The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay

The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay Illustrating your answer with specific examples, evaluate the impact of structural adjustment programmes on agriculture in southern Africa. Introduction The impact of Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) on the performance of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) has been deeply investigated and, despite what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank claimed, adjustment policies have often had a negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the regions population. In particular, The SAPs in Africa have certainly contributed to some changes in the agricultural sector: in a continent where more than 70 percent of the population is involved in agriculture, the last two decades have seen a relatively poor sectors performance, opposed to the post-independence condition of self-sufficiency of most of the regions countries (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). This essay will look more deeply into some of the impacts of SAPs on agriculture, focusing on the experience of Zambia as an example of IMF adjustment programs which failed to fully address the nature of the countrys economic crisis, caused by both external causes and domestic policy shortcomings. After a brief introduction on the economic situation of the country and the factors that led to the adoption of SAPs, the essay will proceed by evaluating some of the main ways in which agriculture has been affected by structural adjustment programs, looking in particular at the consequences on production patterns as well as on the people involved in agriculture. The last section draws conclusions. I. During the last century, the role of agriculture in the Zambian economy and the policies associated to it have greatly varied. The country went from a flourishing self-sufficient agriculture of the pre-colonial period, to a neglected rural sector and a copper-dependent economy during the colonial period, to a return to agriculture as a way out of the economic crisis. During the colonial period (1890-1964), agricultural activity was divided among two classes of farmers: European settler farmers, supported by the state through advantageous policies, and African subsistence peasant farmers, used mainly as a labour reservoir, and to which access to good land was restricted (Mwanza, 1992). At this time, the role of agriculture was especially supportive to the provision of low priced food and cheap supplies of labour to the expanding industrial economy (ILO, 1987). Maize was the principal commodity constituting 90 percent of all marketed cereals, accompanied by secondary export commodities such as coffee, cotton, tobacco and groundnuts. At independence, the United National Independent Party (UNIP) attempted to diversify the economy by developing agriculture to secure food self-sufficiency and reduce the dependence on the copper industry. A single-channel marketing system, fixed agricultural producer prices, and subsidies in the maize area are examples of the policies put in place to offset the damage caused by an already declining mining industry (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). However, such policy experiments did not reach their objectives, and Zambia went through economic deterioration in the 1970s due to both external shocks (oil crises and falling prices of copper), and inefficient domestic economic policies (e.g. a static and inflexible economic structure) (Seshamani, 1990). The government started to borrow in order to maintain the same levels of import, increasing the countrys indebtedness that reached unacceptable levels, for a total of almost $4.5 billion a t the end of 1982 (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With no significant recovery of the economy, the increasing budget deficit obliged the government to start getting conditional loans within the framework of the IMF/WB SAPs. II. A first series of SAPs was adopted in Zambia between 1983 and 1987, with the aim of restoring the countrys financial stability through trade liberalization, currency devaluation, and reduction of government spending, including the removal of food and input subsidies (Saasa, 1996). Preliminary liberalization took place in the years 1983-1985, when a foreign exchange auction system was introduced. The IMF/WB program collapsed in 1987, mainly due to the unsustainable depreciation of the domestic currency (the Kwacha) that fell from a pre-auction rate of K 2.20 per US$ to K 21 per US$ of the last auction (Wulf, 1988). After a brief attempt by the Kaunda government to put up its own New Economic Recovery Programme between 1987- 1989, Zambia went back to the IMF/WB SAP starting from 1989, and the reform periods went on with the following government. In agriculture, the SAP aimed at promoting agricultural exports, improving food production and limiting government intervention in the market (Simatele, 2006). Before the introduction of SAPs, the government put in place highly subsidized measures to assist agricultural production growth such as crop-marketing depots that reached the entire country, the introduction of fixed crop prices, and provision of tractor ploughing services, credit and fertilizer (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). Such measures were replaced by agricultural adjustment policies that included the removal of subsidies, food prices decontrol, abolition of equity pricing, and liberalization of agricultural marketing (Mwanza, 1992). During the short period of the New Economic Recovery Programme, the Kaunda government failed to support agricultural development, and not surprisingly, given the fact that the same measures which undermined agricultural production and which led to foreign borrowings were re-adopted: revaluation of the kwacha, food subsidies, and price controls. But lets look at the consequences of reforms in more detail. The introduction of SAPs in Zambia affected agriculture in a number of ways. This essay will focus on the consequences on food production (in particular on changes in the cropping patterns), and on the people that practice agriculture, especially smallholders. The reforms had an impact on food production and cropping patterns due to two main factors: first, an increase in agricultural production costs, and second, a decrease in access to credit. Production costs rose in Zambia following a decrease in (i) the exchange rate, and (ii) agricultural subsidies. The countrys food production is dependent