91. In reality, producer productivity and efficiency are not the sole ingredients of competitiveness. To a great extent competitiveness is determined by the quality of the overall domestic environment, which government is instrumental in creating[2]. Domestic competitiveness can be assessed in part by examining how government shapes the domestic playing field (through public finance, fiscal policy, institutional framework and sectoral legislation). Another key factor to consider is the extent to which basic technological, scientific and human resources meet the needs of producers. In addition, the social characteristics of a nation, including history, value systems and tradition, contribute to the ability of a country to compete under the growing economic imperative of the world markets. With this in mind, the following section briefly describes the main characteristics of the prevailing economic, social and political conditions under which African farmers operate and trade.
92. Low levels of agricultural production and stagnating trends in productivity have led to disappointing African export performance, increasing food supply gaps and imports and food aid. Africa's share of world trade has dropped significantly, from 3.1 in the 1950s to 1.2 percent in the 1990s, giving way to other developing regions such as Asia. In the 1960s, the region accounted for 10.8 percent of world agricultural exports and 4.3 percent of agricultural imports. In the 1990s Africa's shares were 3.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
93. Agriculture accounts for 24 percent of the African GDP, 70 percent of the continent's employment and 40 percent of its foreign earnings. In 2000 about 56 percent of the African population (431 million people) depended on agriculture for their livelihoods. Despite the importance of agriculture to most African economies, the sector remains heavily dependent on the weather, inefficient backward technologies and a poor and illiterate workforce that is overwhelmed, in some countries, by civil strife and disease outbreaks.
94. Africa is the only region of the developing world where the average food production per capita has been declining over the last 40 years. Recurrent and increasingly frequent droughts, prolonged dry spells and floods have undermined optimism and raised doubts about the sustainability of rising crop yields and ensuring the continuity in food supply (particularly cereals). Livestock production, a major part of the agricultural system of Africa, has performed below expectations, despite considerable effort in some countries to improve livestock production. The situation is disastrous in terms of revenues from livestock exploitation. For instance, in Burkina Faso, the national average of cattle carcass weight is less than 110 kg, compared with 300 kg in Europe. Milk production is insufficient to meet the increasing local demand; therefore imports have increased sixfold since 1996.
95. According to FAO estimates, the prevalence of food insecurity, as measured by the proportion of undernourished people, was above 20 percent in only a few countries and over 40 percent in 17 out of 45 countries. Recent FAO estimates (1998 - 2000) show that overall, 33 percent of Africa's population is undernourished, compared with 17 percent in Asia & the Pacific, 11 percent in Latin America, 7 percent in the Caribbean, 9 percent in the Near East and 7 percent in North Africa. The number of undernourished children doubled since 1970. The large majority of the poor and hungry population (around 70 percent) lives in rural areas. Although the percentage of undernourished people in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall to 22 percent by 2015, the absolute number may actually increase (from 180 million in 1995-1997 to 184 million). Poverty, inequality, vulnerability and unemployment data indicate that about half of the population in Africa (some 300 million) lives on less than one dollar per day and therefore do not have access to an adequate diet (evaluation based on the international poverty line developed by the World Bank).
96. Local crises and conflict significantly influence the countries' ability to produce and export goods competitively. With about 20 percent of the population in Africa living in countries ravaged by civil strife or conflict, and considering there are four million African refugees, it has been difficult during the postcolonial era for many countries to advance economically and socially despite a substantial natural resource endowment.
97. A low level of overall social development in Africa is an obstacle to the expansion of agriculture. Hunger, infant mortality and low life expectancy in Africa have been taking a heavy toll on the region's economic growth rate. Primary school enrolments in Africa have stagnated at levels below those attained 20 years ago.
98. Public health issues are also a major and costly concern, both socially and economically. Lack of access to safe drinking water is still a major threat to health in rural areas in Africa. The severity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has massive impacts on labour productivity[3], increases health costs, erodes existing and future human capacity in all arenas and ultimately curtails economic growth. Meeting the demands of impoverished rural populations that do not equitably benefit from information, education and health services will therefore require explicit consideration in policy-making under NEPAD and national priorities and donor initiatives.
99. Africa has yet to develop the means to effectively link education with research and extension activities. In many African countries these activities are organized separately and are not well coordinated. Although South Africa is an exception, the following characteristics apply to many African countries. Research capacity is mainly weak and dispersed and human scientific skills are patchy. Stocks and flows of new knowledge are low, and the organization of research and related education leaves much to be desired. Furthermore, there is no culture that places research and systematic enquiry at the core of development planning and policy-making.
