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Global Food Politics and Approaches to Sustainable Consumption: Emerging Research and Opportunities Luke Amadi University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Fidelis Allen University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
A volume in the Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies (AEEGT) Book Series
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Names: Amadi, Luke, 1978- editor. | Allen, Fidelis, editor. Title: Global food politics and approaches to sustainable consumption: Emerging research and opportunities / Luke Amadi and Fidelis Allen, editors. Description: Hershey, PA : Engineering Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global), 2019. Identifiers: LCCN 2019016788| ISBN 9781799801252 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781799801269 (softcover) | ISBN 9781799801276 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Nutrition policy. | Food consumption. Classification: LCC TX359 .G567 2019 | DDC 363.8/561--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn. loc.gov/2019016788
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Global Perspectives on Air Pollution Prevention and Control System Design G. Venkatesan (Anna University, India) and Jaganthan Thirumal (Anna University, India) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 345pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522572893) • US $195.00 Retrofitting for Optimal Energy Performance Adrian Tantau (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 339pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522591047) • US $245.00 Advanced Design of Wastewater Treatment Plants Emerging Research and Opportunities Athar Hussain (Ch. Brahm Prakash Government Engineering College, India) and Ayushman Bhattacharya (Ch. Brahm Prakash Government Engineering College, India) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 350pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522594413) • US $195.00 Advanced Multi-Criteria Decision Making for Addressing Complex Sustainability Issues Prasenjit Chatterjee (MCKV Institute of Engineering, India) Morteza Yazdani (Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain) Shankar Chakraborty (Jadavpur University, India) Dilbagh Panchal (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jalandhar, India) and Siddhartha Bhattacharyya (RCC Institute of Information Technology Kolkata, India) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 360pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522585794) • US $195.00 Amelioration Technology for Soil Sustainability Ashok K. Rathoure (Biohm Consultare Pvt Ltd, India) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 280pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522579403) • US $185.00 Advanced Agro-Engineering Technologies for Rural Business Development Valeriy Kharchenko (Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM, Russia) and Pandian Vasant (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia) Engineering Science Reference • ©2019 • 484pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522575733) • US $195.00
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Table of Contents
Preface.................................................................................................................viii Section 1 Food Politics in Global Contexts and Implications for Sustainable Consumption Chapter 1 Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption: A Critical Perspective......................................................................1 Luke Amadi, Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, Nigeria Section 2 Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Policy for Sustainable Food Consumption Chapter 2 Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders in Developing Countries...........................................................................................31 Ibnu Budiman, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands Chapter 3 A Review on Impact of Changing Climate on Sustainable Food Consumption...54 Tosin Kolajo Gbadegesin, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Section 3 Violence, Displacement of Farmers, and Food Insecurity Chapter 4 Violence, Politics, and Food Insecurity in Nigeria...............................................78 Fidelis Allen, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Chapter 5 Nomadic Terrorism, Displacement, and Food Insecurity Challenge in the Food Basket of the Nation..................................................................................101 Opeyemi Ademola Olayiwola, Pan African University, Cameroon Section 4 Rural Agriculture, Livelihood, Poverty, and Development Intervention Chapter 6 Healthcare Service, Food Security, and Sustainable Development: Main Reasons to Grow Opium Poppy in Myanmar.....................................................119 Hai Thanh Luong, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia Chapter 7 Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications for Sustainable Consumption: A Case Study of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.........................142 Huynh Viet Khai, Can Tho University, Vietnam Tran Thi Thu Duyen, Can Tho University, Vietnam Huynh Thi Dan Xuan, Can Tho University, Vietnam Chapter 8 Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, Sustainable Food Production, and Consumption in Kebbi State, Nigeria, 1991-2018.......................................157 Atiku Abubakar Udulu, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria Section 5 Religion, Food Politics, and Sustainable Consumption Chapter 9 Politics of Food Distribution: Role of the Church in Africa...............................177 Charles Anozie Anyanwu, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Nigeria Chapter 10 Islam, Sustainable Consumption, and Consumers’ Motivations in Nigeria.......201 AbdulGafar Olawale Fahm, University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Related Readings............................................................................................... 221 About the Contributors.................................................................................... 237 Index................................................................................................................... 240
