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E&BE. Summary Chapter 10,13,14. Course: Global development studies.
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Summary of CH. 10,13,14 of the book of Adam Szirmai: socio-economic development.
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CHAPTER 10: Agricultural Development and rural development10.1 Is there enough food to feed the world population?
In general, the most conclusions are that food production will be able to keep up with
population growth in the next half-century. But that climate change and global warming
are posing new challenges, especially to agricultural production in developing countries.
It has often been claimed that expansion of the production of export /cash crops and non-
food crops will be at the expense of food production. Since the most fertile and best
irrigated lands are used for those export/cash crops, and there is competition for land and
labour between cash crops and food production, this may lead to decreasing food
production at home. However cash from exporting can be used to import new food, so
there is no reason to assume that food production cannot continue to grow faster than
the population.
However an increase in the average per capita food production/availability does not
necessarily mean that each person will get more food or that there are less
undernourished people. Thus increasing food prices may be one of the challenges for the
coming years.
10.2 What are the sources of growth of agricultural production
Expansion of cultivated area
Opportunities for further expansion of cultivated areas are still far from exhausted.
However, some parts of the world are too rocky, or too frosty, or there is no water for
irrigation. Also expansion leads deforestation which can lead to a decrease in biodiversity
which is a threat to the evolution and deforestation can also cause global warming. So
although there is enough potential agricultural land, forestry imposes a constraint on the
unlimited expansion of cultivated area. So there is a competition between agriculture and
forest land. How much land is still left for cultivation in the end, depends on:
o Competition between agricultural land and forest land
o Competition between biofuels(crops used for fuel) and food production
o Land degradation(due to pollution or fertilisers etc.)- this can lead to
unusable parts of land.
Intensification of land use by shortening the period of fallowing(stillegging) or by
harvesting more than one crop per year on the same piece of land (multi-
cropping). This will increase the average returns per hectare.
Functions of fallowing:
o Prevention of soil fertility exhaustion. During the period of fallow the soil
recovers its fertility and trees and bushes grow back.
o Prevention of hillside erosion.
o Controlling weed growth: bushes and trees limit the growth of weeds and
grasses.
o Limiting the spread of plant diseases and pests.
Lessons from the Boserupian analysis about agricultural issues in developing countries:
o Intensification of agriculture requires hard work on the part of farmers
o Much of our ‘natural’ environment is not natural- since desertification,
irrigation etc. is all created by humans
o Intensification of agriculture requires greater inputs of labour
o The concept of disguised unemployment needs to be re-evaluated
o Production per hectare may increase sharply as a result of intensification
o New inputs can contribute to further intensification
o Food aid can provide disincentives to production in developing countries
, o Low population density may be a disadvantage for agricultural
development since a minimum degree of density is required to support
infrastructural investment.
Increase in the returns per harvest per hectare.
This is the most important source of agricultural growth. Increasing the returns per
harvest can be done by:
o When labour is scarce, returns per harvest may be increased by using
mechanised equipment and investing in this equipment. This is labour-
saving.
o When land is scarce, returns per harvest may be increased by making land-
substituting investments, such as: investment in irrigation, fertilisers, and
the development of high-productivity seeds. These are all land-saving and
labour-intensive. For example, the potential to expand irrigation has not
yet been exhausted, however the unequal availability of water does set a
limit to the continued expansion of irrigation.
FIVE MODELS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
1. The resource exploitation model
This corresponds to the process of expanding the cultivated agricultural area. This was
the prime method to expand total production during most of agricultural history. This
route to growth of production has not yet been exhausted(as already explained) but in
different parts of the world the limits to further expansion become visible.
2. The conservation model
In the conservation model, the development of agricultural production involves a struggle
to maintain the fertility of soils. Whatever is taken out of the soil has to be put back in
later on. Thus nature sets limits to agricultural production.
3. The urban industrial impact model
This was formulated by Theodor Schultz, who argued that productivity, agricultural
incomes and growth of production are highest close to urban centres. This is because
product markets and production etc. functions better in areas with rapid urban and
industrial development. This leads to a more efficient allocation of production factors in
agriculture.
4. The diffusion model
The diffusion model takes differences in agricultural technology and productivity between
countries as its point of departure. International and national diffusion of the most
advanced technologies can help narrow the gap between ‘best practice’ and the average
farmer. Thus agricultural education is important. Thus when farmers do not have good
education, they can not adopt new production technologies.
5. High-payoff input model
This model finds its inspiration in the work of Schultz. Schultz said that traditional farmers
act rationally, given the conditions in which they have to operate they allocate their
resources optimally. Within traditional economies there are not many opportunities to
realise increases in output and productivity. Therefore Schultz argued for new inputs
coming from outside the agricultural sector to be made available to farmers with
government support and subsidies.
The high-payoff input model incorporates the preceding three models(2,3,4). The new
inputs contribute to maintaining soil fertility when land use is intensified. Well-functioning
factor and product markets are a prerequisite for the adequate utilisation of new inputs
and technologies. And there should be attention paid to transport infrastructure and the
development of market systems through which agricultural surpluses can be traded.
Schooling and agricultural extension are important(4). And important in this model is that
new technologies should be adapted to local conditions. The name of the model refers to
, the positive relationship between investments in agricultural research, schooling and
extension and the high returns of the new inputs.
6. Theory of induced technological development
Schultz’s high-payoff input model has its limitations. Insufficient attention is paid to the
direction of technological development and the process of institutional change. The
theory links up economic analysis with the analysis of institutions. It states that if
institutions are open and flexible, the scarcity of different factors of production will
influence the direction of research.
The high-payoff input model is closely related to the third way of increasing agricultural
production: increasing returns per harvested crop. This model is often also called the
‘green revolution’. The green revolution refers to breakthroughs in research into new
varieties of maize, wheat and rice which – together with a set of complementary inputs-
have resulted in dramatic increases in the yields per harvest. Characteristics of the green
revolution:
Development of new plant varieties with high yields that have been adjusted to
local conditions
Use of industrially manufactured fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides
Land-saving innovations
Increased volume of- relatively cheap- investments in agricultural research; a
positive attitude towards science-based agriculture
Organisation of an effective system of agricultural extension
Investments in irrigation and water control
Development of delivery systems for new seeds and inputs
Development of credit institutions and facilities, which enable farmers to purchase
the new inputs
Complementarities between the different inputs: research, new seeds, industrial
inputs, irrigation, education and extension, delivery and credit facilities.
When some of the elements of this package are lacking, the potential increase in yields
will not be realised.
Criticisms/ disadvantages of green revolution:
o Outside laboratories, conditions of newly developed varieties were often
disappointing.
o New varieties were susceptible to diseases, pests and weather conditions.
o Varieties were not sufficiently adjusted to local conditions.
o There was a danger of loss in genetic diversity due to the introduction of several
standardised varieties(genetic erosion).
Political criticisms of green revolution:
o Large farmers have better access to new inputs than small peasants. Therefore
the green revolution leads to increased rural inequality.
o The position of small peasants is threatened by the increasing costs of inputs.
Thus the green revolution again increases rural inequality and landlessness since
poor peasants are sometimes forced to lease out their land to rich farmers.
o When prices fall due to increases in total production, small peasants who were
unable to apply the new technologies will be worse of.
o Farmers in developing countries become more and more dependent on a few
agricultural MNCs which have a monopoly on the provision of new seed varieties.
o Production for export may have negative effects on women’s allocation of time
and energy. Since food production is shifted to land that is further away from their
home.
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