As it is well known, agriculture serves a huge role in sustaining the growth and reducing poverty in developing countries. It is important in the Sub-Saharan Africa as it's about two-thirds of the population rely on it for employment and food. The sector of agriculture has been termed as the backbone of developing countries as it contributes to the GDP where employment and income are generated to bring growth and development (Phillip, 2011). Over the years, agricultural productivity has received much attention through strategies that aim at resolving the problem issues of low production. It has become evident that more than 80% of the poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa largely depend on the agricultural sector for their livelihood. However, despite this reliance agriculture in this region has been characterized by extremely low yields due to factors such as poor access to services, lack of knowledge and inputs as well low levels of investments in the infrastructure and irrigation sectors (Phillip, 2011).
Similarly, high population rates in these regions have led to increased pressure on the production of agriculture and natural resources which brings about another challenge in eradication of poverty. There have also been challenged in the potential climatic changes as they affect the future of agriculture in the Sub-Saharan region. Changes in climatic conditions have a huge effect on the livelihood of people as they cause deterioration of the people’s lives. These factors have been analyzed in terms of their significance to improve agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, this paper will discuss the factors of low agricultural production and productivity levels in the region and bring out the causes of these effects. This will be followed by instances where low agricultural productivity has been observed. In addition to this, paper will focus on bringing out the recommended actions that should be put in place to elevate the situation.
The factors that lead to low agricultural production and productivity levels in Sub-Saharan Africa occur due to the fact that many of the farmers in this region use low yielding techniques and technology. The policy makers are also torn between the issues whether they should make the agricultural sector more efficient in achieving more output with the current levels of input or whether they should use less input than the one which is currently observed. These issues require proper identification of the behaviors of productivity and its components. Evidence has shown that the Sub-Saharan region is one of the major parts where poverty has increased over the years while human development indicators have become worse (Onduru, 2007). These conditions have been characterized by the crisis in the agricultural sector where production of staple food both in the rural and urban areas. It is the only region in the world where agricultural output per capita has declined over the years or even stagnated. This is evidenced through the low levels cereal production which has declined in the recent years than it was in the past (Onduru, 2007).
Researchers have made attempts to determine lower levels of production rates in Sub-Saharan Africa where they conducted a study in 10 countries within this region. This study aimed at establishing the efficiencies in the indexes used as well as the total factor productivity within the region. It involved records of agricultural production indices based on the years between 1972 and 1991, the population in the rural areas, the number of technological facilities used, fertilizer usage and well as the agricultural areas which were acquired from the FAO research databases. This study involved particular output and input specifications where the agricultural production index was given at the level of the aggregate volume of agricultural production in every year (Growth and productivity in agriculture and agribusiness: Evaluative lessons from World Bank Group experience, 2011). It involved the total sum of quantities weighed in terms of price in the different agricultural commodities produced after deductions of quantities used. The input factors used included labor, the land, fertilizer and technology used.
The results from this study indicated that the agricultural sector failed to utilize the growing size of the components. It also indicated that change in technical aspects has been the main constraint of achievement of high levels of total factor productivity. The results from the study portrayed a situation where there was the inability of the region’s agriculture to maintain the contributions in the overall growth process across the region. Factors such as reduced food and agricultural production had stagnated with a decline in the social aspects and marginalization in the world. It also became clear that there needed to be efforts to curb the reduced factors of production and productivity all across the region. Similarly, there have been more efforts made where African governments have engaged in organizations such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which collaborates with FAO to provide African countries with opportunities for renewed and strategic plans that aim at changing the stagnant rates of economic growth. They also target to elevate the low agricultural production and reduced rates of productivity, food insecurity and poverty levels in the Sub-Saharan region (Growth and productivity in agriculture and agribusiness: Evaluative lessons from World Bank Group experience, 2011).
This has been made possible due to the adoption of policies for agricultural and rural development where the organizations are given about 10% of national budgetary resources to implement their plans in the agricultural sector (Diao, 2012). These organizations estimate the aggregate agricultural output in this region by measuring it in common units such as dollars, wheat units or the most common one purchasing power parity. The most convenient measurements are acquired through the wheat unit due to the effects of annual price fluctuations that affect the agricultural value added. The non-conventional factors were that included the private and public agricultural sectors of education, infrastructure, government programs and policies, as well as, the environmental degradation were analyzed in terms of their contribution to the agricultural sector. The factors that lead to agricultural production and productivity included low levels of education where the rural people were mostly illiterate (Diao, 2012).