100. Government policy bias against agriculture contributed greatly to that sector's decreasing productivity in Africa. In most African countries in the postcolonial era, the policy environment has been generally inconsistent and unstable. Shifts in policy paradigms have failed to overcome challenges to the sector as a whole and have failed to provide guidance for appropriate interventions. During the late 1970s and early 1980s most countries in Africa adopted food security strategies that focused on achieving food self-sufficiency, using policies designed to maximize domestic output of staples and its marketed surplus. The adopted measures entailed intense and direct involvement of the state in production, marketing and trade. Pan-territorial price policies were adopted and state marketing boards were established, which dominated the output markets in many African countries. In addition, governments reserved full control over the procurement and distribution of fertilizer and seeds. These policies were costly and inefficient, placing a heavy burden on government budgets.
101. Failure of such policies brought about shifts (during the past two decades) to policy reforms under structural adjustment and macroeconomic stabilization programmes. Introduction of market-reform policies and the withdrawal of state involvement in marketing activities were, in turn, aimed at encouraging greater participation of the private sector. However, private sector participation has not always been forthcoming. Subsistence farmers, especially, with small market surpluses have not benefited from the change as much as large-scale farmers have. In addition, prohibitive prices for fertilizer and other agricultural inputs, low purchasing power and lack of effective credit facilities have marginalized small farmers, including women, preventing them from adopting modern and improved technologies. An institutional vacuum in the sector has been created, as expectations that entrepreneurs would emerge naturally to take over the activities have proven to be ill-founded. This has been partly due to the fact that reforms overlooked serious institutional deficiencies. These deficiencies have, in turn, been translated into high transaction costs that prevent the private sector to emerge and grow. In this context, the development policies must devote more attention to reducing transaction costs particularly in poor rural areas and to promoting local organizations that would help lower these costs. Weak public institutions of governance and unpredictable changes in regulations and policies have made the private sector slow to respond to incentives and have thus created a climate of economic distress.
102. In addition, issues pertaining to natural resource management (land, water, forest and fishery ecosystems and biodiversity), the production of knowledge and its dissemination to end-users have not been high enough on the political agenda of many national governments. Small public budget allocations to agriculture and research[4] reflect this low priority. Moreover, many countries in the region suffer from a bias, dating back to the colonial era, when resources for agricultural research emphasized export crops at the cost of indigenous food crops. Efforts to reverse this orientation have been slow and staples (such as millet, sorghum, cassava, yams, cowpeas, bananas, plantains and traditional vegetables) have received little attention from advanced research institutions. As a result, Africa has lagged behind most other developing regions in generating improved varieties and technologies that are locally adaptable.
103. Reducing food losses and adding value to agricultural produce are important for stimulating agricultural productivity and growth. However, at the household level persistent problems related to post-harvest losses due to backward technologies, inadequate storage facilities, lack of packing materials and appropriate processing equipment have compromised the value-added advantage and productivity. (Estimates show that up to 20-25 percent of food grain is lost after harvesting). Due to the dualistic nature of the agricultural sector in Africa, problems of micro-and small-scale processing at the household level are different from those of medium and large-scale enterprises. Most industrial level problems are caused by an insufficient and disrupted supply of raw material (a result of the scattered nature of farming), generating a high cost for raw material collection and transport activities.
104. The failure to adequately capture the backward and forward linkages in chains of commodity markets has basically resulted in poor coordination between production, processing and trade at different stages. The lack of coordination of such activities hinders the exploitation of the potential added value from these linkages. Actually, poor rural infrastructure (in terms of rural feeder roads, secondary road networks, transport and transportation system and telecommunication facilities) has denied most rural households access to markets. It has also failed to effectively link the production-trade commodity chain.
105. A fundamental obstacle to improving agricultural competitiveness and the welfare of rural people is the poor quality of rural infrastructure in most parts of Africa (e.g. roads, railways, ports, telecommunications and electricity). Africa has the lowest density of paved roads of all the world's regions. As a result, producers are separated from consumers and transportation costs rise. The situation is especially critical for Burkina Faso, Uganda and Zambia. Almost one-third of the total African population (14 countries) is landlocked, without river access to a seaport. Landlocked countries have unique difficulties in accessing regional and global markets. Road network density and quality are essential to their general and more widely distributed economic and social development.
106. Africa's transport systems are poorly integrated and inefficient. They impose a high cost premium on trade, travel and communication among people and businesses. This has a crippling effect on African countries' trade competitiveness and their ability to participate in the world economy. High transport and insurance costs add to the cost of imports and cut into the net income from exports. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2001 found that for a number of landlocked African countries transport and insurance represent more than 30 percent of the total value of exports (and above 50 percent in Malawi, Chad and Rwanda). This compares unsatisfactorily with an average of 14.5 percent for all landlocked countries and 8.6 percent for the developing countries group. Therefore, NEPAD's action plan in transport aims at reversing the economic marginalization of Africa, addressing the infrastructural, operational and facilitation deficiencies in transport. It also aims at focusing on issues whose solutions depend on regional cooperation and implementation of regional projects.
