
of which utilises answers from interviews with agricultural scientists in SSA in the
field of agriculture from organisations including interviews from personnel of
agricultural organisations with a presence in SSA, including the African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),
Animal Research Institute (CSIR-ARI) and International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) and formulates theory based arguments to why AD should be
at the forefront of development agendas in SSA. The second section enforces this
argument further through empirical evidence using examples from Ghana.
CHAPTER 4: Policy Recommendations
The final chapter acts as a policy recommendation in order to give some insight into
how to how to promote reforms with the right policies so the poor can fully participate
in the opportunities unleashed, contribute to growth and shape their path out of
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development (Ravallion 2004: 20). It is important to note that the dissertation
recognises there are numerous other areas for the government to divert resources
towards in agriculture as well as other sectors. Nevertheless the development
policies recommended have the ability to make huge impacts in poverty in SSA as
will be argued. They are a need to focus on smallholder farmers in SSA, the need to
focus on women in agriculture in SSA and finally, regional integration and
liberalisation as an important macroeconomic policy to expand demand further for
SSA agricultural products.
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Chapter 1
Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and the reasons for focusing on it “Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future
generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a
few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.”
(Muhammad Yunus)
This dissertation will begin by justifying why it is necessary to focus on poverty in
sub-Saharan Africa and will demonstrate a number of arguments relating to this,
including moral, economic, environmental and security reasons. The strongest
argument being that alleviating poverty in SSA is about saving human lives which is
fundamentally what the world is about, human lives. And with the large level of
poverty and human suffering taking place in SSA the region needs additional focus.
Firstly however, the chapter will seek to illustrate the extent of poverty in SSA and
how it has evolved over the years.
Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world. In addition, it was
the only major developing region with negative growth in income per capita during
1980–2000’ (Sachs et al 2004: 117). Some African countries grew in the 1990s but
most of this growth was lost by poor or negative growth in the 1980s (Sachs et al
2004: 117). The Sub-Saharan region as an average experienced negative per capita
growth of -0.7% in 1980-89, -0.6% in 1990-99 and positive per capita growth of 2%
in 2000-09 (World Bank 2011: 12). GDP per capita between 1960 and 2005
increased by only 60% which, when compared to world standards is very modest
(Ndulu 2006: 5). Therefore these growth figures, as Ndulu et al (2007: 4)
demonstrates, meant the region in 2006 contributed to only 10% of the world’s
population, yet accommodated 30% of the world’s poor whilst World Bank figures
estimate the percentage of population living under $1.25 a day in 2008 was 47.5%.
As a result, although in some countries in SSA have made significant reductions in
poverty rates, the region still lies bottom of many of the world’s development
indicators and furthest away from achieving the MDGs than any other region in the
world.
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‘Africa’s slow and erratic growth performance, particularly when compared to the
other developing regions, has been identified as the single most important reason
behind its lagging position in eradicating poverty’ (Ndulu et al 2007: 4; Ndulu 2006: 7;
Collier 2008: 11). Therefore strong and sustained growth is required. This
dissertation argues that African governments should seek to increase growth rates
through added investment and attention being paid towards the agricultural sector.
Debates surrounding which theory of growth Africa should follow, including whether
Africa should simply adopt a Western or European method of development will be
considered in the following chapter.
Impact of colonialism on poverty in Africa
Obviously, due to the complexity and multidimensional characteristic of poverty as
we know it today, there are a number of reasons to why poverty in SSA is so
extreme and, still worsening in some areas. However, in relation to the following
moral arguments it is necessary to emphasize the impact of colonialism on the
continent.
The colonial period was a brief period in African history yet it had massive long-term
consequences for the region. Colonial powers totally altered the established
workings of African regions and installed systems and institutions modelled on their
own (Binns, Dixon and Nel 2012: 13). ‘Colonialism programmed African countries to
consume what they do not produce and produce what they do not consume’
meaning they encouraged the production of cash crops for export rather than
domestic crops for consumption. This resulted in many African countries being
vulnerable to harsh environmental conditions e.g. drought, and established oneproduct economies that were vulnerable to world price fluctuations and dependent
on colonial powers’ markets (Ibid 2012: 22). Therefore because ‘colonial policy was
generally exploitative and often coercive and confrontational’ (Ibid) we cannot ignore
its impact on the lack of development experienced by much of Africa over the past
50 years.
As Pogge (2005) argues, the current inequality present in the world between the rich
and poorer nations, did not simply evolve ‘through differences in diligence, culture,
and social institutions, soil, climate, or fortune…but from a common and very violent
history….built up in the colonial era’ (ibid 2005: 2). This essay, as is using Ghana as
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a case study will point to the violent Anglo-Ashanti war between 1823 and 1894
between Ghana and its colonial power, the United Kingdom (Binns, Dixon and Nel
2012: 13-14) The colonial powers in SSA traded their people like cattle destroyed
their political institutions and cultures and took their land and natural resources. This
set SSA naturally on a much slower path of development, whilst experiencing high
levels of poverty with little means to escape it.
Another crucial and problematic impact of colonialism is the consequence the
‘scramble for Africa’ or ‘dividing’ of the ‘African cake’ by colonial powers at the Berlin
conference in 1884/85 had on the region (Binns, Dixon and Nel 2012: 2). Meridith
(2006: 344) highlights the violent impact the ‘fault line’ dividing the Muslim North from
the non-Muslim South and Arab from African had on the country (now two) and
region. The first civil war lasted 10 years and claimed half a million lives (Meridith
2006: 346). Colonial powers exacerbated established tensions by treating the
country as two halves and meddling in the regions issues for their own gain. The
fault line has been a severe limitation on development for Sudan where violence and
poverty remains at large with incidences of genocide occurring frequently.
Importance of Focusing on Alleviating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
There are various justifications for poverty eradication goals that have sprung up in
the new millennium. These include moral obligations and a growing recognition that
extreme poverty poses a security, economic and environmental threat to the global
community (Kelley 2010: 1).
Saving Human Lives
‘Global poverty is a moral abomination of the highest order’ (Farraro 2003: 12)
The primary reason to why poverty in SSA needs to be focused on and is critically
important to societies around the world is because alleviating poverty in SSA is
about saving human lives. Poverty violates human rights in the moral sense (Pogge
2004: 3). Every human being has a right to a wholesome life and livelihood and this
is a fundamental moral obligation and central to human society fabric: ‘Everyone has
the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and
of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social
services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control’
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(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25). In addition, as demonstrated, the
history of current inequality in the world does not arise from a benign history between
the rich and poor. Instead it involves a common history where the more affluent
regions of the world actively suppressed and exploited the poorer regions of the
world (Pogge 2005: 2). For the richer nations to continue to receive the fruits of their
forefathers sins, whilst not paying for them is morally wrong (Pogge 2005: 2).
