Hussam kutbi
Dr.Matias E. Margulis
INTS- 498
25 February 2014
Analysis of World Bank Development Report (2008) on
Agriculture for Development
In a world where it has long been assumed that there will be scarcity of food due to the alarming rate of the growing world population, the current situation shows that such is not the scenario. Human beings have managed to make it so far. However, poverty and hunger both remain crucial issues that have to be tackled with .The authors of WDR 2008 suggest that agriculture should be one of the contributing factors that will bring down the rate of poverty and hunger, if not eradicating it completely. In the area known as the Sub-Saharan, agriculture is a struggle(World Bank 38). The world is already well-positioned to trade in food, but this specific area is still struggling with food security. As stated by Clapp in her book Food,
This is a giant market. Indeed, agriculture accounts for some 6 percent of global GDP and around 41 percent of the world’s population depends on it either directly or indirectly for their livelihood (7).
The World Development Report (WDR) 2008 on Agriculture for Development, written by a reputable team, co-directed by Derek Byerlee and Alain de Janvry, under the supervision of the then Chief Economist of the World Bank (2003-2007), François Bourguignon(World Bank Website). Derek Byerlee has spent his life contributing to agriculture in developing countries. He has been a policy advisor, teacher, researcher and administrator. He is a member of the agricultural & Applied Economics Association. (Derek Byerlee). Alain de Janvry is a professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley(University of California: Center for Effective Global Action). The World D...
... middle of paper ...
...sing of food prices has been because the main staples such as maize, sugar and cassava are being used for the production of bio-fuels(Mitchell). The agriculture-based countries that are still struggling because of oil prices, cannot invest in bio-fuels options as they still do not have food security. How will they be able to feed machines food when they themselves are hungry?
To conclude, agriculture is a domain that has been exploited. Even though the World Development Report on Agriculture sheds light on different parts, their reports or advices cannot be taken as grand narratives or panaceas that will help in the development of the world. More focus should be placed on the distribution pathways of food, instead of elaborate policy making, because I believe that there is no foreseeable scarcity of food yet, rather, there is an uneven distribution of food.
In the Introduction, Patel outlines some of the major issues he addresses in the ten chapters of his book. The most important of them being: the abundance of food in the world vs. the starvation that is evident in countries such as India and Mexico, reduced prices on crops and how farmers compensate by working harder and producing more, and how the number of people involved in the food economy is gargantuan compared to the number of people who actually make decisions and control what happens in our global food system.
In Lester R. Brown's novel Full Planet, Empty Plates, the issue of food scarcity is explained through an environmental perspective. He begins the novel by addressing the issue of the world's high demand for crops, such as grain, and the stress it places on farmers to keep up with the increase in demand. In a time where there is a significant water shortage, higher temperatures, and eroding soils, food scarcity should be at the top of everyone's agenda. Brown poses the question whether or not food scarcity will be our civilization's "weak link" in terms of survival. He demonstrates how food security is a serious issue across the globe. As supply decreases, demand increases, thus raising the price of food. Unlike global resources such as oil,
...struggling to earn any income at all and sometimes do not even get the opportunity to eat. Another issue that Raj Patel did not touch on is the lack of care consumers have for the farmers. It seems that consumers care about farmers about as much as the corporations do, which, in my opinion, is not a lot. When consumers only care about low prices and large corporations only care about making a profit, the farmers are left out to dry. Many consumers believe “food should be available at a bargain price, a belief that relies on labor exploitation and environmental exhaustion at multiple points along the commodity chain.” (Wright, 95) Corporations as well as consumers generally tend to be selfish and I think Raj Patel is afraid to mention this. If only these people cared a little bit more about each other I believe the hourglass of the food system will begin to even out.
Nierenberg, Danielle. "Factory farming in the developing world: In some critical respects, this is not progress at all." World Watch 1 May 2003: n. pag. eLibrary. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
And, because food now comes at a low cost, it has become cheaper in quality and therefore potentially dangerous to the consumer’s health. These problems surrounding the ethics and the procedures of the instantaneous food system are left unchanged due to the obliviousness of the consumers and the dollar signs in the eyes of the government and big business. The problem begins with the mistreatment and exploitation of farmers. Farmers are essentially the backbone of the entire food system. Large-scale family farms account for 10% of all farms, but 75% of overall food production (CSS statistics).