107. Electricity is not available in many areas of Africa. Only five percent of Africa's rural population have access to electricity, and the rest depend on traditional fuels such as wood and cow dung for cooking, heating and lighting.
108. The availability of telecommunications networks determines the accessibility of information technology. The relatively rapid growth of the Internet in Africa has been limited mainly to major cities, where telecommunications infrastructure exists and where most of the small, wealthy population resides. The ratio of fixed lines per person between urban and rural areas in Africa is estimated to be as high as 25:1. Access and adoption of information technology are uncertain for the large majority of rural communities. Even if information access could be assured to a large portion of the rural population, marketable quantities may simply be of insufficient value to cover the transportation costs for reaching the broader 'e-commerce' markets.
109. Another significant problem facing African agriculture is the accelerated degradation of the natural resources base caused by the human population. In general, agricultural land is a scarce resource in Africa and its quality is steadily deteriorating. This situation is mainly the result of demographic pressures and its unsustainable use from the slow introduction of adequate technologies. An estimated 494 million ha in Africa are degraded in some manner, mainly experiencing water erosion and chemical degradation, including fertility decline. In Africa, average productivity losses from fertility decline are estimated at 8 percent, but up to 50 percent in certain areas. Irrigated land is a very small proportion of arable land, constituting only 7 percent of arable land in Africa and 3.7 percent of arable land in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are the lowest percentages of irrigated land in the developing world.
110. Environmentally sustainable activities such as pastoralism in arid regions and drought-resistant native species and varieties are being squeezed out by non-sustainable agricultural practices. Indigenous, customary land-tenure systems are still prevalent in countries south of the Sahara. These systems are generally based on various forms of group control, which may allow balanced management of communal property; however, they represent in many cases an obstacle to the adoption of more advanced techniques, requiring long-term investment. In addition, insecure land tenure also provides little incentive for land improvement measures by resource-poor farmers. Improvements in soil fertility through fertilizer use in Africa are limited. Nutrient-replacement rates are well below those in other developing regions. African countries average only 21 kg/ha of arable land, with Sub-Saharan Africa averaging only 9 kg/ha of arable land. These figures fall far below the 206 kg/ha of arable land in developed countries, the 100 kg/ha in South Asia and the 73kg/ha in Latin America.
111. The overexploitation of cropland, overgrazing of rangeland, deforestation and poor water management have led to a serious degradation of the environment and desertification, particularly in Sahel. Annual deforestation in Africa increased because of a number of causes. These include population growth, overgrazing, inappropriate cropping practices, fuel wood collection and armed conflicts with their trail encroachment on the desert fringes, as well as the degradation of wetland areas well away from deserts. More frequent incidence of drought may partly be due to environmental degradation and partly to the effect of global climate change.
112. Usable freshwater resources are limited in many parts of Africa that face extreme climatic variability on an annual and/or seasonal basis. Because irrigated agriculture is the principal consumer of surface and groundwater resources, the optimal management of water resources by all users (agricultural, industrial and private) should be a priority to maintain the integrity and productivity of natural ecosystems.
113. The diversity of Africa's regions due to variations in resource endowments, levels of economic and social development, challenges and opportunities all make it impossible to prescribe a homogeneous approach to upgrade competitiveness in agriculture. To address the issues of lagging productivity and efficiency in agriculture, it is essential therefore to highlight the elements of regional differences. These elements should be framed in terms of the status of their resource base and the identification of key constraints to development. In an attempt to provide a regional dimension to issues of agricultural growth and competitiveness, the FAO farming-system approach was used to broadly define similar constraints over each sub-region and within which similar development strategies and interventions would be pursued.
114. Key issues and trends inhibiting the unlocking of potential for improved productivity of crops and animal types in Africa are primarily related to the physical, economic and social aspects of the use and management of land and water resources. These issues merit immediate attention in the allocation of funds for sub-regional and country investment programmes. Basic characteristics of each sub-region are presented below, while land and water related constraints and issues are summarized in Table 29.
North Africa
115. North Africa is one of the most arid areas of the world, receiving only seven percent of Africa's total rainfall. This rainfall is unevenly distributed both geographically and temporally. To exemplify the severity of the situation, Maghreb countries receive an average rainfall of about 611 mm/year, while Egypt, Libya and Tunisia receive only 143 mm/year.
116. Sparse (arid), rain-fed farming, irrigation and pastoral grazing are the main agricultural systems in North Africa. Farming activity is concentrated around oases and a number of irrigation systems (notably in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Libya). There are relatively few crop and livestock types that survive under rain-fed conditions.
117. There is limited access to sufficient agricultural land across the sub-region, which may prove problematic considering the sub-region's expected demographic expansion. Extending irrigation may also be difficult. On average, 30 percent of arable land in North Africa is irrigable, only 5 percent more than what is currently irrigated (as of 1997). For example, in Egypt about 3.3 million ha were under irrigation in 1997, of which 90 percent were located in the Nile Valley and Delta. According to FAO estimates, the area where irrigation could be extended by 2015 is limited to 4.4 million ha.
