Part Ii Agriculture in the North African Sub-Region 1
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UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA • ECONOMIC BULLETIN FOR AFRICA • VOLUME IX No.2 • UNITED NATIONS • New York 1969 EXPLANATORY NOTES Symbols of the United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. Symbols preceded by the designation "E (CN. 14) ... " were issued under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this Bul letin do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of the frontiers of any country or territory. The following symbols have been used throughout this Bulletin: ... Not available or not pertinent; - Nil or negligible. In referring to combinations of years, the use of an oblique stroke, e.g., 1967168, signifies a twelve-month period, e.g., from 1 July 1967 to 30 June 1968. The use of a hyphen, e.g., 1964-1968, normally signifies either an average of or a total for the full period of calendar years covered, including the end years indicated. Unless the contrary is stated, the standard unit of weight used throughout is the metric ton. The definition of "billion" used throughout is one thousand million. Dollars, unless otherwise indicated, refer to United States dollars. Minor discrepan cies in totals and percentages are due to rounding. E I CN. 14 I 470 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No.: E . 69 . II . K . 10 Sales price : US $ 1.50 (or equivalent in other currencies) TABLE OF CONTENTS Note and summary page V Part I. AGRICULTURE IN THE EAST AFRICAN SUB-REGION Chapter Page Agricultural production, population growth, and food consumption per capita 1 2 Agricultural potential --------- 11 3 Pattern of exports --------- 19 4 Agricultural inputs and the organization of agriculture - 25 5 Synopsis of agricultural plans ---- 31 6 Monetized and subsistence agriculture and agricultural activities in GDP ----------- 35 7 Agricultural development and population growth --- 41 8 Comparative productivity of labour and investments in agriculture 45 Part II. AGRICULTURE IN THE NORTH AFRICAN SUB-REGION Chapter 9 The agricultural situation: problems and prospects -- 51 10 Commodity review ---------- 59 11 Measures required to secure higher levels of agricultural production 73 12 Agricultural macro-economic structure and development -- 75 LIST of TABLES - 79 NOTE and SUMMARY In the last two and one-half years the Bulletin low-yield animals; increasing the number of ani has treated problems of African industrialization, mals marketed; assuring adequate feed and water planning, and trade. It was thus felt that the cri for remaining livestock; spraying and inoculating tical agricultural sector would be appropriate for animals against diseases; and expanding veterinary, examination in the present edition. Since broad extension, training, and research services. coverage was considered desirable, a sub-regional approach was chosen. At the time of preparation of this edition, two recent studies had been com Chapter 3 Pattern of exports pleted by the Joint ECA/FAO Agricultural Deve lopment Division on the East African and North Coffee leads in earnings among the agricultural Mrican sub-regions. The articles in this Bulletin exports of East Africa, and the sub-regional share are selected edited portions of these studies. of world coffee exports increased from 8.4 per cent in 1959 to 11.2 per cent in 1964. Its price index, however, declined from 100 to 64 between 1958 and 1963. A reduction in supply is recommend PART I. AGRICULTURE IN THE EAST ed. Cotton is second in export earnings for the AFRICAN SUB-REGION sub-region, but acreage and price have been widely fluctuating over the past decade. Much high-quality Chapter 1 Agricultural production, population tobacco is grown in the sub-region, and the world growth, and food consumption per capita price has been rising. Among categories of exports of animal products, hides and skins contribute Statistics on the number of agricultural wage almost one-half of total earnings. Exports of earners suggest that the structure of the agricultural animal products for 1962-1964 averaged only 12.4 labour force shifted in favour of the subsistence per cent of total agricultural exports for the sub sector between 1954 and 1963 in East Africa. Data region, excluding Rwanda and Burundi. The value on eight countries show that value added in agri of animal product exports is very low in view of culture grew at the rate of 3.9 per cent annually the large cattle population. between 1955 and 1963, while the other sectors expanded at the over-all rate of 5.4 per cent. Per capita value added in agriculture is evaluated at Chapter 4 Agricultural inputs and the organization only one-eighth that outside agriculture. Popula of agriculture tion in the sub-region increased at a rate of about 2.2 per cent annually from 1955 to 1963. Ad The level of fertilizer consumption is so low in justing for price rises, it is concluded that food con East Africa that the sub-region is one of the lowest sumption per capita increased by a total of only consumers of chemical nutrients in the world. 