And therefore as Pogge (2004: 17) demonstrates a case can be made that the
current global political economy on account of the continuous severe poverty present
in the world, manifests an on-going human rights violation, arguably the largest
violation ever committed in history. Despite a high and growing global average
income, billions of human beings are still condemned to lifelong severe poverty, with
all its associated evils of low life expectancy, social exclusion, ill health, illiteracy,
dependency, and effective enslavement (Pogge 2005: 1). Compounding this is the
fact that the world has the resources to end poverty in SSA as well as the rest of the
world, yet has not done so. The World Bank estimates there is 2,735 million people
living underneath the $2 per day international poverty line (44% of the world’s
population), who only consume 1.3% of the global product. In comparison, the high
income countries with 955 million people consume around 81% of the global product
(Pogge 2005: 1). It becomes a moral responsibility for richer nations and societies
around the world to concern themselves with global poverty because; the rich are not
morally entitled to 81% of global products, neither do the poor morally deserve 1.3%
of global product.
This essay is not arguing, as Peter Singer does that we have a moral responsibility
to ‘to give the money away, and it is wrong not to do so’ (Singer 1972), but that if
more of us understood the true magnitude of the problem of poverty and our causal
involvement in it, we might do what is necessary to eradicate it (Pogge 2005: 1).
Some individuals can be more actively involved with attempting to eradicate poverty
than others and this paper recognises and respects that choice of the individual.
Security Reasons
Poverty inspires criminal activity and violence because ‘low incomes reduce the
opportunity cost of engaging in violence’ (Anderson and Photos 2011: 78) and
criminal activities. Although poverty does not produce terrorists and neither does
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eliminating poverty solve the problem of international terrorism (Lancaster 2003: 19),
there is an indirect relationship between the two problems. Poverty and the poor
governance (corruption, exclusion, and repression) are interlinked concepts that can
lead to civil violence and state collapse. These conditions, in turn, can spread
throughout a region, producing widespread insecurity and possibly creating havens
for terrorists or criminals who can organize and attack targets elsewhere.
Therefore reducing poverty and improving development indicators within a state can
lead to better governance over time and fewer opportunities for terrorist or criminal
elements to operate in these countries’ (Lancaster 2003: 19). A report by Okumu and
Ikelegbe supports this link arguing that Poverty has the ability to inspire acts of terror
as well as armed non-state groups which ‘have exerted a huge toll on the stability,
development and security of Africa’ and pose a threat to the ever connecting and
globalised world (Okumu and Ikelegbe 2010: 2 and Okumu and Botha 2007: 11).
This dissertation argues that tackling poverty has the ability to reduce the
susceptibility of these countries to these issues through reducing the increasing the
aforementioned opportunity cost of individuals becoming involved with crime by
increasing individuals incomes.
Economic Reasons
Eradicating poverty in SSA has the ability to improve the economic wellbeing of the
global community. The global community has an interest to integrate the global poor
into the world economic system (Ferraro 2003: 17). The whole of Africa, the once
forgotten giant, offers a largely untapped and vast market of over 1 billion people.
Further increasing the disposable incomes of people in SSA through eradicating
poverty means many more individuals and countries as a whole, have the resources
to buy more global products. As Pinstrup-Andersen (2003: 25) demonstrates with the
case of America, poverty reduction ‘will also expand mutually beneficial trade and
experience from Southeast Asia shows that rapidly growing developing countries
provide very strong markets for U.S. agricultural and non-agricultural goods and
services. One can only begin to imagine how U.S. exports and employment could
benefit from rapid growth in Africa’.
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And the global community should take the opportunity to make the most of an Africa
that is growing economically, where over the past ten years real income per person
has increased by more than 30%’ and Over the next decade, GDP is expected to
rise by an average of 6% a year (The Economist Special Report 2012: 3), making it
the fastest growing continent in the world.
This dissertation argues that there are potential economic benefits to all parties that
take part in investments with the ‘base of the pyramid’ which includes those who live
on less than $1 and $2 a day (Kelley 2010: 10). A BoP venture is defined by Ted
London (2007 cited Kelley 2010: 10) as “a revenue generating enterprise that either
sells goods to, or sources products from, those at the base of the pyramid in a way
that helps to improve the standard of living of the poor.” The agricultural sector
provides a key opportunity where a BoP ventures can take place. BoP ventures rely
on co-operation with the global poor and a co-creation of an enterprise or investment
that benefits both parties and contributes to reducing poverty.
Environmental Reasons
Many parts of the world are caught in a vicious downwards spiral: Poor people are
forced to overuse the environmental resources to survive from day to day, ad their
impoverishment of their environment further impoverishes them, making their
survival ever more difficult and uncertain’ (WCED 1987: 27, cited Angelson 1998: 2)
Environmental degradation and stress is significantly linked to poverty in the
developing world with the poor being both victims and agents (although the rich are
the primary offenders Angelson 1998: 2). This is because the poor depend heavily
on the natural environments and are less able to escape the effects of environmental
pollution (Angelson 1998: 3).
Most environmental stress comes from population pressure (Rice 2006: 80). The
world population has doubled from 1950 to 1998 and is set to reach 9 billion by the
year 2050 (Rice 2006: 80). SSA specifically has experienced more extreme
population growth figures, from 183 million in 1950 to 863 million in 2010 and 1,753
million in 2050 (Eastwood and Lipton 2011: 9). Poverty fuels this population growth
as families have more children to attempt to deal with high infant mortality as well as
the need to raise more income potential (Rice 2006: 80). Increased investments in
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agricultural research and development could help solve this issue as it reduces the
need to have more children in response to attempting to increase income potential.
Population pressure, fuelled by poverty has the ability to provided added stresses for
the global community through increasing the demand for watersheds – the UN
estimates by 2025 two thirds of the world could face significant water stress (Rice
2006: 80). Through increased demand for fuel and living spaces, deforestation could
be increased further (Ferraro 2003: 15) meaning a decrease in biodiversity as well
as an intensification of global warming as there are simply less trees to absorb
carbon dioxide (the burning of firewood accounts for 25% of annual CO2 emissions –
Rice 2006: 80). Because global warming and environmental degradation to an extent
knows no boundaries, reducing poverty in SSA will have beneficial worldwide
consequences.
Conclusion
It is necessary for global societies to focus on the poor therefore. To address poverty
sustainably, AD is essential. The next 3 chapters, after demonstrating the flaws in
previous development theories, gradually develops one of its own and emphasizes
methods in which agricultural development can impact on the poor in SSA.
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Chapter 2
Eradicating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
This chapter will argue that because the ‘planners’ (elites attempting to dictate how
poverty should be eradicated using Eurocentric development models) of
development and poverty reduction do not know what eradicating poverty actually
means to poor families and individuals in rural Ghana for example, it is wrong for
them to dictate how to end poverty. The initiative must be ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top
down’ (Binns Dixon and Nel 2012: 313) In addition, economic investments need to
be made on the basis of subsidiarity (Kelley 2010). It begins by demonstrating the
relationship between the concepts of economic growth and development, arguing
that the two concepts must go hand in hand if poverty reduction is to be sustainable.