118. As a result of a rising sea level induced by climate change, a sizeable portion of the Nile Delta will be lost through inundation and erosion. In addition to the resulting losses that will be faced by agricultural production, damage to existing infrastructure and population displacement will threaten the sub-regional overall economy.
East Africa
119. Having an equatorial climate, East Africa experiences a highly variable distribution of rains, originating from the Indian Ocean front that travels toward Central Africa, but moving from the north to the south as an effect of differing altitudes. East Africa receives most of its rain from the monsoon system. An arid and semi-arid climate is predominant in this sub-region with highly unpredictable and unevenly distributed annual rainfalls (in general below 500 mm per year). This inconsistent rainfall makes large parts of East Africa exceptionally vulnerable to negative climatic impacts on agriculture and livelihoods. Droughts of increasing frequency and intensity during the last 30 years, resulting from a 10 percent decrease in rainfall and increased temperatures have exacerbated evaporation rates particularly in the Horn of Africa.
120. East Africa is the least urbanized sub-region in Africa, with only 26 percent of its population living in towns and cities. These urban areas are characterized by the growth of slums and unplanned settlements, inhabited mainly by impoverished rural refugees.
121. Geographically remote, politically isolated and economically inefficient small farms are prevalent in the sub-region. Despite the moderate and high potential for quality agriculture, poor farming is predominant even in the water-rich Great Lakes areas of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. Many parts of these countries have two rainy seasons and temperatures that could support cultivation during most of the year. Even areas that have only a moderate potential for agriculture have enough rainfall for at least one good cereal crop, but their current land productivity is very low.
122. The remote smallholders also face serious barriers regarding their access to markets for inputs, products and services. Because of this geographical distance, farmers do not have the opportunity to participate effectively in politics and influence policies that could respond to their needs, aspirations and potential. Community-based and local government institutions do not exist or are too weak to allow farmers to access market information and technology, or to participate cooperatively in community land-and water-resource management.
Central Africa
123. Central Africa has a wide diversity of habitats, spanning from dense humid forests, freshwater lakes, mangrove forests and savannahs to semi-deserts (on the Sahelian borders) and even coral reefs. Species are numerous and tend to remain localized, making biodiversity and endemism key issues across the sub-region, especially in the lowland evergreen broadleaf rainforest and mountain and freshwater swamp forests.
124. Rainfall and temperature patterns in Central Africa vary considerably, with unpredictable, seasonal variations in general. However, rainfall is relatively high and predictable over the central and coastal parts of the sub-region, but tend to abate and become more variable towards the north on the Sahelian borders. In the semi-arid zone of Chad and parts of Cameroon, clear skies lead to strong insolation by day and massive heat loss from the emission of longer wavelength radiation by night.
125. As long-term climate change occurs, most of the humid zone in Central Africa will experience increased precipitation, soil moisture and runoff. This could result in a net increase in forest cover, although an increased demand for agricultural land may lead to accelerated rates of deforestation[5]. On the one hand, flooding has becoming a common feature in more humid areas of Central Africa, especially where forests and natural vegetation had been cleared for cultivation or human settlements. On the other hand, droughts in Sahelian Central Africa have become more frequent, as global warming accelerates.
126. In general, Central Africa rarely experiences problems of water availability because the Congo River basin - the largest in Africa - covers 12 percent of the sub-region's area. There are, however, significant discrepancies between countries, with Chad and Equatorial Guinea facing serious shortages of water, with internal renewable resources varying between 15 and 30 km3/year (based on figures through 1998). The water level in Lake Chad has dropped greatly and currently holds a twentieth of what it did 30 years ago, resulting from the combined pressures of rainfall fluctuations and continuous, unsustainable withdrawals.
127. Poverty is extensive and particularly severe. There is potential for economic growth, however, considering the presence of large areas of uncultivated land and high rainfall. Nevertheless, development actions in this part of Africa should require careful management of environmental risks, including soil fragility and loss of wildlife habitats.
West Africa
128. Most of the countries in this sub-region are among the poorest in the world with serious food-security problems. According to FAO figures from 1999, the average food supply in the sub-region is equivalent to 2 430 kcal/day/person, a level that is below the FAO's nutritional optimum of 2 700 kcal/day/person. Many West African countries meet their food needs through imports (particularly rice and wheat), which severely strains the national foreign exchange earnings especially in years when the rains are poor[6]. Most of the population is employed in agriculture, although West Africa is a region with a high rate of urbanization in all countries.
