The Insider (Harare)
Staff Writer
28 September 2001
Bulawayo — Agricultural output from small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe may have fallen by as much as 50 percent over the past five years mainly as a result of the killer disease, AIDS, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) says in its latest report.
It says 7 million agricultural workers have died from AIDS since 1985 in the 25 worst affected African countries. Another 16 million could die within the next 20 years. Namibia seems to be the worst hit losing 26 percent of its agricultural labour force in the 15 years.
Neighbouring Botswana and Zimbabwe are tied in second spot with a loss of 23 percent, while Mozambique and South Africa are also tied with a 20 percent loss. The report says although Africa accounts for only one-tenth of the world's population, it accounts for nine out of 10 new cases of HIV infection.
Eighty-three percent of all AIDS deaths are in Africa. The report says while the impact of AIDS on farming communities differs from country to country, the epidemic is undermining the progress made in agriculture and rural development over the past 40 years. "The disease is no longer simply a health problem, it has become a major development issue," FAO says.
The report says in 1999, overall agricultural production failed to keep up with population growth for the third consecutive year. It rose by only 2.1 percent while population growth was 2.5 percent Preliminary estimates for 2000 were that agricultural production would only increase by 0.5 percent.
FAO says labour shortages are particularly serious for agriculture because production was seasonal. Timing was therefore crucial. The shortfall in household labour meant that land remained fallow and the household's output declined.
The shortage of labour could lead to less time being dedicated to weeding, mulching, pruning and clearing of land. Farmers could also switch to less labour-intensive crops. The epidemic also had a grave impact on agricultural estates and could lead to a drop in profitability through absenteeism owing to sickness, substantially reduced productivity and higher overtime costs as other workers replaced their sick colleagues.
It says at one estate in Kenya spending on funerals rose five-fold while health costs shot up ten-fold over an eight-year period. HIV/AIDS could also have a serious impact on the livestock sector as the livestock was sold to support the sick and to pay for funerals. Selling livestock ate into a household's savings, making families more vulnerable to new shocks.
Medical and funeral expenses forced many of the poorer families into debt. It also affected extension work as workers got affected. FAO says in Uganda, considered the most successful country in Africa to combat the disease, between 20 and 50 percent of all person-hours among extension staff was lost as a result of the disease.
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