Economic growth and development
There is a two way relationship between human development and economic growth,
and a difference between the two that has implications for attempting to eradicate
poverty in Africa. Human development is about raising the standard of living of
Africans rather than about bricks and budget systems (Moss 2007: 1-2). Human
development encompasses more than the accumulation of human capital that
economic growth refers to (Boozer et al 2011: 506). However, economic growth
allows the purchase of improved human development, whilst human development
enhances the economy’s growth opportunities (Ibid 2011: 506). Therefore although
they are mutually reinforcing concepts, human development must be viewed as the
ultimate goal for policy makers and economic growth as potentially a very important
instrument for advancing it (Stewart and Ranis 2000: 198). This is because, to
eradicate poverty or improve the standard of living within a country, human
development has much more of an impact than economic growth. Hence a country
can experience economic growth without development. This was the case in
Equatorial Guinea where in 2007 its real GDP was estimated to be at 9.8%, however
the country was still ranked 127th out of 177 in the UNDP’s Human Development
report (2007) (Binns, Dixon and Nel 2012: 283).
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Boozer et al (2011: 506) therefore conclude that to achieve sustainable growth,
human development must precede or be accompanied by economic growth. This
has the added value of reducing poverty levels. Note that although human
development is the ultimate goal, economic growth is also necessary to make
poverty reduction sustainable.
Failure of development theories
It is important to discuss issues surrounding development theory because the ‘way
society deals with underdevelopment is influenced by development theory’ (Matunhu
2011: 65). The most striking feature of development in SSA is how the theory and
practices promoted and used have evolved from a narrow focus on Western
concepts, beliefs and experiences of modernization (Binns Dixon and Nel 2012: 312).
As Andrews and Okponachi (2012: 86) argue, the fact is that since the 1950s
through to contemporary Washington consensus, Africa has been the recipient of
many policy and ideological prescriptions, most of which has worsened the condition
of the continent.
Development theory started with the Eurocentric economic model of modernization
through the 1950s and 60s that was firmly rooted in capitalism. ‘Modernization is
about Africa following the development footsteps of Europe’ (Matunhu 2011: 65).
The biasness of modernization as a development theory is clearly echoed by exUSA president in his inaugural speech in 1949: ‘“We must embark on a bold new
programme for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress
available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas’ (Allen and
Thomas 1992: 6). Before European intervention in Africa in the 15th century, Africa is
understood to have already developed its own methods of civilisation and empires
with their economies using advanced African technologies. However, Europe sought
to alter this discourse to theirs (Matunhu 2011: 66). Therefore modernization theory
ignored the uniqueness and creative initiative of the Africans and as a result limited
the African development experience greatly whilst developing Europe. As Mutunhu
(2011: 69) states ‘the development of Europe can be viewed in the same process
that underdeveloped Africa’ through colonialism and imperialism of their beliefs and
values.
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The modernization movement in development theory was then followed by the
Structural adjustment programs pushed forward by the World Bank and the IMF
during the 1980s. Again this programs, although reasonably successful in South
America and Asia had a disregard for traditional African cultures, politics and values
(Matunhu 2011: 67).
Development theory, again largely due to the history of colonialism that led to the
West’s domination of global knowledge production, is characterized by an epistemic
inequality (Andrews and Okponachi 2012: 89). This involves an academic
dependency of Africa on Europe, a euro centrism of academic scholarship and a lack
of African publications and theories describing the African development experience.
Zeleza (2002: 9) states: ‘African social scientists have been caught in the bind of
addressing African realities in borrowed languages and paradigms, conversing with
each other through publications and media controlled by foreign academic
communities, and producing prescriptive knowledge’. And therefore scholarship in
Africa, having emerged from the context of colonialism, like modernization theory
and the SAP programs considered above, was not necessarily suited to serving
Africa, but rather Europe and European objectives (Andrews and Okponachi 2012:
92).
Therefore the flawed nature of previous development theory has contributed to the
current socio-economic situation in many SSA countries. SSA and the world must
learn from these experiences and move forward, constructing their own disciplines,
theories, world views and approaches that are based on the pillars of African history,
culture, and experiences as well as their perceptions on what development should
entail (Andrews and Okponachi 2012: 92). This approach has been labelled the
‘African renaissance theory’. The theory suggests that micro-level development and
poverty reduction should be the primary focus of development policies (Matunhu
2011: 71).
Dead Aid
The problem with Eurocentric development theory, in the practical world is best
exemplified by the traditional, yet mistaken approach that western countries take
towards poverty in SSA. It involves a culture of high levels of foreign aid being
donated to African states ($1 trillion in development-related aid has been given to
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Africa in the past 50 years, nearly $1000 for each and every human on the planet
today – Moyo 2010: xviii). We are made to believe this is what we ‘ought’ to do
morally, in a similar fashion to arguments made by Singer (highlighted in chapter 1).
Gordon Brown (2005) emphasizes this view: ‘But we must recognise that while 10
years ago aid to Africa was $33 per person, today it has not risen but fallen to just
$27 so we are a long way short of the predictable, regular financing necessary to
make the difference that is needed’ (The Guardian Wednesday 26 January 2005).
However, this is exactly the top-down flaw with traditional development theory that
this essay is arguing against. As demonstrated in chapter 1 there is a moral
responsibility for the West to focus on poverty in Africa, this does not mean as Tony
Blair stated in 2001 that because ‘the state of Africa is a scar on the conscience of
the world’ the west should ‘provide more aid’ (cited Moyo 2010: xviii). Dictating how
poverty should be eliminated is beyond the ‘planners’ ability as Easterly (2006: 5)
argues.
Moyo (2010) book describes the problematic ‘giving’ culture accurately. She starts by
defining three kinds of aid (2010: 7): emergency aid (mobilized and dispensed in
response to catastrophes and calamities), charity-based aid (disbursed by charitable
organizations to institutions or people on the ground) and systematic aid (aid
payments made directly to governments in the form of bilateral, or multilateral aid).
Emergency and charity based aid are small when compared to the huge amounts
transferred from the West to SSA in the form of systematic aid. Moyo argues that ‘it
is these billions that have hampered, stifled and retarded Africa’s development’
(2010: 9).She gives several important and precise reasons to why this is the case.
The underlying reality and conclusion of all the reasons given by Moyo and other
critiques of the traditional aid culture is that: ‘Sixty years of countless reform
schemes to aid agencies and dozens of different plans, and $2.3 trillion later, the aid
industry is still failing to reach the beautiful goal’ of eliminating poverty in Africa
(Easterly 2006: 12). This approach is clearly failing. And the reasons to why aid is
failing in Africa, highlighted by Moyo (2010) all stem from the fact, proven by the
history of aid, that western governments and aid agencies simply do not know how to
end world poverty in Africa, nor are they expected to. The West cannot end poverty
in the rest as they have tried to done, demonstrated above through mistaken
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development theory and development aid programs. However, as this chapter will
now demonstrate, they can have an important role.