129. Habitat diversity in West Africa includes semi-desert[7] and savannah (particularly in Sahel West Africa), tropical forests, mangroves, freshwater lakes and rivers and inland and coastal wetlands (particularly in Coastal West Africa). Much of the region receives enough average rainfall during certain months to cover the dry spells during the rest of the year. The full potential of the rainy seasons, however, has not been exploited because harvesting techniques are inadequate. In tropical dry areas, rains are insufficient during most of the year, although the soils are rich. To irrigate their farms people use water from wells and boreholes. In the arid zone some of the countries are well-endowed with water resources, while others are not.
130. Despite existing water resources (rainfall, surface water and groundwater), West Africa as a sub-region experiences serious water shortages. This is primarily caused not only by the uneven distribution of rainfall and water resources, but also by the poor management of existing resources. More recently, climate change, deforestation and drought have seriously affected the quantity and quality of water in most parts of the sub-region. Therefore, almost all countries in West Africa are experiencing and will continue to experience water pressures to some degree. Water scarcity will be a serious problem for Sahel West African countries, such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria. The issues related to water availability in these countries originate mainly in institutional constraints.
131. Because of an inadequate water supply in the semi-humid and Sahel areas of West Africa, irrigated agriculture is practised. But only a small fraction of arable land is irrigated overall in West Africa (16 percent). The FAO in 1999 estimated that the total amount of water used was 8.6 billion m3 for an area of 770 thousand ha, only a fraction of the sub-region's arable 9.9 million ha. Of all the sub-region's irrigable land, Nigeria alone accounts for 3.1 million ha (32 percent). The share of potentially irrigable land that is actually irrigated varies from 24.6 percent (Niger) to 0.1 percent (Sierra Leone). Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Senegal have about 10 percent or more of their potentially irrigable land currently under irrigation.
Southern Africa
132. Southern Africa has rich biological resources in a variety of ecosystems, which range from moist tropical forests (Angola and Zambia) and savannahs to coastal forests, semi-deserts and the biodiverse, plant-rich Cape Floral Region (South Africa). In many areas, the concentration of rainfall in a relatively brief period has hindered sustainable crop development.
133. The sub-region is witnessing a high and accelerating rate of deforestation. Rates of deforestation over the last 10 years have ranged from 2.4 percent annually in Malawi to 0.1 percent annually in South Africa. In contrast, Swaziland increased forest area by 1.2 percent annually. In semi-arid areas of Southern Africa, land that previously was classed as marginal because of poor soil quality and lack of rainfall is now being incorporated into agricultural production primarily for extensive livestock grazing. This practice can and has resulted in land degradation and conflicts in land use between pastoralists and wildlife conservationists.
134. In Southern Africa, escalating land degradation over the past decade has been caused mainly by increases in livestock population, which has itself caused more than half of the soil degradation. Government livestock-support policies, such as subsidies in Namibia, have created incentives for farmers to raise more livestock than they would if they bore the full cost themselves.
135. In spite of the very low and erratic rainfall there is normally sufficient vegetation to support cattle grazing. The presence of tsetse flies and trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), however, limits human settlement and livestock husbandry. Nomadism is also common, because rainfall is unpredictable and cattle must be moved to wherever food is available.
136. Water supply and sanitation in Southern Africa have, on average, improved over the last decade[8], although millions of urban residents still do not have clean water or adequate sanitation[9]. In areas where water supply and sanitation are inadequate (mainly in informal settlements), there are higher risks of waterborne diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, parasitic worms and flukes. Skin and eye infections can also be problems but can be prevented with enhanced levels of hygiene. In addition, there is an increased risk of groundwater and surface-water contamination, eutrophication and biodiversity loss[10].
137. Southern Africa's crops are under both irrigated and rain-fed conditions. The irrigation potential of Southern Africa in 1995 was estimated at 14.2 million ha, which means that only 50 percent of available arable land can be irrigated. According to the FAO irrigation sub-sector review, Zimbabwe has internal surface-water resources totalling 13.1 km3/year, of which domestic, industrial, mining and irrigation consumption amounts to 3.6 km3/year. Malawi is abundant in land that would be suitable for irrigation based on soil and topography, but only some areas have easily obtainable water from perennial streams. Irrigation can also pose problems. Because of waterlogging in soils under irrigation, crop stress and depletion of soil nutrients have been reported in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Table 29. Land and water-related issues and constraints on priority agricultural commodity development by sub-region
|
Sub-region |
Land |
Water |
|
North Africa |
Soil degradation
|
Water scarcity
|
|
East Africa |
Decreasing soil fertility
|
Water scarcity and deteriorating water quality
Other threats:
|
|
Central Africa (including Chad) |
Advanced land degradation and
|
Mismanagement of water resources
|
|
West Africa |
Soil degradation and unsustainable
|
Mismanagement of water resources (mainly in Sahel West) due to:
|
|
Southern Africa |
Soil degradation and conflicts over land use
|
Human and animal population pressure on water resources
|
138. Apart from industrial plantations in a few countries, none of the African sub-regions have successfully managed forests. From 1990 to 2000 Africa lost 53 million ha of forest cover (about 56 percent of global forest cover). From 1990 to 2000 Africa lost 53 million ha of forest cover, or about 56 percent of global forest cover. It is suspected that deforestation will continue because of three main factors: 1) agricultural expansion into the humid zone to produce agricultural crops and livestock; 2) forest conversion for mining and other activities; and 3) wood production, including wood for fuel purposes to meet growing local and external demands.