on the exchange rate especially in terms of input prices. The newly adopted foreign exchange auction system (1985) made it difficult for the government to plan a consistent pricing policy, and agriculture, as a priority sector for the economic restructuring, was uncompetitive in the foreign exchange auctions. As a consequence of the auctioning, the local currency (Kwacha) depreciated, increasing the prices of imported goods and inflation. Whereas a 50kg bag of fertilizer cost K26.75 during the 1984/5 season, it rose to K48 during the 1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This had a strong impact on the very import sensitive Zambian farming. First, the production of the main crop, maize, is heavily dependent on imports of fertilizers and other items such as empty grain bags. Even though Zambia needs less fertilizer than other countries, as Mal awi, due to the abundance of good arable land, such input is by far the most important and most costly used, especially by small farmers. Second, petrol and trucks for the transport of agricultural produce must also be imported. These inputs are highly necessary in a country with a low level of population density and a skewed pattern of urbanization. As a consequence of exchange rate auctioning, production costs rose, and farm gate maize prices became less favourable, especially for small-scale maize producers in peripheral areas of the country (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With increasing input prices, the government, in order to maintain production, was obliged to augment producer prices correspondingly: maize reached K55 per bag in the1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This, together with good weather conditions, contributed to the rise of agricultural output at a level of 9 percent of GDP in 1985 (Wulf, 1988). However, due to a higher rate of population growth, GDP was still declining. Th e rise of producer prices has been certainly beneficial, but the absence of infrastructural improvements and other consequences of liberalizations such as high inflation undermined output improvements. Before the reform period, the government both delivered inputs to, and collected outputs from farmers, even in the more remote areas. However, with the introduction of the SAPs in the 1980s, subsidies connected to agricultural production were severely reduced. Removal of food subsidies, previously put in place mainly to provide cheap food for urban residents, did not affect poor farmers (Sahn, 2004). However, the removal of other subsidies such as those on transport and on inputs did have an impact on agriculture, and especially on smallholders. The reduction of transport subsidies undermined farmers access to markets and increased the cost of production. Both small and large farmers were adversely affected by transport subsidy removals, but while large scale farmers suffered less from the price increase due to their closeness to markets and roads, the remoteness of many smallholders further increased their costs of production. Village processing was replaced by large-scale mills, ad ding extra transportation costs that, together with the absence of subsidies, made the food system highly inefficient, negatively affecting rural residents and their produce. Agricultural production was also affected. Being maize the major and most commercialized food crop in the country, its dependence on factors such as distance to markets and credit is higher than for other crops. As a study by the African Economic Research Consortium shows, maize has a negative response to distance from the market (Simatele, 2006). On the contrary, other crops such as cassava have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not as much affected by the removal of transport subsidies. The de-subsidization of agricultural inputs, as for example input credit or less costly fertilizer, also had an impact on agriculture. Their removal entailed a credit squeeze and caused an increase in production costs, negatively affecting especially small-scale food production. A second factor that had an impact on food production was the decline of access to credit. Before the introduction of SAPs, agricultural credit was provided by government-owned companies such as the Agricultural Finance company (AFC), and by commercial banks. Although commercial farmers have mainly financed their operations through private banks, smallholders have relied mostly on government loans, because of the low repayment rates connected to it. With the liberalization of the financial markets, credit and its pricing was no longer controlled, and farmers had to compete with other potential borrowers to get it. Credit provision was left mainly to the private sector, that failed in filling the gap. For smallholders it has been very difficult to obtain loans from financial institutions, both because of their exposition to high risks (i.e. physical conditions of the environment, health problems), and because of their isolation (poor transportation and communications). Because the pri vate sector often refused to serve the rural areas, the opportunity was left to local moneylenders, if present, to exploit their monopolistic positions and charge the small farmers high interest rates. In any case, interest rates escalated, causing a problem for loan repayment: from 43 percent in 1990, to 46 percent in 1991 (Geisler, 1992). In Solwezi District in the North Western Province, the progression of interest rates charged by Lima Bank during the 1993/94 cropping season reached 120% in September,1993 (Kajoba, et al,1995, p.9). Attempts to solve the problem of credit access, included those leaving smallholder credit provision to the private sector, most of the times resulted inefficient and failed. An example of such attempts is the launch of the Agricultural Credit Management Programme (ACMP) in 1994, which was meant to support the private sector in credit provision by giving fertilizers and seeds on credit through credit managers who would in turn provide these inputs to f armers through local credit coordinators (Pletcher, 2000). The ones that mostly benefited from this system have been the stockists and traders at the expense of smallholders. The problem of credit provision with liberalization continues to exist, and will probably persist as long as the private sector and the government do not reach an agreement on the development of efficient input supply networks. It is clear that SAPs in Zambia had a negative impact primarily on the smallholder subsector, that between 1980 and 1994 contributed about 40 