Paper short abstract:

We assessed the impact of trade liberalization on food security using the interrupted time series analysis. Result showed a mixed impact on food security. We recommend policy focus on improving the value chain of agricultural crops for global competitiveness and food security.

Paper long abstract:

Till date knowledge of impact of trade policies on food security is limited. We assess this by extracting data on per-capita food supply of selected staples and commodity crops from 1961 to 2012 from the Food and Agricultural Organisation Statistics (FAOSTAT) database. This data provided us with 51 years observations, with a focus on the 1986 Structural Agricultural Policy. In our analysis, we assessed the trend of each staples and commodity crops before and after trade liberalization. The next step was application of a single treatment group interrupted time series analysis model (itsa). We checked for auto-correlation between data points using Durbin Watson Test and auto-correlation plots in our generalized least squares regression.

The result of our analysis revealed significant increase in per capita food supply in most domestic staple crops except a decrease in wheat, groundnut and rice in the first year of intervention. Relative to pre-intervention, there were indication of slight increase in per capita food supply of yam, wheat, cassava, rice and cocoa, significant decrease were obvious for groundnut and sorghum. While this study could not disentangle other policies interventions along the line that may have had exogenous impact on per-capita supply. It established a mixed effect in the interference of trade liberalization. While trade liberalization is partly positive for certain agricultural output especially commodity crops, it remains a barrier for growth and global competitiveness for some domestic crops. Policy intervention should focus on improving the value chain of agricultural crops for global competitiveness and food security.

Paper short abstract:

This agricultural trade and globalization report provides information on how globalization has affected agricultural trade and economic development of the African countries in the 21st century. Trends of agricultural trade and development in Africa shows an increasing rate during the 21st century.

Paper long abstract:

This research aims particularly to understand how globalization has affected African countries in the aspect of agricultural trade and economic development in the 21st century. This paper utilizes Food and Agricultural Organization Statistics, WorldBank Development Indicators, United Nations Development Programme and KOF Macroeconomic datasets to analyze the effect of globalization on import and export of agricultural commodities and human development with these variables serving as a measure of trade and development respectively. The study covers fifty two countries which provided full data for important variables. Assessing changes within the continent through imports, exports, real gross domestic product per capita, exchange rate and human development index provides evidence of globalization in the 21st century which is also illustrated by the gradual increase in the globalization index.

Although the study points towards the effect of globalization on agricultural trade other economic variables such as real gross domestic product per capita, exchange rate, producer prices and previous year export have significant influence on exportation of agricultural products while importation is also affected by lag of imports and producer prices. The effect of globalization on human development is measured through the effect of agricultural trade on human development index with globalization acting as an instrument.

Drawing on the work of a range of authors on globalization, trade and development the paper will argue that globalization positively impacts on importation and exportation and have consequences for development with significant influence on human development.

Paper short abstract:

The study examines how and who provides weather information to farmers and the changes in the role of information, actors and institutions as a result of globalization and ICT informational age.

Paper long abstract:

The provision of weather information services to farmers have become necessary due to the effects of erratic weather conditions. This has become possible as ICT and globalisation has enabled increasing number of people to gain access to information. This study examines how and who provides weather information to farmers and the changes in the role of information, actors and institutions as a result of globalization and ICT informational age. The informational governance theory is applied to understand the changes in the role of actors, information and institutions that enables the provision of weather information services for farming. Interviews was conducted with farmers and weather information producers, providers and supporting service providers. Findings of the study indicates changes in the roles of actors who produce and deliver weather information services to farmers. Increasingly, weather information sources, the information production and delivery is either at a global, national, and local level or a combination of two levels. This change process involves multiple actors at various scale and it also involves multinationals, for-profit and non-governmental organizations. Conventional state actors' role is currently being (out)played or complemented by private actors or farmer based organisations. Shifts have also taken place in the forms and mechanisms of governance since state polices and Act of Parliaments have also paved way for the sale of weather information and other agricultural information and the entrant of private actors. The study analysed the consequences of these phenomena on agricultural development.