139. Some crosscutting challenges to economic growth deriving from forestry that are relevant across African sub-regions are summarized in Box 4.
140. This section attempts to highlight characteristics of general significance for each forestry sub-region. This analysis does not follow the administrative boundaries of the sub-region but those of the major forestry agro-ecological zones. The presentation of forestry agro-ecological zones (see Box 5) and other important aspects related to forestry in this study are primarily based on the results of the paper, Research for sustainable forestry development: challenges for sub-Saharan Africa[11].
Humid forests in Coastal West and Central Africa
141. Humid, Coastal West and Central Africa are famous for their rich, complex, floral and closed forests, some of which remain still fairly intact in the Congo Basin partly because of civil strife. In contrast some countries like Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have seen their forest resource-base depleted or degrading rapidly. Trees are predominant in lowland forest ecosystems. The timber sector, even in its currently inefficient and underdeveloped state, is an important source of foreign exchange and economic activity in Coastal West and Central African countries with suitable forest types.
142. The use of the biologically rich and productive forests of these ecosystems has generally failed to alleviate poverty. One of the underlying reasons is that forest-based development has a low comparative advantage for large-scale poverty alleviation, especially when compared with agriculture.
143. Current problems and trends causing rapid and massive forest degradation and depletion of the tropical moist forest ecosystems are:
population growth combined with unsustainable shifting cultivation and irrational industrial harvesting. Consequently, forest area per capita is declining across these ecosystems.
unclear and ambiguous tree and forest tenure systems.
weak governance and regulatory systems particularly in remote areas. There are no formal management arrangements for the potentially lucrative non-timber forest products, which remain largely available for household and wider society consumption and trade. Only industrial timber production is traditionally administered.
Box 4. Common features and cross-cutting issues for forestry and wildlife in Africa
|
1. Poorly established markets |
|
Apart from industrial timber and pulp/paper products, many forest products in forestry priority sub-regions either lack markets or are poorly established. Where market demand exists, products are usually of low value and are mainly traded among poor people whose net benefit has a small economic value. |
|
2. Biased concentration of resources working against rural dwellers |
|
It is likely that the market approach to allocating resources in the forestry sector will result in the disproportionate concentration of resources in the hands of the wealthy few. Investment with an urban and industrial bias will continue to place the rural population at a disadvantage in terms of growth and social development. The entrenchment of the private sector through globalization and structural adjustment programmes could reinforce this trend in the forestry sector. Governments are faced with the challenges of balancing the attractiveness of foreign investments with pro-rural and poverty-alleviation strategies. Such strategies would enable rural societies gain a meaningful share of the benefits derived from investment and to participate in national productivity. |
|
3. Dynamic informal sector in forestry with no institutional visibility |
|
Most non-industrial collection, processing and trade of forest products are confined to the informal sector[12]. This sector is active especially in areas with dry forests and woodlands with low potential for the industrial utilization that attracts private-sector investment. In such cases, the informal sector seems vital for the development, use and future of such resources and can add considerable value. Unfortunately, the sector has neither official representation in national government, nor is it included in development programmes and strategies. |
|
4. Low capacity of local and mid-level governments and community institutions |
|
Many countries in Sub-Sahara Africa witnessed increased devolution and decentralization of both state ownership and management functions for natural forest resources. Nevertheless, the decentralizing of responsibility to local and mid-level government or community institutions that have no capacity to manage resources optimally (i.e. adding economic value) has led to failure in many cases. Frequently, governments delegated or devolved tasks without allocating the resources to execute those tasks or without creating the necessary wealth-generating base at the local level. This is especially true now when economic reforms require that governments cut down in size and expenditure. |
Box 5. Summary description of the main forestry agro-ecological zones
|
Humid Coastal West Africa and Central Africa: are known for its rich, virgin, closed forests. Perhaps three-quarters of Africa's forest biomass and an even higher density of its biodiversity reside in these zones. Tropical timber exports continue, but ever more frequently exports originate from the poorly accessible inland zones, where overexploitation has not yet undermined the resource. In the Congo Basin and Cameroon, resources remain significant, protected from exploitation partly because civil strife blocks access and discourages settlement. Eastern and Southern African Middle Plateaux: are big-game savannah and other open woodland ecosystems. In some locations, dry forests face some of the most intense population pressures. There are few industrially usable wood resources, but wildlife, non-timber products (including subsistence medicines) and charcoal are major outputs. A coastal strip of varying width has elements of moist forest and mangrove, as well as extensive open woodlands. Eastern and Southern African Mountain Zones: include large expanses above the natural tree line, where Africa's largest artificially planted tropical conifer forests support the continent's largest pulp and paper industries and some wood processing. Extracted from the paper Research for sustainable forestry development: challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa written by G.S. Kowero, M.J. Spilsbury and M.E. Chipeta (2001). |
Eastern and Southern African Middle Plateaux (woodlands)
144. Miombo woodland is one of the most extensive dry forest vegetation types in Africa, occurring in seven countries in eastern, central and southern Africa (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Trees in the legume subfamily Caesalpinioidea dominate these woodlands. They are very important to human welfare, providing a myriad of products such as food, fibre, poles, timber, woodfuel and charcoal.