1.7 per cent for the entire eight-year period. Subsistence producers, who constitute the majority of cultivators, rarely apply fertilizers. The use of tractors is common in countries with a compara Chapter 2 Agricultural potential tively high share of large-scale farms. Three types of producers are identified: subsistence farmers, East Africa has a very great agricultural poten emergent farmers, and commercial farmers. For tial, because of its endowment in land and animal six selected countries on which estimates were made, resources. The production of the most important the share of the subsistence sector in total agricul cereals in the sub-region, millet and sorghum, in tural output is evaluated as having declined only creased by 63 per cent from 1950 to 1963, as a from 62 per cent to 60 per cent from 1955 to 1963. function of important rises in both acreage and Three types of land tenure arrangements are found yield. The production of the next most important in East African countries: communal ownership, cereal food crop, maize, more than doubled be feudal ownership, and freehold. tween 1950 and 1965, although this was due princi pally to a rise in acreage. Data on most countries of the sub-region give an over-all cattle to popula Chapter 5 Synopsis of agricultural plans tion ratio of 89 cattle per 100 inhabitants, a ratio 3.5 times as high as in Europe. However, under In the sub-region taken as a whole, non-food developed animal husbandry practices result in agricultural output has been increasing at a much low meat production. It is recommended that live higher rate than food output, because the former stock numbers not be increased until governments is composed largely of export crops. The combina have been successful in reducing the number of tion of factors of rising food imports, rising food -V- prices, and rapidly increasing population has led Chapter 8 Comparative productivity of labour and to an emphasis on agricultural expansion and a investments in agriculture shift from subsistence to monetized agriculture in six development plans. In these countries agricul Because of the continued availability of land in tural production per capita is expected to increase East Africa, agricultural output per man is consider at an average annual rate of 1.4 per cent between ed a more important economic indicator of produc 1964 and 1969, composed of a 4.2 per cent annual tivity than is output per hectare. Data on six coun rise in monetized production and a decline of 0.3 tries show that value added per capita in agriculture per cent in subsistence production. Massive capital was only $40 as compared with $272 outside inflows into agriculture are necessary to reduce agriculture in the early 1960's. Despite the popula the considerable productivity gap between agricul tion shift from rural to urban settings, the higher ture and the other sectors, but agriculture is often rates of growth planned for non-agriculture as neglected from consideration for significant capital compared with agriculture are expected to absorb investments. Thus, even in these countries the aver or more than absorb this reductionary influence age annual rate of growth of agriculture is planned on differential productivity between agriculture and at a much lower rate than the non-agricultural non-agriculture. With respect to planned invest sectors, because of the efforts to build up productive ment in agriculture, the public and semi-public industries, improve infrastructural networks, and share is to be higher than the private share in augment social services. As a result, the share of four of the six countries for which data and esti agriculture in GDP is expected to decline from mates are available. Because of the impediments 47.2 per cent in 1964 to 41.2 per cent in 1969. to significant private investments in agriculture, it is incumbent upon the public sector to provide investment and necessary structural changes for Chapter 6 Monetized and subsistence agriculture the modernization of traditional agriculture. For and agricultural activities in GDP the sub-region, the planned public and semi public investment in agriculture over the planning Analysis of the agricultural sector in terms of its period is expected to be only $8.1 per capita, as monetized and subsistence components is presented compared with $35.4 outside agriculture. For six for the six countries with sufficient details on countries for which data are available, gross capital formation in agriculture is planned at an annual agricultural planning discussed in the previous chap rate of 6.8 per cent, as compared with 34.2 per ter.