Similarly, the public agricultural research sector did not provide sufficient information for the farmers who can use it to develop their agricultural techniques. Most of the farmers use traditional methods of farming and do not use essential components such as fertilizer in their agricultural activities (Edmonds, 2009). This leads to poor products that cannot sustain the people. In addition to this, it leads to low products that are not enough for the members living in the rural areas. Most of the agricultural production done in the Sub-Saharan region is meant for providing food for domestic purposes and most of them do not engage in trade activities. This lowers the productivity level as most of them practice agriculture on a small scale (Edmonds, 2009). Similarly, people in the Sub-Saharan regions lack proper channels of delivering their products to the markets as the public infrastructure is not convenient. The roads, communication strategies and utilities available are very poor thus most of the products end up being used as staple foods for domestic purposes.
The productivity of agriculture in the Sub-Saharan region is also affected by output and input prices that have huge effects on the technology used by the farmers. Most of the agricultural tools such as fertilizers, technology which entails the use of tractors to plough the land are very expensive and rare in these regions. Therefore, farmers use manual labor to till their land and utilize other forms of farming such as manure to generate their crops (Diao, 2012). Laborers are also hard to find as many people have moved to urban places in search of better opportunities. This leaves the old and poor people in the rural areas that are not energetic enough to work on the farms. These aspects lead to low productivity as farmers have limited access to the marketing opportunities (Diao, 2012). Lack of transportation and efficiency in delivering the goods has brought about the severe effects as most of the products fail to get to the designated places. Similarly, lack of proper storage facilities has affected productivity in Sub-Saharan areas most of the products obtained get wasted as they are spoilt. Most farmers get devastated by this and end up reducing the production in order to avoid immense wastage (Diao, 2012).
Incidentally, low production and productivity levels have been recorded within the region due to government policies and programs that affect agriculture. Farmers may produce agricultural products as required by the prices they get for them disappoints them as they incur losses. The taxes and subsidies set up by government institutions affect the prices used to purchase products and thus few returns (Onduru, 2007). They also affect the prices of the tools and components used to facilitate agriculture which in turn leads to losses. Many farmers prefer selling their products to middle men who give them better prices for their products or keep them for consumption. The exchange rates for exportation of goods also affect the productivity levels as farmers would rather keep their goods than sell them to the outside world for meager pay (Onduru, 2007).
Another factor that leads to low productivity levels in the Sub-Saharan region is that there are many instances of environmental degradation and activities that reduce the ability of soil to produce food. These activities include: mining, pastoralist, deforestation just to mention but a few. Deforestation involves cutting down of trees that are used as fuel among the communities in this region (Edmonds, 2009). It leads to soil erosion where the productive soil is washed away, and thus no crops are obtained. Similarly, cutting of trees also brings about low levels of rainfall that is necessary for crop production. These factors reduce the levels of productivity as the soil is not able to generate crops at high standards. On the other hand, mining has led to degradation of the soil as minerals and other chemical substances get spilled on the soil thus lowering its ability to yield crops (Edmonds, 2009). Similarly, climatic changes are another cause of low levels of productivity and production where studies indicate that areas under irrigation and rain fed are expected to decrease due to changes in climate. This leads to significant observations where there is a 0.7 % increase in the areas that receive rainfall while the irrigated areas were expected to have a decrease of about 15.3% due to climatic changes (Edmonds, 2009). The GDP also gets negatively affected by climatic changes as it reduces the level and quality of food produced. This leads to malnutrition of children in the Sub-Saharan region. Studies have indicated that the GDP of these regions will most likely drop by about 0.2% over the next years if something is not done. These results will be similar to the number of malnourished children aged 5 years and below. If proper measures are not in place to eradicate changes in the climate the prices of foods in the next few years will increase for both domestic and foreign markets (Edmonds, 2009).