percent of the agricultural output (Chiwele et al., 1998). The increase of production costs and the decrease in access to credit have introduced new difficulties for smallholders disposing of less means to overcome adverse conditions than commercial farmers. Moreover, while commercial farming systems are concentrated along the rail line, remote farmers, once relying on support of the state, have been cut off as the private sector was not able to fill the gap caused by liberalization. The new private sector-led marketing system initiated in 1992, in fact, has not so far been successful in carrying out its functions to the same extent as the cooperatives previously did. Most traders own very little transport and storage facilities and tend to depend on hired material. The bigger constraint, however, has been traders lack of access to capital. As a consequence of the marginalization of remote farmers, volatility and desperate selling right after the rains have increased, leading to a decrease of selling prices and a affecting of the market (Chiwele et al., 1998). Concerning cropping patterns, the adoption of SAPs and the cost increase have contributed to the rise in production of other crops as millet, sorghum, and cassava. In fact, even though today maize is still grown in large quantities in Zambia, from 1980 to 2005 Cassava production went from 360000 to 1056000 tons, while millet production from 20000 to 29583 tons (FAOSTAT, 2010). The area planted to maize declined 43 percent between 1989 and 1999. During the same period, the area planted to cotton increased by 65 percent, and the area for groundnuts grew by more than 100 percent (Mukherjee, 2002, p.27-28). Smallholders withdrawal from maize cultivation might be considered as a threat, in the sense that it would negatively affect the policy of self sufficiency in maize, leading to the need of importing the crop from the neighbouring countries (Sano, 1988). In mid-1987, only about 6.5 million bags of maize were expected from current harvest, necessitating large and costly imports of the s taple once again (Good, 1988, p.45). However, the introduction of maize as the main commercial crop was a post-independence policy that encouraged inefficiency and lack of differentiation by giving incentives to the farmers to move away from the production of other crops into maize. But the ecology of the country makes it more suited for certain crops than others, according to the area of cultivation. Maize is ecologically suited to less than half of the country, and requires new skills and large labour and capital inputs in comparison to other starch staples (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987, p. 292). The dominance on one crop partially explains why less than 20 percent of the countrys arable land was under cultivation (Saasa, 1996). In the period pre-SAPs, the government introduced rural development programs that promoted the cultivation of maize as a cash and food crop. Rising subsidies have coincided with the rapid advance of maize production, even in areas where it previously had a minor role (i.e. parts of the Northern Province). Such policy made small-scale farmers dependent on the government, on both subsidies provision (as those on fertilizers, transport, marketing and credit), and on a single cereal (Kajoba, 2009). Adjustment reforms have shifted the attention to competing grains and tubers i.e. millet, sorghum, and cassava for a number of reasons. First, these crops are generally cultivated with little or no chemical dressings, requiring much less inputs (Kydd, 1988). Second, they have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not so much dependent on transport services, and therefore subsidies. This also affects the issue of access to markets, which has been decreasing for smallholders with the liberalization reforms. Third, these crops are drought resistant and more traditional in some parts of the country than maize, and their production might contribute to an increased efficiency on the food system, as harvest fluctuations might be red uced and marketed food supply might be more regular. Also, alternative crops sometimes have non-monetary credit available, allowing easier forms of repayment by farmers. For these reasons, a gradual move away from maize might even be beneficial to agriculture to some extent, as it could contribute to an increased efficiency of the food system. Moreover, in the long term, an increase in the production of cheap un-subsidized food could provide a more sustainable solution. CONCLUSION This essay has looked at some of the main consequences on agriculture of policy reform measures undertaken through structural adjustment programmes in Zambia. Both production patterns and smallholder farmers were affected by the reforms. Production costs rose following a decrease in the exchange rate and in agricultural subsidies, and access to credit decreased following liberalization. These patterns negatively affected especially small-scale farmers, unable to cope with increasingly adverse production conditions, while left the bigger, commercial farmers closer to the market better off. Improvements in the small-scale sector have further been undermined by problems in the provision of agricultural support services by private actors. Alternative crops are increasingly grown as a consequence of rising production costs related to maize, and this pattern might provide a solution for a more sustainable and more efficient food system. Certainly, the countrys situation pre-SAPs and the in efficiency of its agricultural policies required some kind of reforms: a food system focused on maize, a structure of production and consumption along the line of rail and in the copperbelt, a transport system sustained by subsidies and an export agriculture affected by an overvaluation of the exchange rate (Sano, 1988). However, the enforcement of a standard package of policy measures has proven unsuccessful in addressing the nature of Zambias economic crisis. SAPs focused excessively on price policy reforms, that have been not able to induce agricultural growth alone. Price stabilisation programmes need to be carefully designed so as not to turn into a fiscal drain and an obstacle to production diversification. Reforms in agriculture are still taking place and policies are therefore still changing. Credit access, input markets design and the way through which institutions can enhance smallholder agriculture are areas that require a particular attention when formulating policies th at will enhance the countrys agricultural potential.

