John Madeley

The success of Cameroon's agricultural policy

Cameroon is one of a small number of African states that are now self-sufficient in food. This achievement is remarkable in that the country was estimated to be less than 80% food self-sufficient at the start of the 1980s. Although the country has natural features in its favour, its success lies in giving priority to agriculture and implementing a range of policy measures which have been able to release the potential of the food producing sector, especially the countrys small farmers.

Slump in UK aid

Abstract At the time when it was most needed, UK government aid has shifted away from helping the African farmers to increase their productivity and output. This is one of the stark conclusions of the book by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, UK Aid to African Agriculture , published in October last year. 1

Sri Lanka's bid to regain food self-sufficiency

Abstract Once self-sufficient in food, colonial influences have transformed Sri Lankas agriculture over the past century. With rice production failing to meet demand and spices giving way to tea and rubber, Sri Lanka now imports 40% of its food needs. Now the government is putting into effect a plan intended to make the country self-sufficient again. The ambitious programme includes cultivation of 320 000 acres of new land and the resettlement of about three-quarters of a million people. John Madeley reports on the difficulties which have been encountered and the prospects for success.

Realizing the potential of the small farmer

Abstract In the isolated villages of hilly regions in Nepal it is not uncommon to find farming families that exist on as little as £10 a year, measuring their output at average prices. Nepalese farmers, like their counterparts the world over, are what the ‘world poverty problem’ is largely all about. Millions of farming families are barely surviving from one year to the next. Development programmes, if they have affected them at all, have largely failed them. Often the poorer farmers are dependent on richer people in their villages; often they are unsure of their rights. Frequently they are neglected by extension staff; often they are suspicious not only of strangers but of each other.

Ninety-four ways to ignore Brandt

Abstract In March 1980, a Commission of 18 senior statesmen, headed by former West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, published a report, North-South - A Programme for Survival , which recommended 94 ways in which the countries of the North could help the South out of hunger and poverty and help itself in the bargain. Although the report was much discussed, the commissioners admitted in late 1982 that virtually none of its recommendations had been implemented. But during the last three years, the economies of most countries in both North and South have deteriorated, whilst hunger is more prevalent than ever. In response to this common crisis, the Brandt commissioners have now produced a second report. 1 .If this is also ignored, then prospects for substantially reducing hunger and ending world recession are grim.

Fish culture in Nepal

Abstract For a developing country with limited resources, the task of increasing fish catches is greatly compounded if the country is also landlocked. With no coastline and little money to spend on developing their water resources, such countries can all too easily be virtually cut off from increasing this source of protein to their citizens.

Increased output in Yugoslavia

Abstract Yugoslavias agriculture is an intriguing mixture of large-scale social sector enterprises and small-scale private farming. For a number of reasons, productivity in the social sector is much higher than in the private sector. The social sector employs only 10% of the countrys workforce and yet produces a third of the food.

Maize protection in Zambia

Abstract A major preoccupation of agricultural policy makers in the 1970s has been how to obtain maximum benefit from new high-yielding seeds. ‘Tailored packages’ have been developed to suit conditions in different countries, specialized training has been arranged for farmers to help them cope with the techniques needed for the new seeds, and banks, at least in some countries, have extended their activities deeper into the rural areas. Some attempts have also been made to avoid the ‘freezing out’ of small farmers for whom the new seeds, with their demands for precise applications of water and fertilizers, were likely to be a risky business. The emphasis has been on increased output. Less effort has gone into programmes designed to deal with a problem that the high-yielding strains create once they have been grown and harvested — an increase in post-harvest losses. Estimates suggest that between 20% and 40% of the grain produced in developing countries each year ends up nourishing insects, rodents and birds or is otherwise spoiled by fungi. The food lost in Africa alone each year could feed 55 million people. India loses sufficient grain to feed 50 million people a year. The high-yielding varieties of seeds are even more susceptible to loss than traditional seeds because they cannot be kept securely in traditional storage facilities. A good example of this problem — as well as an innovation which is attracting attention from many other countries — is in Zambia where maize is the staple crop.