Additionally, low agricultural production and productivity occurs due to increased rate of the population in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year more and more children are born while the rates of production keep declining. The large population thus consumes most of the food produced and limits the chances for participation in the production process. Therefore, there are low levels of productivity as the country does not provide anything that can be measured as their GDP. This brings about instances of reliance on foreign aid as the country fails to sustain its activities economically and has to be assisted. The current rates of population increase are alarming as it estimated that if it continues there will be more morbidity rates due to lack of food.
Other factors that lead to low production and productivity levels in the Sub-Saharan Africa are that agriculture is characterized by various constraints that hinder growth. Lack of important aspects such as political stability, improved physical infrastructure in the institutional environment, leads to limitations in the intervention in isolation of the returns expected due to the fact that other constraints may emerge. The productivity in terms of labor is also lower as the public resources meant to serve the needs of the laborers are limited. Other external factors such as reduced fallow periods by farmers may bring about soil erosion that would result in sedimentation and increased risks of floods to farmers. These issues require the proper intervention of government structures as well as other entities that would elevate the poverty levels in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Governments should standardize the prices and ensure fixed prices for goods meant to be exported in order to limit fluctuations in the exchange rates of currency. They should also adopt various competitive practices that help in administering the key players in the markets as well as all levels of the chain. The prices for output and input products should be regulated to serve the farmers and enable them to access these essential commodities for them to yield more products. This should be accompanied by improved levels of infrastructure which would in turn enhance the availability of information and accessibility of markets appropriately. In addition to this, farmers should be adequately equipped with the proper tools that would improve their farming activities. This includes more education of the proper farming techniques as well as the appropriate structures which would bring more products. Government institutions should be put in place to provide better tips on how farmers can improve their farms in order to produce more products.
Additionally, the financial markets should ensure that they respond to market needs for financing trade and inventory to ensure that the products are sold at the right prices and bring profits to the people. The government should also focus on establishing policies such as companies that would employ people in rural areas depending on their levels of education (Phillip, 2011). This would in turn require them to acquire education which would elevate the poor conditions. Local industries should be established near rural areas in order to access the products effectively and reduce waste. This would boost the economy as farmers would engage in large scale farming to produce more agricultural products for trade (Phillip, 2011) Similarly, the farmers should increase the areas of irrigation in their farms to ensure more productivity, which should be coupled with an increase in total crop production and small decreases in the price of some agricultural commodities. Farmers should focus on the production of more cereal foods and meat production in order to provide a variety in the staple food for consumption (Philip, 2011). This would also ensure availability of food over long periods even during harsh climatic changes.
The other factor that should be considered in order to increase agricultural production and productivity levels in the Sub-Saharan Africa is adoption of other forms of energy and fuel (Phillip, 2011). People should invent other forms of fuel such as gas obtained from waste resources instead of cutting down trees. Deforestation is expected to increase in about 2.3% in the next few years if people continue using charcoal for fuel. This should be countered with the planting of more trees and conserving the environment in order to avoid climatic changes (Phillip, 2011). Developing countries such as those in the Sub-Saharan region has been observed to have increased rates of polluting the environment with industries emitting huge amounts of carbon dioxide and chemical products into rivers. These should be regulated by using crucial invention procedures such as recycling to conserve the environment. The government should also help in regulating the mortality rates by initiating programs where people especially in the rural areas should be taught on family planning (Phillip, 2011).
These activities should be accompanied by the establishment of incentives that regulate the level of gas emissions in industries and mining companies. Employment should be increased at all levels of the economy where rural-migration should be controlled. This would reduce the productivity and technical efficiency gap and adoption of the mixture between physical and social-cultural factors that are responsible for constraining productivity of the agricultural sector in the countries within Sub-Saharan Africa.
References
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Diao, X. (2012). Strategies and priorities for African agriculture: Economy wide perspectives from country studies. Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Ecoregional Program for the Humid and SubHumid Tropics of Sub-Saharan Africa, & Atayi, E. A. (2003). Strategies for farming systems development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Proceedings of the Ecoregional Program for the Humid and SubHumid Tropics of Sub-Saharan Africa (EPHTA) Scientific Workshop : IITA, Ibadan : 17-20 November 1998. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.
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