Paper short abstract:

One of the great concern and problem to population within the Africa (developing nations) continent is food security. The relationship between trade and food security is imperative considering the trade agenda in World Trade Organisation (WTO) in relation to Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).

Paper long abstract:

Trade is considered to be one of the key elements in achieving sustainable and long-term development. Trade in itself induce economic growth and possible reduction of excessive trade barriers at home (within Africa nations) is important as improving market access abroad. Reducing trade-distorting subsidies and trade barriers within the WTO negotiation would possibly boost food production in developing countries where agricultural development is affected by subsidy practices.

Agricultural agreement rested on three pillars: market access, domestic support and export competition. With market access, countries agree to convert their protection measures into import taxes (tariffs) which can then be 'bound' (fixed) and negotiated downward, aimed at encouraging domestic production as tariffs are most times convenient farm support measures to developing countries. Farmers in developing countries struggle to compete with subsidised production and exports in richer countries that are trading more on industrialised goods, this thereby distort agricultural trade.

Understanding 'market access' segment of the AoA is necessary as the conversion of restrictions at times to tariffs could make producers face increased competition from import as such there are avenue for developing countries to provide temporary protection by raising import duties to deal with import surges.

Paper short abstract:

Coastal communities in Sierra Leone suffer from the twin evils of poverty and hunger. The country's marine fisheries sector is seen as a means of dealing with both evils, and two alternative or complementary strategies (welfare and wealth creation) have failed.

Paper long abstract:

Coastal communities in Sierra Leone suffer from the twin evils of poverty and hunger (UN Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2, respectively). The country's marine fisheries sector is seen as a means of dealing with both evils, and two alternative or complementary strategies have been devised to do so:

(1) The wealth creation strategy is designed to boost the economic efficiency of the marine sector by investing in technical improvements of vessel and gears, it assumes benefits will trickle down.

(2) The welfare provision strategy is designed to intervene directly in the small-scale fishery in order to provide facilities, which will make better use of the catches landed.

This study examines the effectiveness of each of these two strategies by investigating the perception of stakeholders about their outcomes. Perceptions data were obtained from 51 key informant interviews and 199-survey questionnaire carried out during 2016. Findings show (1) that there is a large presence of international fisheries experts who advocate the wealth creation strategy, and that their contributions are helping to develop the country's industrial fisheries sector and its GDP, but this strategy has not tackled the increasing problems of poverty and food insecurity among local communities; and (2) that proponents of welfare interventions have provided storage facilities but local communities are unable to maintain these facilities. This study concludes that understanding local circumstances is key to developing the types of wealth creation and welfare provision strategies for dealing with poverty and hunger alleviation that will work for these local communities.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the influence of technological innovations on poverty incidence and its effects on agricultural development in West Africa. Study indicates some degree of poverty incidence in the country which has resulted in a sluggish feedback effect on agricultural development in the country.

Paper long abstract:

This study examined the influence of agricultural innovations technology on poverty and the feedback effect of prevalent poverty incidence on agricultural development in West Africa. The study used 25 year period (1991 - 2015) panel data sourced from the World Bank's World Development indicators, United States Department of Agriculture, Penn World Table and Statistics on Public Expenditure for Economic Development. The data used for the Study were agriculture value added (% of Gross Domestic Product), poverty headcount ratio at $1.9 a day, farm mechanization, agricultural expenditure, Irrigation, human capital and telecommunication technology. The findings of this study indicates a regional prevalence of poverty in West Africa despite the increasing trend of agricultural technology innovations. Also, the contribution of agriculture, value added (% of Gross Domestic Product) was observed to be increasing at a decreasing rate. Furthermore, the result reveals significant linear effects of the prevalent poverty situations on agricultural development and agricultural development on the other hand significantly contribute to poverty exit in West Africa. The study concluded that enhancing agricultural development is the critical entry-point in designing effective poverty reduction strategies. Yet, to maximize the poverty reducing effects, the right agricultural innovation technology such as irrigation, mechanization and human capital must be pursued.