Topic: Sustainable approaches to poverty reduction through smallholder agricultural development in rural South Africa and Kenya
Statement of the problem
The majority of the poor in Africa, and indeed the whole world, live in rural areas. It is estimated that 2.5 billion people in the developing world derive their livelihoods from agricultural production. Besides direct dependence on agriculture for livelihood are the strong links it has on other sectors of the economy (Maxwell, 2004). However agricultural performance in Africa, and especially sub-Saharan Africa, has failed to keep pace with population growth. Cereal production from 1961 to 2001 increased from 40-116 million tonnes, 80 % of the increase came from expanding the area under cultivation rather than an increase in yields per hectare, which increased only from 0.8 to 1.2 tonnes. This is a rather dismal performance compared to the Asian region where cereal output increased from 309 to 962 million tonnes over the same period, clearly outstripping population growth by far with an average increase from 1.2 to 3.3 tonnes per hectare (Wiggins, 2006). In the current global economic crisis, hundreds of millions are hungry and dying in smallholder farm families in Sub-Saharan Africa. By improving agricultural production in smallholder areas, it is possible to fight poverty in three ways: increased food production, therefore, lowering food prices; raising the income of the poorest in these areas; and reducing poverty through commercialization of subsistence agriculture according to the Ad Hoc Advisory group, (2009).
The majority of Sub-Saharan Africa’s small-scale farmers, Kenya and South Africa included, own less than two hectares, where they either grow crops or rear livestock in dire need of improvement. They lack basic inputs such as fertilizer, improved seeds, adequate extension services, water management, inadequate or total lack of transport and veterinary care for their livestock, and the inevitable low morale. This has consequently led them to perverse poverty. Governments, NGOs, private players, and donors, in the last two decades, have cut aid for agricultural production. This has resulted in a food crisis and extreme poverty which has also been accelerated by human-induced climate change (Jayne et al, 2001).
The inspiration for agriculture-led poverty reduction comes from the success story of the Green Revolution in Asia. For the past three decades; the region has recorded economic growth and structural transformation. Poverty is estimated to have reduced from 50% in the 1970s to 18% in 2004 and hunger from 30% to 16% in the same period. The success of the Green Revolution is pegged on the development high yielding varieties of rice and wheat, improved access to fertilizer through subsidies, financial access, improved infrastructure, and development of new technologies through research and extension, and market intervention. The set is now ready for a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa and the governments are very supportive of this as shown by NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) (Ad Hoc Advisory Group, 2009).
In South Africa, 40 to 50 percent of people live in poverty and 25 percent of these live in extreme poverty. Poverty is more prevalent in rural areas especially former homelands. 65 % of the poor are found in rural areas and 78% of them are chronically poor. Though the country is classified as upper-middle-income, poverty is prevalent due to disparity in income distribution between the poor and the rich. This is the reason the government has formulated a broad-based policy, the Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003 (Machethe, 2004). In Kenya more than half of the population (53%) is poor and of these, three-quarters live in rural areas. The poorest of the poor live in arid and semiarid areas which comprise a big chunk of the country. The majority of the poor in the country are smallholder farmers in rural areas. These are characterized by low agricultural production, unemployment and low wages, poor access to financing, bad roads, and poor governance among other things (Swallow, 2003). This study is carried out in rural South Africa and particularly in the 138 smallholder irrigation schemes in Limpopo province and seven smallholder irrigation schemes in the Eastern Province of Kenya. The study expects that farming contributes the greatest chunk of incomes for poor households. For the rich households, non-farm incomes contribute more to their income which is mostly pension and wages.
The UN Comprehensive Framework for Action on the Global Food Security Crisis has stressed the need to improve smallholder food production. This is in the aim of feeding the vulnerable communities and implementing sustainable policies and measures for the growth of agricultural production by both the private and public sectors. This paper proposes sustainable enabling measures to poverty reduction through smallholder agricultural development both in long term and short term (Irz et al, 2001).
Research objective
To suggest and implement sustainable approaches and policies to poverty reduction through improved agricultural production in smallholder irrigation schemes in Limpopo Province, South Africa in Province, and in Eastern Province, Kenya.
Summary of the methodology to be used
The study will take on a participatory research methodology. This means that data and information will be collected from respondents in the study areas and those involved in small irrigation schemes. The research project will use several methods to generate the required data to inform the objectives of the study. A review of the literature on the subject and the issues related to the areas of study will be done. Data will also be collected from the sample population using both open-ended and structured questionnaires. Interviews with various stakeholders will also be conducted. Group focus discussions will be used which will bring different stakeholders on board in order to gain information and learn from all perspectives. There will also be the use of theater and photography and video materials in information gathering and learning.
Country in which the project will take place – South Africa in Limpopo Province and Kenya in Eastern Province.
Works Cited
Ad Hoc Advisory Group. Smallholder Food Production and Poverty Reduction: Principles for a financial coordination Mechanism to support Smallholder Farmers. A Report, 2009. Web.
Irz, Xavier, Lin, Lin, Thirtle, Christopher., Wiggins, Steve. Agricultural Growth and Poverty Alleviation. Development Policy Review, 2001, 19 (4), 449-466.
Jayne, T.S., Yamano, Takashi, Weber, Michael, Tschirley, David, Benfica, Rui, Neven, David, Chapoto, Anthony., and Zulu, Ballard. Smallholder Income and Land Distribution in Africa: Implications for Poverty Reduction Strategies. International Development Paper 24, East Lansing, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, 2001.
Machethe, Charles. L. Agriculture and Poverty in South Africa: Can Agriculture Reduce Poverty? Presentation at the Overcoming Underdevelopment Conference held in Pretoria, 2004.
Maxwell, Steve. New directions for Agriculture in Reducing Poverty. Essay to launch DFID Consultation, 2004. Web.
Swallow, Brent. Fractal Poverty traps: Implications for poverty reduction in Kenya. World Agroforestry Center, 2003. Web.
Wiggins, Steve. IDRC Working papers on globalization, growth and poverty: Agricultural Growth and poverty reduction: A scoping Study. IDRC, March, 2006.