A more productive development theory
As demonstrated above, development theory in Africa has to be led by Africans. And
in a sense, this dissertation is an example of this argument. As argued, because no
one knows how to eradicate poverty in Africa, or what poverty-less Africa looks like,
the economic decisions regarding development therefore have to be left to the
agents of poverty. This means the so called ‘planners’ co-operating extensively with
the rural poor and emphasizing local cultures and values to create economic
opportunities for these people.
A good example of this is the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
program which, unlike previous development theories is led by led by Africans:
‘Africans must not be wards of benevolent guardians, rather they must be the
architects of their own sustained upliftment’ (NEPAD 2001: 6). The scheme also
realises its success is hinged on the involvement of the African peoples, ‘our peoples,
in spite of the present difficulties, must regain confidence in their genius and their
capacity to face obstacles and be involved in the building of the new Africa’ (ibid
2001: 12). And this is the argument that this essay is emphasizing, African people
must be masters of their own destiny. Relating this to AD sees African governments
seeking to concern themselves with the economic needs of the small holder farmer.
However, focusing on small farms has added value in development theory. This is
because, the poorest in Africa rely of the existence of small farms, and small family
farms are more often than not the poorest within society. Therefore prioritising their
economic needs means letting the poorest Africans dictate how their society
develops in their unique way and what poverty-less Africa looks like as this chapter
has been arguing.
In terms of the West’s involvement with the African development process, they can
have a role to play. However, any involvement should be based on the concept of
subsidiarity which has 3 central themes:
-­‐
Non-arrogation, which describes the obligation of a higher order community not to
interfere in the internal life of a community of lower order, a constrain on the richer
nations with respect to the poor;
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-­‐
Empowerment, which describes the obligation of the higher order community to
assist the lower in case of need and can be related to the emergency aid that Moyo
(2010) depicts;
-­‐
And collaborative pluralism, which describes the mutually beneficial relationships that
emerge from interactions among various intermediary institutions (i.e. those
institutions between the individual and the state).
(Kelley 2010: 8/9)
The concept of subsidiarity therefore result in interventions by the West being
characterised by what Kelley (2010) describes as the base of pyramid ventures (BoP
ventures). These are “a revenue generating enterprise that either sells goods to, or
sources products from, those at the base of the pyramid in a way that helps to
improve the standard of living of the poor” (London 2010, cited Kelley 2010: 10). It
involves an intense level of communication and interaction between the poor at the
bottom of the base and the richer nations making the investment in order to develop
a mutually beneficial venture that addresses the economic needs of the poor as
argued above.
Conclusion
This chapter has attempted to explore methods of escaping poverty in SSA. It initially
explored the relationship between economic growth and human development, and
the benefits of achieving both concepts. Traditional development theories are flawed
in that they were not led by African people, their values and cultures. This chapter
and dissertation offer its own development theory for a path out of poverty for SSA
through focusing on economic opportunities for the actual poor individuals and
families in SSA.
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Chapter 3
Why should agricultural development be at the forefront of
government’s development agendas?
“History shows that no country has become developed without pursuing the development of
its agriculture” (Jimmy Smith – Director General, International Livestock Research Institute)
The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate that if AD is placed at the forefronts of
governments’ development agendas, there is huge potential to reverse the economic
stagnation experienced in much of SSA in previous decades. The FAO in their most
recent publication ‘The State of Food and Agriculture’ highlight three reasons for
government’s investing in agriculture: (i) economic growth and poverty reduction, (ii)
food and nutrition security, and (iii) environmental sustainability (FAO 2012: 4). This
chapter, for reasons discussed in chapter 2 will focus on the first. The chapter has
two main parts; the first utilizes answers from the interviews previously conducted
with personnel from within the field of Agriculture in SSA and demonstrates the
theoretical arguments why there is a need to invest in AD. The second section looks
to answer the chapter question using empirical evidence in the form of the case
study of Ghana, demonstrating that in this instance when AD was placed at the
forefront of the Government’s development agenda it was proven to have beneficial
impacts of the poor and wider economy.
Theoretical Arguments
The primary reason AD needs to be focused on in SSA is because, as Thomas
Randolph (2012) (ILRI Director - CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish)
states: ‘The bulk of lower income rural households rely primarily on their agricultural
assets to provide their livelihoods and improve their lives’. These lower income rural
households constitute the majority of the poor in the world and especially in SSA.
IFAD (2011: 1) estimates that at least seventy per cent of the worlds ‘very poor’ live
in rural areas. In SSA specifically, in 2008 the region’s population stood at around
777 million people. Of these, 497 million lived in rural areas, 433 million of them
judged to be in poverty (> $2 a day) (IFAD 2011: 2). Therefore because ‘the vast
majority of people whose lives need to change the most….depend on agriculture for
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their livelihood’ (World Bank 2006: 2) as demonstrated above, this suggests that
strong growth in agriculture is critical for fostering overall economic growth and
poverty reduction in SSA (World Bank 2008: 28) and as a result “It is where the
government should put emphasis if they want to lift people out of poverty” (Jacob
Mignouna - African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) – Director – 2012).
Economic growth resulting from AD is not distribution neutral (in the same way that
growth in other sectors can be). It targets a reduction in income inequality, and in a
situation where there is less inequality there is more potential for growth (Meijerink
and Roza 2007: 11). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2011: 2) emphasizes
this point by, in their strategy overview stating: ‘Agricultural development is two to
four times more effective at reducing hunger and poverty than any other sector’.
Jacob Mignouna (2012) also makes the same point, talking from his organisation’s
experiences when he states: ‘If you put the same amount of funds into mining or any
other sector as you do in agriculture, the impact it will have on poverty reduction will
be at least twice as great in agriculture’. Empirical evidence for this is also strong.
The World Bank Report (2008: 30) finds that among 42 developing countries
between 1981 and 2003 a 1 per cent increase in GDP growth originating from
agriculture increased the incomes of the three poorest deciles by at least 2.5 times
more than growth in any other sector.
Farm Economy
‘The most direct contribution of AG is through generating higher incomes for farmers’
(Irz et al 2001: 452). “Agricultural development can see employment generation and
wealth creation” (Naaminong Karbo - Animal Research Institute (CSIR-ARI)/Chief
Research Scientist (Director), Council for Scientific and Industrial – 2012) because
the amount of labour used per hectare of farming land has the potential to increase
either because the area cultivated increases, or the cropping frequency increases
(Irz et al 2001: 453) therefore also increasing the wages of farm labourers due to
demand for their services rising. Farmers produce more; as a result, in addition to
being able to feed their family better, they are able to sell more produce in local
markets and their income rises. Simple economic theory tells us that because the
demand for an input factor (labour) increases, their wages increase in turn (World
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Bank 2006: 7). A rise in labourers and farmers’ incomes due to AD can drag these
individuals and their families above the various poverty line figures.