145. This zone is also one of the most geologically stable regions in the world. There is considerable mineral wealth resulting from the region's geology. The woodlands are very important water catchments for many of the region's rivers. The old, nutrient-poor soils limit woodland productivity and have created a low-nutrient ecosystem that favours bulk-feeding mega-herbivores like elephants and buffaloes. The Eastern and Southern African woodlands support world-famous game parks and reserves.
146. Sustainable development of the woodlands in this part of Africa faces the following constraints:
low and variable rainfall, as well as a long dry season, both of which limit surface water and soil moisture and encourage migration of animals and people;
predominance of poor soils that limit nutrient availability;
frequent fires as a result of climate and human activities;
human habitation in the woodlands, albeit at low population densities, for centuries;
high incidence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has hit eastern and southern Africa very hard, with several countries having among the highest infection rates in the world.
Eastern and Southern African plateaux and highlands
147. The main issues, threats and opportunities for forestry in the African plateaux and highlands concern water, unique biological resources and forest plantations. Serious water challenges include:
an overabundance of water, leading to flash flooding, erosion, landslides and soil leaching its nutrients;
little and/or uneven supply of water, which can limit or curtail biological productivity and impact human health;
poor water quality, which can have negative effects on agriculture, fisheries and human health.
148. The contribution of forestry to water-source protection (Box 6) is probably the most important developmental issue in the African Plateaux and requires due consideration by governments.
149. Many highland areas of Africa are centres of endemism. Africa is believed to be the natural home of wheat and coffee, to name just a few of the crops important to mankind with African origins. Both wheat and coffee are associated with the highlands, the former with Ethiopia and the latter with Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
150. South Africa, a generally dry country with insignificant natural forests, is the leading exporter of forest products (pulp and paper) derived from highland forest plantations. Leading all African countries, South Africa accounted for 79 percent of African wood-pulp production and 71 percent of African wood-pulp exports. It produced 71 percent of African paper and paperboard and accounted for 94 percent of their exports (as of 2000). These products are derived from industrial exotic forest plantations in its highlands. These plantations support the paper industries in Kenya and Tanzania and other wood processing industries in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Box 6. Contribution of forestry to water-source protection
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In West Africa, the Fouta Djallon highlands are credited with supporting the livelihoods of millions in many countries, such as Nigeria, Niger, Mali (including irrigation and inland fishing) and Senegal. In the Horn of Africa, most of Ethiopia's power generation is derived from hydropower on rivers from the highlands. These same rivers also feed into the Nile River and join with rivers from central Africa. The latter support some of Africa's largest irrigation programmes in the Sudan, hydropower generators (Uganda, Egypt) and flooding management in the lower Nile (Egypt). River systems of highland origin in Southern Africa support the large hydropower investments in the Zambezi valley and its tributaries - supplying power to Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Furthermore, upland river systems supply all the Rift Valley Great Lakes, which are the bases for the sub-region's major fishery industries. In South Africa, discussion continues over whether charges currently imposed on forest plantations for use of catchment water are justified, and if so, at what level they should be set. This decision involves questions vital for plantation profitability and also for the compatibility of forests with alternative land uses. Still, the role of forests in relation to water is clouded by 'myths' and misplaced popular perceptions. Extracted from the paper Research for sustainable forestry development: challenges for sub-Saharan Africa written by G.S. Kowero, M.J. Spilsbury and M.E. Chipeta (2001). |
151. Marine fisheries are a very important source of food, employment and revenue in many countries and communities in Africa, despite fluctuations in supply and demand caused by the changing state of fishery resources and overall economic and environmental conditions. Fish proteins are essential and critical especially in the diet of densely populated countries, where the total protein-intake level may be low. Dependence on fish for protein is usually higher in coastal areas than in inland areas. Fish contributes close to or more than 50 percent of total protein in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea and Senegal.
