The authors of this paper argue that Tanzania has the potential to substantially increase its maize exports to other countries, if global maize production falls due to supply shocks in major exporting regions. Tanzania may be able to export more maize at higher prices, even if it also experiences below-trend productivity. Future climate predictions suggest that some of Tanzania’s trading partners will experience severe dry conditions that may reduce agricultural production in years when Tanzania is only mildly affected. Tanzania could thus export grain to countries as climate change increases the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in other countries while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in Tanzania. Trade restrictions, like export bans, prevent Tanzania from taking advantage of these opportunities, foregoing significant economic benefits.
Poverty and health
As the drought in the Horn of Africa, deepens, Oxfam has extended its famine relief programmes in Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya with a mixture of emergency aid, long-term development and prevention, and advocacy to address the root causes of chronic drought. Nearly five million Ethiopians are affected by the crisis. Oxfam is scaling up its response in Ethiopia to reach 700,000 people by helping communities look for more sustainable sources of water, drilling boreholes, developing motorised water schemes and improving traditional water harvesting systems. In the driest and worst affected areas Oxfam has been trucking in emergency water supplies to over 69,000 people, which is treated and used for drinking, cooking, washing and keeping animals alive. Community health workers are also conducting public campaigns to help stop the spread of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea. In Kenya, 4.3 million people are affected by the crisis – mainly in the southern agricultural areas and the northern pastoralist regions, such as Turkana and Wajir. People in these areas rely on their livestock as their main source of income and nutrition, but the drought has left the animals weak, dying and hard to sell. Oxfam’s “de-stocking” programme buys up some of the weakest goats and, sheep and slaughters the animals to provide meat to the community. About 900,000 vulnerable animals – belonging to 18,000 families – are also benefiting from Oxfam’s veterinarian and de-worming programmes.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Kristalina Georgieva, has endorsed the Charter to End Extreme Hunger, launched by leading agencies to make deadly food crises like the one gripping East Africa a thing of the past, saying “We need to pre-empt crises, rather than reacting when the disaster hits.” The first leader to sign this charter was Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and later other leaders including UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell endorsed it. Georgieva’s public engagement came as part of a debate, held by aid groups Caritas Europa, Oxfam, Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) and ONE, which took place in December 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The event organisers are calling on the European Union (EU) as a whole, including the European Commission and EU member states, to take action on three fronts. 1. Launch a pan-European initiative for the Horn Africa, involving all EU member states, that mobilises substantial funds for recovery and longer-term assistance to ensure families can feed themselves now and rebuild their futures. 2. Invest more in building people’s resilience by supporting local food production. Supporting local, small-scale farmers and pastoralists is argued to be one of the best ways to mitigate the effects of climate change and soaring food prices. To do so, the authors observe that the EU must boost these investments within the next seven-year EU budget. 3. Launch a new flexible tool that ensures there is no money gap between emergency aid and long-term assistance when a humanitarian crisis strikes.
Malawi's maize-growing central and southern regions have not had good rains, prompting concerns about possible shortages of the staple in the coming months. With maize plants still in the early stages of growth, there is concern the crop might not be ready for harvest at the usual time in April-May. Maize meal prices climbed by more than 60% in the last four months of 2011 due to fuel and foreign currency shortages. An input subsidy programme in recent years had helped Malawi become self-sufficient in maize, with 40% funded externally. The government has tried to control the maize price increase by increasing the price of maize sold through the state grain marketer, ADMARC, and to set a controlled price to discourage traders from buying through ADMARC and reselling. United Nations agencies are reported as saying however that ADMARC itself has played a role in price increases.
Endowed with 80 million hectares of arable land (of which only 10% is used), diverse climatic conditions, and abundant water resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the potential to become the breadbasket of the entire African continent, according to this paper. Instead, the country is one of the most affected by malnutrition. The DRC has the highest number of undernourished persons in Africa and the highest prevalence of malnutrition in the world. As a result, child stunting and infant mortality rates in the DRC are also among the highest in the world. Overall, at least 50% of the population is deficient in vitamin B12, calories, riboflavin, iron, vitamin E, folate, and zinc. In rural areas, strategies to improve nutrition will need to use instruments that attack malnutrition directly rather than relying simply on rising incomes. Overall, the results highlight the paradox of the DRC - a country with huge potential for agricultural development but incapable of feeding itself in terms of both quantity and quality of nutrients.