Men are Becoming More Evil Essay

I believe that in the last couple of decades man is becoming more evil. Many blame the media. Then there are those who blame the increasing number of dysfunctional family and the weakening relationship between parents and children. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear, and that is men are becoming more cruel, violent, inhuman and evil. Global crime rate, for example, has shown that all countries around the world have steady increase in robbery, homicide and other crimes. The total recorded crime trends have therefore shown similar steady increase in the last 50 decades. This was reported by the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems. Juvenile delinquency is also increasing as reported by World Youth Report, 2003. In fact, in many Western European countries, from the 80s to the 90s, statistics show that there is a significant increase in juvenile delinquency rate from 50% to 100%. Moreover, although delinquency is universal, study has shown that there are different contributing factors to delinquency among different regions. For example, in Africa, the main cause is poverty, unemployment and malnutrition. In Asian countries, it is an urban phenomenon. In some countries, especially those in the Golden Triangle region, children are used by the drug industry, thereby becoming addicts themselves. Also in this region, children are victimized by human trafficking. In Latin America, it is homelessness and poverty. Arab world, it is urbanization for the rich countries and socioeconomic difficulties for the developing ones. While in many industrialized countries, such as the US, the main factor is increase in consumer goods. What this shows is that across the globe and with different factors, delinquency is becoming a way of life for many children. Gone are the days when children are innocent. Today they grow up in a world of violence, injustice and inhumanity that they themselves become violent, cruel and evil. Their crimes can be considered most heinous. In the last fifteen years school shootings is becoming more common. Then there are children who are not even in their teens commit senseless and extremely cruel crimes, such as Jon Venables and  Robert Thompson who stole, tortured and murdered a two year old boy. Whether this is caused by the environment, the media or family upbringing, it is clear that men are therefore becoming more evil. Becoming evil of course is a process as it does not happen overnight. It means that there is hope yet for the future generations. Societies might change and evil men might repent and turn their backs on their evil ways. But until that day comes, we see man becoming more evil with each passing day.

Dangerously alluring Essay

‘Dangerously alluring’, to what extent is this an accurate estimation of Richards Character?  Richard III. One of the most complex characters in Shakespeare’s various plays. Psychologically, he is an enigmatic individual, who possesses a number of contradictory characteristics, which qualify him as a fantastic villain. He is a man so determined to succeed, that he can almost be perceived as slightly insane. His three dimensional character means that there is a side of him that will appeal to the audience, and absorbs the viewer into his world of madness, irony, and mayhem. There is no other suitable way to characterise Richard, apart from ‘Dangerously alluring’, as I will prove in a psychosomatic analysis of Richard in the play ‘King Richard III’. One of Richard’s most dangerously alluring characteristics is his manipulative speech. He is undoubtedly the most articulate character in the whole of the play, making him dangerous to encounter. He proves, throughout the play, that, with the aid of his ‘honey words’, he can free himself from any situations that may jeopardise, his plot and thus his path to the throne. One of the most improbable situations, which Richard’s verbal dexterity allows him to escape, is his confrontation with Anne (Act I Scene III), at the funeral of her late husband Edward Prince of Wales, who died at the hands of Richard following the Battle of Tewkesbury. Of course Anne feels pure hate towards Richard because of the pain he has inflicted upon her and her family. In the beginning of their encounter her revulsion towards Richard is evident in the tone of her speech;  Ã¢â‚¬ËœFoul devil, for God’s sake hence, and trouble us not†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  It is quite clear that Anne holds, in her heart, a passionate hatred towards Richard, as he ruined her family. Other examples of her abhorrence of Richard are the names, to which she refers to him with,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦infection of a man’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœFoul devil†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦thou lump of foul deformity’  The latter insult is very wounding towards Richard as it refers to his deformity, i.e. his withered arm, which he is very aware of, he makes many comments throughout the play about it,  (Act I scene I) ‘Cheating of feature by dissembling Nature’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœBut I, that am not shaped for sporting tricks†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦descant upon my own deformity.’  