152. The exploitation of fish stocks is increasing. The number of underexploited and moderately exploited resources continues to decline as fishing demands increase. The number of fully exploited stocks remains relatively stable, while figures for overexploited, depleted and recovering stocks are growing. The Western Indian Ocean is an area where totals for catches are still growing. It is also where (in principle) there is the highest potential for production increases and a lower incidence of fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or recovering fish stocks. Interest is growing about the impact fishing may have on ecosystems, their structure and function. Indicators regarding the ecosystems in which fisheries can develop suggest that in most areas they are almost fully exploited.
153. Contemporary small-scale fishing communities share serious obstacles to development. They usually share the following characteristics across Africa's marine ecosystems:
They are geographically scattered along coastlines and depend mainly on marine ecosystems that are close to home. As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to resource depletion.
They undertake only small-scale capital commitments, which result in low production levels that do not empower the community. Nearly all small-scale fishing communities develop systems of community-based management, as opposed to management that is instituted by government authority. Community-based management is often weak and makes the artisanal fishery sector vulnerable to external threats, especially the large-scale fishing sector.
They have limited or no access to credit and insurance, which constrains fishing efforts and production.
They face huge losses because of poor post-harvest processing. Poor handling and food safety issues remain important and standards have become increasingly stringent for export products.
They are increasingly pressured by external problems, including expanding globalization, marine pollution and, in some regions, the growth of the coastal tourism industry.
154. The development of the marine fishery subsector in Africa faces a weak institutional framework and inadequate supplies of the human and financial resources that are needed for the sustainable use of fishery resources. Two major classes of constraints need to be addressed:
Fisheries management is widely considered to be ineffective, and conflicts are becoming more frequent among user groups. The lack of zoning and enforcement of legislation, stock enhancement, poor public education, spotty resource allocation and issues surrounding access control are possible constraining factors. Conflict between industrial and artisanal fleets is common. The artisanal sector is particularly vulnerable, as it often depends on set gears that are incompatible with the towed gears of industrial trawls. The solution is often clear - for example, the introduction of zones that separate the gears, particularly when stocks do not move - but enforcement may be difficult. Regional management is particularly valuable when fisheries have a large foreign component. Because of the need to share information on foreign fleets, regional fishery-management bodies have an important role to play in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Public institutions are critically short of human and financial resources. For most coastal countries in Africa food security, employment, poverty alleviation and equitable access to resources are seen as priority concerns. However, solutions often are not realized because programmes are not adequately designed or supported.
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[2] Recent works on
competitiveness undertaken by the International Institute for Management
Development (Stephane Garelli) "Competitiveness of Nations: the fundamentals",
in World Competitiveness Yearbook (2002) [3] In the nine East and Southern African countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the agricultural labour force losses range from 13 to 26 percent. [4] African countries devote only about one percent of their gross agricultural product to agricultural research. [5] Cultivated land area expanded by 0.73 percent, mostly through the conversion of forest and grasslands and the shortening of the fallow period. Based on projections through 2030, cultivated land area is expected to expand further, but the actual rate of expansion will depend upon the future evolution of farming systems. [6] In 1993 for example, Togo and Senegal spent 23 percent and 29 percent of their total imports, respectively, on food. [7] The arid zone covers most of northern Senegal, from Dakar to just south of the Senegal River, and extends eastward across Africa, including large parts of central Mali, northern Burkina Faso, southern Niger and northeast Nigeria. [8] According to the UN International Drinking Water and Sanitation Organization. [9] Access to clean water is highest in urban areas of Botswana (100 percent) and lowest in Angola, which hovers near 34 percent (based on WHO/UNICEF statistics for 2000). Access to sanitation systems is much higher overall with Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe achieving over 95 percent access in urban areas (based on WHO/UNICEF statistics for 2000). [10] For example, the town of Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), which has a population of more than 3 000, discharges 8 000 m3 of wastewater (including raw sewage) into the Zambezi River. The reason for this is that the town's sewage treatment facilities are overloaded and subject to frequent breakdowns, according to the work of Chenje in 2000. Nitrate and phosphate levels in the effluent exceed Zimbabwean standards and may be a contributing factor to the spread of water hyacinth in Lake Kariba, which lies downstream. Total coliform counts in the effluent are also high and pose a health risk to downstream communities and the town's 32 000 annual visitors. [11] The authors of this paper are G.S. Kowero, M.J. Spilsbury and M.E. Chipeta. [12] Not only are large numbers of both men and women of all age groups employed in subsistence collection, processing and trade in fuel wood, charcoal, forest foods and informal services to tourists (including handicrafts activities), but a few informal producers are entering the export trade. There is increasing commercialisation of forest products on the sub-continent, both within countries and across countries. For example, woodcarvings from West Africa or East Africa are found in Southern Africa and even overseas. Further, the sector is very amorphous, unstable because of easy exit and entry and disorganised because players are largely unknown. |