Rural Economy
AD can also have beneficial effects on the rural economy. These include both
upstream from the farm (in demand for inputs and services for agriculture) and
downstream (in demand for processing storage and transport of produce) (Thirtle et
al 2001: 11). For example, upstream, increased production on a small holder farm
may result in the farmer needing to employ a few more labourers. For this, cutlasses,
boots, and other tools and equipment need to be purchased from local markets
therefore providing this rural business with additional income. Downstream, the
additional agricultural output may result in farmers needing to employ someone to
transport the extra produce to markets (either by vehicle, motorbike, bicycle etc.) and
again, providing extra income for individuals and families outside the agricultural
sector. In addition there are consumption links with farmers able to spend their extra
income on local services and products (Irz et al 2001: 454) such as education,
tailoring services, clothing etc., a view that Carlos Sere (International Fund for
Agricultural Development IFAD- Chief Development Strategist – 2012) also supports
“[agricultural development] produces surpluses for the development of other sectors”
The extra income individuals and families receive translates into higher welfare for
populations within the rural region. This can be illustrated using economic analyses
in the form of indifference curves (Sloman and Wride 2009) (It should also be noted
that this is not the only economic theory concerning the issue but it is a widely
accepted concept amongst the economist community).
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In addition, better nutrition of labourers increases the labour productivity of the rural
economy and national economy. As Siboniso Moyo states (ILRI – Regional Director
for Southern Africa – 2012) “to me [agricultural development] it’s about food which
then translates to well-nourished young people who can contribute to the wellbeing
of the nation”. Investments in health and education can also increase, further raising
the productivity of the rural and national economy (Irz et al 2001: 455, cited Trimmer
1995).
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The National Economy
Economic theory dictates that if the national output of agriculture rises, due to rural,
agricultural growth, the prices of the produce should reduce (Sloman and Wride
2009: 39). This leads to the purchasing power of the population increasing. The
bundle of goods they were previously able to consume increases because the prices
of these goods have decreased. Because the poor in both urban and rural areas
spend the majority of their income on food, this sees welfare improvements and
poverty reductions throughout the national economy (Irz et al 2001: 455).
Benefits also accrue to the national economy, by for example improving the fiscal
situation of the government through the increase in taxes received by the
government. Because some of the population (especially farmers) are receiving
increased income, the amount they pay to the government in taxes is increased (Irz
et al 2001: 456). The government in turn has more money to invest into infrastructure,
education and other sectors that will continue to boost the national productivity and
growth of the national economy. If large agricultural surpluses in tradable
commodities result from agricultural growth, the economy can trade with other states
and increase their exports sold. Alternatively, the amount the economy imports in
food could be replaced by national produce (Irz et al 2001: 456) a benefit supported
by Carlos Sere who states ‘Agricultural development has the potential to reduce the
food import bill’.
Evidence from Ghana
Ghana has come a long way
Ghana, the first African country to gain independence in 1957, was also the world’s
leading producer of cocoa at this time with the highest GDP per capita in the region.
As a result it was seen as the hope and example to follow in for Africa (Diao 2010:
10). However, since then till 1983, the country’s economic performance was marred
by inappropriate economic policies pushed through by military regimes often corrupt
and largely inefficient (Aryeetay and McKay 2007: 147). Only 10 years between 1961
and 1983 showed positive GDP growth rates (Breisinger et al 2011: 3). As a result
per capita GDP was lower in 1983 than pre-independence days (Diao 2010: 10) and
‘Hunger stalked Ghana’ (Gatesfoundation 2010: 1). Since 1983 however, the
transformation in growth rates and poverty reduction has been impressive.
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Ghana has now experienced two decades of solid and persistent growth and an
impressive reduction in poverty. This has led it to become an ‘African success story’
(Diao 2010: 8) with agriculture being the ‘backbone of Ghana’s economy in the entire
post-independence period’ (Diao 2010: 16). Since 1984 to 2006, on average the
Ghanaian economy has recorded 4.9% average annual growth rates and average
annual per capita growth rates of 2% (Breisinger et al 2011: 3) whereas SSA as a
whole posted a modest average annual growth rate in real per capita income of
about 0.7 per cent during the 1970s, these rates turned negative during the 1980s
and 1990s (Sundaram and Arnim 2008: 1).
During the past 20 years, growth in the agricultural sector of Ghana has been greater
than any other, growing at an average of 5.5% compared with 5.2% for the whole
economy (Breisinger et al 2011: 1). As argued above, growth in the agricultural
sector, due to the fact that majority of the population, especially the rural and poorest
people depend on it for a livelihood, will result in poverty reduction which is what has
happened in Ghana (World Bank 2008: 6). In 1998/9 66.8% of the population lived in
rural areas with 84% of the poor being rural dwellers (Aryeetay and Mckay 2007:
157). Kufuor (2011: 5) states: “for a country like Ghana, where more than half its
people farm the land, transforming agriculture helps transform to everyone” (this
point also supports the earlier point made in Part A about the multiplier effects
gained from A.G.). As a result poverty has reduced – in 1991/2 52% of Ghana’s
population were deemed in poverty whilst in 2005/6 this figure had dropped to 28.5%
(Gatesfoundation 2011: 1). In rural areas specifically, poverty rates fell from 63.6% in
1991/2 to 39.2% in 2005/6, a decline of 24.4% during this period (Breisinger 2011: 4).
Given the strong link between poverty and agriculture (Akroyd and Smith 2007: 2),
this reduction in poverty rates can in part be attributed to the government’s extra
focus on agricultural development since 1983. Efforts since 2002 have been stepped
up as well, exemplified by agricultural research and development spending by the
government increasingly dramatically from 41 million dollars in 2002 to 95 million
dollars in 2008 (Flaherty, Essegbey and Asare 2010: 1).
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Cocoa rejuvenation
In recent years, the comeback of Ghana as the world’s second largest Cocoa
producer has been a main driver of the country’s agricultural export growth (IFPRI
2008: 5).
The government in the early 1980s realised the need to rejuvenate the Cocoa sector
in Ghana which is and has always been central to the Ghanaian economy (the cocoa
sector offers a livelihood for over 700,000 farmers in Ghana – Kolavalli and Vigneri
2009: 201) and like the mismanagement of the whole economy, poor policies and
lack of support from the government almost lead it to collapse by the 1980s
(Gatesfoundation 2010: 2). Given its importance to the Ghanaian economy this
contributed greatly to the economic stagnation and increasing poverty and suffering
levels during this period. The turnaround in the 1980s began with the implementation
of the Economic Recovery Program in 1983 of which a specific program, the Cocoa
Rehabilitation Period over the years transformed the sector (Kolavalli and Vigneri
2009: 204). The success of the program is highlighted by the fact that between 2002
and 2005, cocoa production doubled from 350,000 tons to 734,000 tons (Kufuor
2011: 5). A number of initiatives by the government can be attributed with the
success of this sector, which are all part of the cocoa rehabilitation project:
-­‐
From 1983, the government increased the farm gate prices that were paid to farmers
relative to those paid in neighbouring countries. This had the effect of reducing the
incentive to smuggle cocoa out of the country.
