Food security, Agricultural development

Basis for economic growth,

Develop agricultural sector and use surplus of capital and labor to invest in manufacturing sector.

Subsistence farming

Capital intensive options, less labor

Crop prices,

Palm oil

Domestic crops,

bad for climate very very profitable vs other common crops. Soybean rape, sunflower oil

Serves an important role in many many developing nations, being self sufficient in food.

Modernisation through industrialisation

Very low labour productivity

Low investment in agriculture, despite rapidly growing economies

With the rise of biofuel this is becoming a more attractive option

benefits of switching will only be felt be elite, and could drive inequality.

having a stable price is important as vast amount of disposable income goes on food in developing countries.

Climate change is damaging land,

Reduction in top soil and arable land.

If every country is industrialising, who is going to feed them all

Dependent on food imports

If agg productivity is low, how can nations ever hope to industrialise

land in Africa is shared between a family and as family gets bigger land per family gets smaller. Subdivision

Integrating of agg economy into national cash system

Enables consistent pricing for agg goods rather than bartered

Government policy mix must support both modern urban sector and the traditional rural sector. Chemicals etc.

Polices are often urban focused

High exchange rate to import capital for development. This weakens domestic business vs international market. making it cheaper to import food.

Gov could buy certain crops to support price for domestic farmers. This happens in Asia.

Lots of subsistence farmers only farm one crop, how can gov introduce cash crops.

Risky move to grow other crops but more valuable

Interest rates geared towards urban sector.

Invest in infrastructure to move resources/ crops around country to market more freely

Land reform needed to ensure farm land is appropriately sized. However land registers are weak in LDCs

Rural development

2/3 of worlds poorest live in rural areas.

Engaging in subsistence farming

Agriculture plays a passive supporting role in development

Provides low price food and man power to expanding industrial economy

Agriculture fuels industrial expansion

Agg has 4 functions

inputs for textile and food processing

export, foreign exchange contributions to allow countries to import capital

Rising rural incomes that increase demand for consumer goods

Factor market contribution; labour not needed on farms once productivity rises they can work in industry,

Trends in Agg productivity

Developing countries share of global agg GDP rose from 56-65%1980-2004

Low income countries can have up 90% of labor force in Agg

Price food spikes drove progress in solving world hunger to a stop

Poor Agg performance driven by lack of Gov support.

Investment in urban sector

Rapid industrialization via import substitution

Exchange rate overvaluation

Gov intervention in food prices 1980s more harm than good

Requiring farmers to sell to state at low prices to keep selling price low

As farmers lack collateral they can not gain credit , which means they can not afford to take children out of school which means poverty continues

Lacking insurance farmers can not afford to take risks

Green Revolution

Basis was to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger

Africa short of uncultivated land

Urbanisation has changed consumption preferences and rice is 5% up in Africa.

Regional rice production can only meet 2/3 of demand.

Development of yield increasing technology. increase labour demand by developing labour-using technologies

Technologies which are suitable for marginal areas

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As the poor rely heavily of labour for income we should invest in ways to increase labour demand.