In the context of rapid urbanisation in Democratic Republic of Congo, increasing population density in Kinshasa is associated with inequalities, poverty, environmental degradation, socio-economic tension, spontaneous settlements and sprawl. Rapid urban growth without planning in some areas and with limited employment underlies negative health outcomes. The author points to sustainable urbanisation as a priority, with a need to reconsider urbanisation processes to stimulate economic growth and mobilise resources at local, national and global levels. In this paper, the author reviews approaches to urban planning that balance development and the transformation of the city. He presents urban renewal as remedial action holding opportunities to improve environmental and social quality.
The number of people living in urban areas is rising rapidly in Southern Africa. By mid-century, the region is expected to be 60% urban. Rapid urbanisation is leading to growing food insecurity in the region’s towns and cities. This paper presents the results of the first ever regional study of the prevalence of food insecurity in Southern Africa. The AFSUN food security household survey was conducted simultaneously in 2008-9 in 11 cities in eight Southern African Development Community countries. The results confirm high levels of food insecurity amongst the urban poor in terms of food availability, accessibility, reliability and dietary diversity. The survey provides important insights into the causes of food insecurity and the kinds of households that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. It also shows the heavy reliance of urban poor people on informal food sources and the growing importance of supermarket chains.
The new international food security agenda focuses almost exclusively on raising food production by small rural farmers (something that has preoccupied rural development ‘experts’ for decades without success). The authors of this paper argue that there is a very real danger that this approach will be transferred uncritically to urban areas in the form of technical inputs for poor urban households to grow more food for themselves and for market. There is already an emerging focus on the “technical” aspects of urban farming and how these can be supported and enhanced through strategic interventions such as the promotion and adoption of innovative and appropriate urban farming technologies. However, as elsewhere, such technocratic ‘solutions’ are likely to fail if they do not first examine why so few poor households in southern Africa currently grow any of their own food. Agriculture is rarely recognised as a legitimate land use activity in urban plans or municipal designs. For urban farmers, this means that land is scarce and they often ruffle the feathers of officials and police by establishing their farming activities wherever they can, and urban farmers are often harassed by municipal authorities. The authors conclude that comprehensive, systematic research into the links between urban agriculture, food security and health/nutrition could go a long way to easing such institutional and political obstacles so that city farming can meet its full potential in Southern Africa.
In Africa, agricultural land covers less than 15% of the land area, yet demand from transnational companies is increasing for arable terrain. This demand is driven by the assumption that biofuels are a viable long-term solution to current energy and ecological challenges, combined with a decline in land allocated to agriculture in developed countries. The inclusion of biofuels as part of the green economy agenda jeopardises the immediate and long-term food security of many regions in the developing world, according to this paper. In sub-Saharan Africa, rising food prices, land grabs, and precarious and informal labour conditions are key social threats linked to the emphasis on biofuel production. In Africa, a region already under pressure from population growth, famine, drought and conflict, increases in biofuel production and concomitant land grabs can only contribute to weakening food security and keeping achievement of the Millennium Development Goals far beyond reach.
This study aimed to assess the effect of nutritional supplementation to HIV infected lactating mothers on nutritional and health status of mothers and their infants. It took the form of a randomised controlled clinical trial to study the impact of nutritional supplementation on breastfeeding mothers. Measurements included anthropometry; body composition indicators; CD4 count, haemoglobin and albumin; as well as incidence rates of opportunistic infections; depression and quality of life scores. Infant measurements included anthropometry, development and rates of infections.c The researchers found that the supplement made no significant impact on any maternal or infant outcomes. However in the small group of mothers with low BMI, the intake of supplement was significantly associated with preventing loss of lean body mass. There was no significant impact of supplementation on the infants.