-­‐
Farmers were compensated for removing and destroying trees with small shoot
viruses and replanted.
-­‐
Using information from the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, farmers began
planting crops that were higher yielding (by 1995/6, productivity had risen from 210
kilograms per hectare to 404 kilograms per hectare).
-­‐
In 1992 the Cocobod (national coco board in Ghana) shifted responsibility for
domestic cocoa procurement to 6 privately licensed firms – therefore increasing
competition within the industry
-­‐
From 2001 the government implemented a mass spraying program (nearly all farms
sprayed with pesticide in 2003/4, 46% carried out by the government) and a hightech subsidy package to promote the use of fertilizers on farms (Gatesfoundation
2010: 2) – 9% of farmers used fertilizer in 1991 whereas in 2003 it had risen to 47%.
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Kolavalli and Vigneri 2009
These policies have had a profound effect on poverty which also complies with the
above theoretical arguments for agricultural development being at the forefront of
government’s development agendas. Poverty among cocoa farmers dropped to 23.9%
in 2001, down from 60% at the beginning of the 1990s (Kolavalli and Vigneri 2009:
206) and in addition, the labour employed on cocoa farms between 2001/2 and
2003/4 has more than doubled (Vigneri 2007: 3). The progress Ghana has made in
this sector is exemplified by the gates foundations (2010: 1-2) interview on a smallholder cocoa farmer, Peter Acheampong who recalls in the 1980s “there was no food”
but the government “called on the youth, especially the youth to go to the farms”. As
a result of taking up farming in the 1980s, he now hopes to send his daughter to
college.
Therefore this demonstrates that with additional attention being paid to agricultural
development, in this case the country’s most important agricultural asset, cocoa
being the example, a reduction in poverty can be achieved alongside economic
growth, as John McDermott (2012) states, ‘with agricultural growth countries get
more equitable development’. This is not to say that every SSA country should follow
the exact same policies with their most important agricultural asset, but
demonstrates that with a specific focus on it, production can be dramatically
increased.
This is also not to say that Ghana has neglected of agricultural products. Instead, as
well as rejuvenating the cocoa sector, from 1983 and especially since 2001, reforms
in the agricultural sector has seen rising yields in staple crops such as cassavas,
yams and sweet potatoes which ‘helped increase incomes in the rural areas’
(Gatesfoundation 2010: 1) and staple crops have contributed to agricultural growth
between 1991 – 2006 by over 50%. John Kufuor (president of Ghana from 2001 –
2009) states (2011: 2) “My administration aimed to ensure a more efficient and
productive agricultural base that would become the engine of the economy by
providing food security, ushering in industrialization, creating jobs and increasing
export revenues”. This is reflected by the large increase in production of cassava
where the government, using the help of a variety of scientists and NGOs sourced
enhanced seed strains and again promoted the use of fertilisers and mass spraying
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systems. In 1989 Production stood at 3.3m metric tons grown on 446,000 hectares
whereas as in 2009, production had risen to 9.7m metric tons grown on 800,000
hectares (Gatesfoundation 2010: 2).
Conclusion
This chapters arguments can be summarized by stating ‘agricultural investment is
one of the most important and effective strategies for economic growth and poverty
reduction in rural areas, where the majority of the world’s poorest people live’ and
growth in agriculture’s contribution to the national GDP has been shown to be at
least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth originating in other sectors.
‘Productivity growth in agriculture generates demand for other rural goods and
services and creates employment and incomes for the people who provide them –
often the landless rural poor.
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Chapter 4
Policy Recommendation
The challenge for policy, as chapter 2 also discussed briefly, is to combine growth –
promoting reforms with the right policies so the poor can fully participate in the
opportunities unleashed, contribute to growth and shape their path out of
development (Ravallion 2004: 20). If the combination of policies is correct, both
growth and poverty reduction can be rapid (Ibid 2004: 20). This chapter offers some
ideas into how to achieve this using agriculture.
This dissertation chooses to focus on three key areas, central to successful AD. It
first focuses on the importance of smallholder farmers in contributing to poverty
reduction through agricultural growth, especially due to its pro-poor growth
characteristics (Hazell et al 2007: 2).. Secondly it emphasizes the greater role
women should play in agricultural growth in SSA. Thirdly it looks at the importance of
SSA states utilising regional and global initiatives such as CAADP and NEPAD using
a development cycle.
Importance of smallholder farmers
‘more attention should be dedicated to increase the productivity of small-scale
farmers, who contribute around 90% of Africa’s agricultural production but remain
largely locked out of trade dynamics’ (Rampa 2012: 2)
The fact of the matter is that ‘small farms still dominate the agricultural sector in
much of the developing world’ especially in SSA (Hazell 2003: 103). Of the
developing world’s 3 billion rural people, more than two thirds reside on small farms
(less than 2 hectares of land). These small farmers include half of the world’s
undernourished people, three quarters of Africa’s malnourished children and the
majority of the people living in absolute poverty (Hazell et al 2007: 1, Lipton 2006:
61). Therefore they are crucial to human development and central to reducing
poverty in SSA. Widely established empirical evidence has demonstrated that
agricultural growth that improves productivity on small farms has proven to be highly
effective in slashing poverty and hunger and raising rural standards (ibid 2007: 2). In
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addition as chapter 2 discussed, focusing on smallholder farmers means the poor
shape their own pathway out of development.
The attraction for SSA states to pay extensive attention to small farms stems, firstly
from the greater efficiency small farms have over larger farms (Hazell 2003: 103).
Small farms employ a greater abundance of family labour per hectare farmed and
because the enterprise is family run, workers are typically more motivated than hired
workers and therefore are more productive (ibid 2003: 103). In essence this means
when labour costs are an important part of agricultural costs, small farms may have
significant advantages over larger units, as is the case in SSA where labour is in
abundance. Secondly, as explained in chapter 3, this policy can also result in
favourable expenditure patterns for the rural economy. The small farmers and their
employees are more likely to spend their income on the local non-farm economy
therefore creating additional demand for many labour intensive goods and services,
further increasing their income in turn (ibid 2003: 104). This results in a proliferation
of people in different local sectors being lifted further out of poverty. Thirdly, linked in
with the previous point is that small farm development can be a win-win situation or
growth and poverty reduction (Hazell et al 2007: 12), which as chapter 2’s discussion
on development theory argues leads to the fastest pathway out of poverty for the
poor in SSA. Poor farms, when compared with larger farms, are typically operated by
poor people who use much labour, both from their own households and from their
equally poor, or poorer, neighbours (ibid 2007: 12). Many farm surveys have shown
that the smaller the holding, the more labour per unit area is applied (Cornia 1985).