And thinks himself inferior because of it,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦since I cannot prove a lover†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  This reference to Richard’s deformity, by Anne reflects how angry she is. In some parts of the confrontation she even curses him,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœEither heav’n with lightening strike the murderer dead†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  Previously, before Richard enter the scene she makes many hurtful curses upon Richard and his prospective wife,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœIf ever he have a child, abortive be it;’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœMay fright the hopeful mother at the view †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  With hindsight it is clear to see how ironic these curses are because Anne ultimately becomes Richard’s wife. Yet how was Anne transformed from hatred, to an ounce of affection, after the crimes Richard has committed against her and her family? Simply, when she finally gives Richard an opportunity to speak, Anne is lured by his dexterity in the art of decei t. He skilfully turns the blame towards, as he claims it was her beauty which drove him towards such heinous crimes, ‘Your beauty was the cause of that effect†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  His disingenuous tactics prove advantageous as slowly but surely she calm, falling a prey to his deception. Allowing Richard time to speak is a fatal error as she lets her guard down and becomes susceptible to his lies.  At one point he gauges that he has turned her mind from hate to slight affection, and offers her his sword to kill him for his crimes, and to rid him of the pain he feels because of the great ‘affection’ he feels for Anne which is not mutual;  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLo here I lend thee this sharp pointed sword  Which if thou please to hide in this true breast†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  His verbal skill is and obviously has been influential enough to turn Anne’s feelings, and he has picked a key moment to prove his love, as at any point before she perhaps would have gladly buried the sword in his chest. He picks the right moment where she has been stunned and confused by his actions, and the fact that he has offered his sword for Anne to kill him, confirms his ‘true’ feelings for her. He even previously utters some very callous words about Anne and his feelings towards her,  ANNE; ‘Some dungeon’  RICHARD; ‘Your bed chamber’  The fact that Richard has the courage to utter such a tasteless comment speaks highly of his audacity and confidence, and shows that he gauges that he has the intelligence to remedy this whole situation, no matter how difficult the predicament he finds himself in is. His air of confidence is dangerously alluring because it shows him to be a very strong character, and some women find confidence an attractive quality. Richard III’s character explores the attraction of an anti hero, just as Heathcliff did in the novel Wuthering Heights. In this scene of the play Richard uses his skill to win Anne over and accomplish another part of his plot to become King. Richards’ intelligence allows him to see that by marrying Anne he is safe-guarding his position on the throne as he will have an alliance with the House of York through his own blood and Lancaster through Anne’s. He shows how he can exploit Anne to make his path to being King even stronger. This scene is perhaps the best example of how dangerously alluring Richard is as when you contrast the beginning and the end of the scene it is clear to see what Richard has accomplished.

Poetry - 1969 Words

Love Poem Analysis: Linda Pastan is an American poet of Jewish background. She was born in New York on May 27, 1932. Today, she lives in Potomac, Maryland with her husband Ira Pastan, an accomplished physician and researcher. She is known for writing short poems that address topics like family life, domesticity, motherhood, the female experience, aging, death, loss and the fear of loss, as well as the fragility of life and relationships. Love poem is a very simple poem yet it has a deep dimension if you read analytically. In fact she didn’t get straight to the point that she was primarily addressing which is the â€Å"love poem†. Pastan goes on to describe the form of the poem rather than going on to talk about the love itself that†¦show more content†¦Each of the four parts ends at the moment when description yields to directly quoted speech: this speech first takes the form of the reaper’s whispering identification, then of the Lady’s half-sick lament, then of the Lady’s declaration of her doom, and finally, of Lancelot’s blessing. Each stanza contains nine lines with the rhyme scheme AAAABCCCB. The â€Å"B† always stands for â€Å"Camelot† in the fifth line and for â€Å"Shalott† in the ninth. The â€Å"A† and â€Å"C† lines are always in tetrameter, while the â€Å"B† lines are in trimeter. In addition, the sentence structure is line-bound: most phrases do not extend past the length of a single line. Commentary Much of the poem’s charm comes from its sense of mystery and ambiguity; of course, these aspects also complicate the task of analysis. That said, most scholars understand â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† to be about the conflict between art and life. The Lady, who weaves her magic web and sings her song in a remote tower, can be seen to represent the thoughtful artist isolated from the movement and activity of daily life. The moment she sets her art aside to gaze down on the real world, a curse befalls her and she meets her tragic death. The poem thus captures the conflict between an artist’s desire for social involvement and his/her doubts about whether such a commitment is viable for someone dedicated to art. 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