In Genesis 1:29, God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” From the beginning God has given us food for life. Plants, meats, trees, and fruits are offered to us as a means of sustenance from the very same God who made them long ago.
...earch and extension, rural infrastructure, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to reverse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policymakers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Given the scale of investment needed, aid donors should also expand development assistance to agriculture, rural services, and science and technology.
Being the largest country in Eastern Africa, Tanzania occupies an area of approximately 945, 234 km squared and is comprised of the mainland and three coastal islands (Devisscher, 2010). Indeed, the nation possesses a multitude of differing ecosystems that support not only the local people but also the wider economy (Devisscher, 2010). For many LEDCs, in the modern world agricultural practices are a key activity in not only sustaining life, but also contributing to and maintaining a healthy economy. In particular, there is a significant reliance upon such a sector within Tanzania. It is considered to be the backbone of the Nations economy (Nyoni, 2007), providing over 70% of its population with employment (Sarris et al, 2006). Most notably, such an industry is characterized by smallholder farmers, with the average size of cultivated areas ranging from 1 to 3 hectares (Sarris et al, 2006). The planting of crops such as maize, wheat, beans and cassava accounts for over 85% of the cultivated area (Sarris et al, 2006).
The global population in the year 2050 is expected to be nine billion and the agricultural demand is expected to double. With the current population already over seven billion people, there are hunger issues all around the world (“New” par. 1). How are we going to deal with food shortages in the future? With less land to work with, strains on the soils, and the lack of water, it is getting harder for the farmers of the world to support our growing population. These complications are making it harder for farmers to produce quality, affordable food. To help the crops grow better, farmers use fertilizers and chemical sprays to enhance growth and control the weeds. Farming in the United States is a relevant business because it supplies people with food, provides people with jobs maintaining the used equipment with the new equipment being much more expensive, and it provides research for more efficient ways on how to feed the world.
One of the most complex issues in the world today concerns human population. The number of people living off the earth’s resources and stressing its ecosystem has doubled in just forty years. In 1960 there were 3 billion of us; today there are 6 billion. We have no idea what maximum number of people the earth will support. Therefore, the very first question that comes into people’s mind is that are there enough food for all of us in the future? There is no answer for that. Food shortage has become a serious problem among many countries around the world. There are many different reasons why people are starving all over the world. The lack of economic justice and water shortages are just merely two examples out of them all.
The growth of the world’s population has led to a growth in animal agriculture, because as population grows, the need for food does as well. Animal agriculture is the use of animal farms to produce animal products that are then consumed by the general public. As agribusiness expands, issues such as the need for farm insurance and animal rights have received more awareness. Modern day industrialism is being applied to animal agriculture in developed nations such as the United States and Canada. Farm Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on research in agribusiness and improving the economy through agriculture, claims that “the North American livestock industry is expected to
The Ancient world was in demand of technology as it saw a rise in complications to the world generation after generation. One very important form of rise in technology was in agriculture. The Agricultural Revolution saw a number of inventions in Medieval Europe. It saw the introduction of tools like the Heavy plough, the harrow and the mills to name a few. They also came up with new techniques in farming. These inventions and changes had a huge impact on Medieval Europe. It lead to more jobs and also more produce which eventually lead to more income.
To understand why is agriculture important in the world of today, then first of all we must know what agriculture is? Agriculture is the basic material production of society, the use of land for agriculture and livestock, mining plants and animals as raw materials and labor to produce mainly food and some raw materials for industry. Agriculture is a major industry, covering many disciplines: planting, breeding and processing of agricultural products; in the broadest sense, also including forestry and fisheries. Agriculture is an important economic sector in the economy of many countries, especially in the past century , when the industry has not yet developed. Since the dawn of history, agriculture has been one of the importance means of producing
There are those that believe our planet has reached its maximum capacity to sustain humanity and we need to reduce our population to rectify it. It is also said that our planet is well capable of providing both the nutrition and caloric needs for humanity, both now and into the future as well. Regardless of where one’s opinion of the facts fall between these two arguments, global food security is not where it should be. Uneven development could be argued to be a cause of this. But it is not the only issue affecting the planet.