Therefore given the demonstrated importance of small farms to human development
and poverty reduction in SSA, if small farms are threatened, it could mean that the
many poor individuals reliant on them could end up trapped in poverty and /or
provoke massive premature migration from rural to urban areas (Hazell et al 2007:
13, Lipton 2006: 65). Current driving forces posing serious threats to the viability of
small farms include: the falling prices for most the other commodities that small
farmers grow; the scourge of HIV/AIDS; mounting pressure on resources from
population growth; intensified global competition; entry of large supermarket chains
into many developing countries (Hazell 2003:103; Hazell et al 2007: 3-4; Lipton 2006:
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69). In order to prevent this, this dissertation puts forward 2 key policies for the
government and associated agents to focus on.
Firstly, smallholder farmers require financial credit in order for them to become active
agents in the economy and make risky calculated decisions about their economic
future. Despite the rapid development of financial services, a majority of smallholders
worldwide remain without access to the services they need to compete and improve
their livelihoods (World Bank 2008: 143). Improving small farmers’ ability to save and
invest requires the development of an entire rural financial infrastructure in which
farmers can access a full range of financial services, including credit and deposit
banking at competitive interest rates and this requires some form of public
intervention (Hazell 2003: 107/108) to encourage innovations to permit more flexible
forms of lending while guaranteeing that borrowers repay loans (World Bank 2008:
144). This intervention should be done with intensive communication with the small
holder farmers in order to create a unique and culturally specific banking experience
for the smallholder farmers. Therefore ensuring the development path out of poverty
is led by the bottom of the pyramid (Kelley 2010).
Small farmers need improved technologies appropriate to their needs if they are to
survive in today’s market place (Hazell 2003: 107). Therefore small farmers gaining
access to the latest agricultural research undertaken by national research
organizations as well as other related NGOs is crucial to their competitiveness. One
successful example comes from the South Eastern region of Nigeria where
smallholders farming cassava adopted improved varieties engineered by the NGO
IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) (Udensi el al 2011).
Women in Agriculture
‘Rural Poverty is deeply rooted in the imbalance between what women do and what
they have’ (The International Fund for Agricultural Development)
As this dissertation has been arguing, agricultural development has the ability to
reduce poverty in SSA. Its ability to do this can be further enhanced if women’s role
in agricultural development is improved and increased. The FAO State of Food and
Agriculture Report (2011: 3) states: ‘closing the agriculture gap in agriculture would
produce significant gains for society by increasing agricultural productivity, reducing
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poverty and hunger and promoting economic growth’. Women play a crucial role in
agricultural production in almost all SSA countries, where they make up a substantial
majority of the agricultural workforce (60% in some countries- FAO 2011: 8) and
produce most of the food that is consumed locally (Ashby et al 2009: 1). The large
proportion of agricultural production that is attributable to women makes them critical
agents of economic development. Yet despite their activities, a large number of the
poorest and most disadvantaged and marginalised people in SSA are women with
some of the poorest households being headed by women (The Montpellier Panel
2012: 4). In Ghana for example, almost 15% of men but fewer than 4% of women
are employed for wages in the agricultural sector whilst wages for men in the rural
regions are 58% higher than women’s (FAO 2011: 17/20). Agricultural development
policies are insensitive to these disparities and despite women’s wealth of
knowledge and capacity, especially in the field of agricultural production (Tripathi et
al 2012: 2). In Africa, women own just 1% of agricultural land, and receive only 7% of
extension services and access less than 10% of agricultural credit offered to smallscale farmers (ibid 2012: 2).
Therefore women are less likely than men to own land or livestock, adopt new
technologies, use credit or other financial services, or receive education or extension
advice (FAO 2011: 23). And this gender gap reduces the agricultural productivity of
women and has economic costs for the entire economy. In Ghana, if women and
men had equal land rights and tenure security, women’s use of fertilizer ad profits
per hectare would double (Ashby et al 2009: 2). It is important to also note that
although many studies suggest that yields on plots of land managed by women are
lower than those managed by men, this is due to inequalities in agricultural
opportunities between men and women. If women had equal access to agricultural
inputs, extensive evidence demonstrates they are just as efficient as men, therefore
overall agricultural production will increase (ibid 2011: 39).
The FAO estimate that equal access to inputs in SSA countries could increase
agricultural output by an average of 2.5-4%, with global gains of a similar magnitude.
The FAO estimates the reduction in undernourished people in the world to drop by
around 12-17%, an equivalent of 100-150 million fewer people living in hunger (FAO
2011: 42) if all developing counties closed the input gap on their agricultural lands.
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Policy advice for integrating smallholder female farmers links into the above policy
advice on smallholder farmers. Firstly, it is important that governments, NGO’s and
related agents acknowledge that collective action is a crucial method in women
increasing their productivity, access to markets, whilst sharing knowledge,
information and productive assets (land, livestock, credit) (Tripathi et al 2012: 3).
Innovations promoting collective action such as community-managed savings, credit
groups and water sharing committees enhance women smallholders (and
smallholder farmers in general) through economies of scale, greater bargaining
power, facilitating access to agricultural services and strengthening political voice
(ibid 2012: 3).
Linked to the previous section where it is argued that the government and related
agents should strive to provide adequate financial services and credit to smallholder
farmers. It is crucial that a deliberate effort is made to close the financial gap that
exists in SSA where men have higher access to credit than women. As the FAO
report (2011: 53) states: ‘Giving women equal rights to enter financial contracts is a
crucial first step in countries where legal and customary restrictions prevent women
from opining savings accounts, taking loans or buying insurance policies in their own
rights’. Technological innovations have the ability to improve this and should be
further promoted by governments and invested in by private companies (ibid 2011:
53, Tripathi et al 2012: 8).
Another area needing to be addressed, particularly by governments is the unequal
property rights that exist in SSA countries. It means men and women have
difference incentives to invest in inputs and to manage the land on which agricultural
production relies on (Ashby et al 2009: 2). Women are less likely to invest inputs in
agriculture land because at the end of the day, their efforts will be expropriated by a
male member of the household. Unequal opportunity rights can be seen as a missed
opportunity to increase agricultural productivity (Ibid 2009: 2). An active effort to
change property right laws will address this issue. Yet again, any deliberations must
be made with extensive cooperation and communication with the local and rural
communities involving both men and women.
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Regional Liberalisation and Integration for Agricultural Development
‘Trade enables farmers to capitalize on the economic potential of their produce,
helping to turn agriculture into one of the most important contributors to income
generation and pro-poor growth’ (Rampa 2012: 1)
It is necessary for this dissertation to comment on the macroeconomic position SSA
states should adopt in order to be conducive to agricultural development. This
dissertation advocates that SSA should make a deliberate effort to involve
themselves with regional integration which includes more liberal macroeconomic
policies within Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (REC’s).This dissertation
has developed a simple development cycle to illustrate the benefits of member
states committing to regional and continental initiatives and organisations because
‘policies and markets need to be developed on the regional and continental levels for
Africa to be able to respond to growth opportunities related to international markets
and to its own food demand’ (Rampa 2012: 1).
Policy coordination
and assistance
Continental
Initiatives and
organisations e.g.
CAADP, NGOS
Increase in
investments, trade and
demand for national
goods and services. A
reduction in poverty
and a rise in GDP as a
result. Gain in
knowledge from
research organisations
etc.
Member
State
37
Regional Initiatives
and organisations,
e.g.
ECOWAS/ECOWA
P
Time, finances,
personnel,
information
David Makeni Tarawali
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The cycle starts with the member states of REC’s and the AU. Member states
commit time, finances, information and personnel to regional and continental
initiatives and organisations. This enables these initiatives and organisations to do
their jobs efficiently and effectively. At the regional level, ‘efforts are needed to
ensure policy harmonization, reduce non-tariff barriers, reduce border formalities and
corruption, address problems of currency transfers, and capitalize on the economies
of scale in infrastructure’ (World Bank 2008: 112). In addition, NGOs including those
where interviews were conducted also need to work close together in order to be as
efficient and effective in their usage of resources and giving of assistance to member
states as Jimmy Smith (Director General of ILRI), when asked the question ‘What
can be done to ensure greater efficiency between various agricultural centres around
the world?’ answered ‘more planning and communication I would say’. In return for
the member states efforts, as the diagram indicates, they receive assistance of
various sorts and knowledge and information from latest research. In addition, due to
the liberal economic climate within REC’s, investments are increased and there is an
increase in demand for goods and services of the member state. Relating to
agriculture, this involves a rise in demand for smallholder farmers’ products resulting
in a rise in income for many of the rural poor.
Strong regional integration is required in Africa because individual countries alone in
SSA cannot address certain challenges (including globalisation) and tap important
opportunities (Rampa 2012: 1). As the World Bank report (2008: 111) states: ‘greater
regional integration and opening regional markets can be important in regions with
many small economies’ (like SSA). Yet Africa is still a net importer of agricultural
products with only 20-25% of local production marketed and intra-African agricultural
exports accounting for only 19% of total intra African exports (Rampa 2012: 1).
Markets within national boundaries in SSA are often too small to justify investments
(Rampa 2012: 2); yet regional liberalisation and integration, as the development
cycle indicates will result in an increase in investments.
In West Africa several countries in the ECOWAS region have become accustomed
to relying on cheap imports to feed their people, mainly from developed countries.
However, their exports then fetch less on international markets and regional produce
has to compete with cheap imports generated by the subsidies given to producers in
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developed countries (ECOWAS 2008: 3). Therefore developing countries in SSA,
instead of looking to the West for cheap imports, should aim to make importing from
neighbouring countries cheaper and easier. The World Bank (2008: 103) states:
‘Developed-country agricultural policies cost developing countries about 17 billion a
year’, a cost equivalent to about five times the current levels of overseas
development assistance to agriculture. SSA through regional integration can stand
against these pressures.
Therefore obstacles to regional trade need to be removed, and liberal policies,
conducive of a business environment need to be promoted and implemented. This
requires cooperation at the national, as well as regional level. As Rampa (2012: 2)
asks: ‘what is the point of increasing agricultural productivity if those goods cannot
move smoothly across borders between areas and countries where there is a
production surplus and those where there are deficits?’ In many cases, moving the
produce more efficiently requires better roads from one country to another, faster
clearance of the goods at customs, removing trade barriers like tariffs and
unnecessarily different quality standards between neighbours, all of which can only
be tackled through regional cooperation.
Conclusion
Therefore this policy recommendation chapter has advocated that SSA governments
and related NGOs place smallholder farmers at the top of their agricultural
development agendas. In addition, any policies implemented should have the
objective of integrating women into the agricultural system and markets. Broader
economic stance of SSA states needs to be considered. Increased agricultural
productivity through agricultural development in SSA regions needs to reach markets
and move from areas of surplus to those of deficits to reduce the number of
malnourished and create demand for agricultural products. Bearing in mind that
boundaries between states in the region are to an extent the border lines placed
upon Africans during the colonial period as chapter 2 discusses, there should be an
urge from African decision makers to collectively make use of vast resources and
areas and promote trade within the regional blocks to enhance the well-being of their
people. Regional integration, agricultural development, and in particular intra-African
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agricultural trade, offer a great potential for food security and pro-poor growth in
Africa, if they can work in synergy, especially at the regional level (Rampa 2012: 2).
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Conclusion
This dissertation has argued that AD should be at the forefront of SSA government’s
development agendas because, unlike growth in other development sectors, it has
the ability drastically lift the rural poor out of poverty. Justification for studying the
topic stems from moral, economic, security and environmental arguments
demonstrated in the first chapter. From a personal point of view, the topic was
additionally attractive due to personal ties with the region and first hand exposures to
the issue of poverty in SSA.
Many previous attempts to eradicate poverty were based on Eurocentric
development theories, not developed by Africans themselves and without stressing
the importance of making the poor destine their own poverty-free pathway. This
dissertation develops its own development theory, bearing the above flaws in mind.
In addition it develops a development cycle aimed to demonstrate the benefits of
regional and continental integration and liberalisation.
Ghana serves as an excellent case study because, in accordance with much of what
this dissertation argues, their experiences with agricultural development and focus
on smallholder farmers have been very positive. it demonstrates that the arguments
put forward by the dissertation have the potential to be successful in reducing
poverty. In addition, the interview answers received from scientists in the field of
agriculture, who have first-hand experiences and vast knowledge of agricultural
development add weight to theoretical arguments of how AD has the ability to affect
poverty rates in SSA.
The final chapter recommends two important policies that SSA states should make
deliberate efforts to focus on. As stated in the chapter, there are many other
agriculture policies that these states could and should also focus on. The two broad
policies outlined are seen by the dissertation as uncontroversial and solid policies
with huge potential for economic gains to the poorest in SSA. Importantly, the
dissertation also comments on the external economic stance SSA states should
commit to in order to provide the agriculture with a necessary economic environment
to thrive as a sector. This includes a liberal stance towards neighbouring states to
promote regional integration and an involvement with regional and continental
initiatives and organisations (e.g. CAADP).
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A key consideration is that if the external economic environment changes do the
arguments and deliberations of this dissertation still uphold? As we have witnessed
with the recent global financial crisis, the economic situation in the Western world
does have the ability to hurt the economies of SSA. However, the impact does not
reach unprecedented levels due to the lack of integration of SSA in world markets.
Nevertheless, a downturn in the external economic environment (as we have seen)
makes the arguments in this dissertation increasingly necessary and valid. This is
because the downturn in world economies with has greatest impact on the poorest in
Africa. This means that there will need to be more of a focus on these poor. If the
external environment improves, arguments still prove valid as in order to make the
most of economic opportunities, SSA will need to reduce inequality levels through
reducing poverty and use the higher bargaining power of REC’s to trade effectively
with the world.
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