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INTRODUCTION Recent scholarly interest on food politics in the neo liberal order is largely an attribute of increasing ecological challenges associated with food production and consumption. The sustainability question had emerged as a critical conundrum to interrogate how current global food system has provided a more eco-efficient, pro poor and pro nature models. This has given rise to divergent debates from multidisciplinary perspectives with several stakeholders, which includes the dichotomy between the global North /South, food insecurity, capitalist agriculture, climate change, world hunger and malnutrition, greening, climate smart agriculture, technology and complex food networks, the rise in genetically modified seeds and foods, the emergence of megamergers and food multinationals, land grab, food chains, etc. National Research Council (2006) argues that food insecurity refers to limited or unreliable access to foods that are safe and nutritionally adequate. World hunger soars as deleterious, unequal and non- resourceful consumption patterns remains pervasive without adequate policy guidance on sustainable food consumption. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), estimates that about 815 million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world, or 10.7%, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2016. Almost all the hungry people live in lower-middle-income countries. There are 11 million people undernourished in developed countries (FAO, 2015). Although food plays a vital role in the lives of human beings, there have been complexities towards the attainment of sustainable food consumption. The target set at the 1996 World Food Summit was to halve the number of undernourished people by 2015 from their number in 1990-92. Since 1990–92, the number of hungry people in lower-middle-income regions has fallen by over 200 million, from 991 million to 790.7 million. However, the goal is 495 million (half of 991 million), which means that the target was not reached (FAO, et al; 2015). Thus, sustainable food consumption remains central to the overall objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve
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food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture) and Goal12 (ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns). However, policy initiatives that propagate approaches to sustainable food consumption remain less revolutionary. In global contexts, there are perverse global food shortages and increasing global food politics as technological advancement and globalization have furthered development complexities and provides ever more challenging task towards sustainability rather than the contrary. Despite the challenges, some proponents argue that with technology food production and consumption has been inclusive and not exclusionary, as argued by many in the developed world (Paalberg, 2008). Beyond this optimism, the central concern has been how to sustainably meet the food needs of the growing population, particularly in the developing societies. With recent surge in global terrorism, food security has become a key factor in sustainable food consumption. Several vulnerable rural farm-based households are either displaced or lose their means of livelihood as violent terrorist attacks destroy both human lives and the ecosystem. Several sub-issues such as the nature of food production and food systems, global food chain, ecological disruptions, as well as food capitalism remain at the centre of the sustainable food consumption debate. Increasing demands for resources by global food corporations for the manufacturing of finished food, puts undue pressure on limited local resources in developing countries. This has had implications for resource depletion as ecological balance remains at issue. What this means is that equitable and sustainable allocation of food resources remains an unresolved issue in the contemporary food system. A critical exploration of global food politics is important to understand both the global and local actors and how their activities are either promoting or undermining sustainable food consumption. Such critical rethinking is part of the basis for this book which seeks for new engagement with the unresolved questions of approaches to sustainable food consumption. A sustainable food system must be inclusive and should be sensitive to the core elements of sustainability including environmental, social, economic and cultural. This more or less should engender equitable and resourceful institutional frameworks that are pro poor, pro- people and sensitive to the environment in order to meet the food needs of the present and future generation. The purpose of this book is to make a new contribution to knowledge and policy on the politics of food consumption in the liberal international order. The book maintains that sustainable food consumption is a useful proxy to inclusive
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and equitable development and in particular for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This is essential in the complex processes of food production and consumption, if these are achieved the aim of this book may have been served.
ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK The book Global Food Politics and Approaches to Sustainable Consumption: Emerging Research and Opportunities is organized in 10 chapters that examined relevant topics in global food politics and linkages with sustainable food consumption. Chapter 1, “Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption: A Critical Review,” presents an overview of main strategic concerns of contemporary global food politics, examines some perspectives on food politics, and suggests approaches to attain sustainable food consumption. The complex turn food politics had taken in the liberal international order results in social construction of unsustainable consumption and lifestyles. The concept of ‘food politics’, presented in the chapter, points to the dynamics of power play in production, access, control and distribution as well as consumption of food and how such power play undermines sustainable food consumption. The concept of sustainable consumption explores meeting the food needs of the present generation without tainting the natural environment for the future generation to meet theirs. It is pro people and pro nature and aims to preserve the ecosystem. Thus, it is possible and indeed desirable to consume sustainably where eco-efficient dynamics are institutionalized in food production and consumption. This means using ever less resource to produce more food. A sustainable food system is sought, one which is inclusive, equitable and resourceful and at the same time meets both subsistence and wider industry base needs without tainting the ecosystem. The rise in capitalist multinational corporations has been at variance with sustainable production and consumption. These corporate organizations undermine the subsistence of farmers through unequal exchange and promotion of genetically modified seeds. These complex turn in the food system has adverse effects including health implications, environmental degradation through the use of pesticides and fertilizers and destruction of organic food system leading to the emergence of sustainability movements and critiques of the prevailing food system. Sustainable food consumption could be achieved if capitalist actors pay adequate attention to environmental consequences of food production and consumption. Chapter 2, “Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders: General Review for Policy Implementation in in Developing Countries,” discusses forms of marginalization of the rural farmers or small holders in the developing x
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countries and need for climate smart agriculture. The aim of the chapter is to review current agricultural practices by the corporate multinationals in line with climate smart agriculture. The review followed the views of CSA actors and stakeholders and focused on the developing countries where there are majority of local farmers whose mode of subsistence and livelihood is undermined as a result of non- ethical response to environmental consumption by the multinationals. This injustice exemplified in unequal share of benefits between farmers and capitalist multinationals and destruction of the natural agricultural environment as the chapter suggests, undermines inclusive and equitable development. This underscores the basis of a conceptual framework that seeks for a more ethical conception of development and possible change of the liberal order as the chapter recommends. Chapter 3, “A Review on Impact of Climate Change on Sustainable Food Consumption,” provides an in-depth review of the various ways climate change impacts sustainable consumption from issues of temperature, rainfall patterns rising sea level, changes in atmospheric composition,, ground level ozone, and their impacts on nutrition and sustainable consumption. While the chapter identified natural causes of climate change it also argued that adverse climate change conditions are largely an attribute of the activities of man. The review points to the rise in capitalist resource extraction and the adverse climate effects and called on all stakeholders including civil society organizations (CSOs), political leaders and corporate organizations for a new approach to mitigate climate change and strengthen sustainable food consumption. Chapter 4 is “Violence, Politics, and Food Insecurity in Nigeria.” The linkages between violence, politics and food insecurity is an emerging field of inquiry in food politics and development studies. The chapter examines the complex turn violent conflicts had taken in Nigeria in recent decades including militancy in the Niger Delta, Boko Haram terrorism in the north east and nomadic herdsmen and their attacks on rural famers who produce the food that sustains the entire country. The violence conundrum has resulted in the complex problems of food insecurity, shortage of food supply, increasing hunger as the rural farmers are affected in several adverse manners leading to decline in food production. The chapter provides some useful approaches to solve this problem and to salvage the plight of the rural farmers who are vulnerable. It demonstrates how to mainstream violent conflict resolution into development planning could be a useful strategy among others. The assumption is that it would be connected to all levels of the society including the rural areas and provide new platform for violent conflict mitigation. Chapter 5, “Nomadic Terrorism, Displacement, and Food Insecurity Challenge in the Food Basket of the Nation,” is an important engagement with the problem of nomadic terrorism and its adverse effects on the households in the Middle Belt
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region of Nigeria known as the ‘food basket’ of the nation as they are predominantly famers who produce the bulk of the food that feeds the Nigeria nation. The concept of nomadic terrorism denotes the complex brutal ways the nomads unleash terror on the rural farmers in a conflict for access to land to graze their cattle and the implicit lethargy on the part of the Nigerian government. The chapter provides lucid narrative and on-the-ground evidence of persistent attacks by the nomads on rural farmers leading to internal displacement of the rural farmers who fled their homes while several lives were lost. The chapter provided an account of the experience of these farmers who subsequently became internally displaced persons (IDPs) in two IDP camps in Benue state. The chapter demonstrates that such senseless killings and mindless violence has resulted in decline in food production in the Middle Belt and has adverse effects on the lives of the rural farmers, food security and economic development of Nigeria. The proposed alternative modality is dialogue and more proactive state response to save the lives of the rural farmers and their means of livelihood. Chapter 6 is “Healthcare, Food Security, and Sustainable Development: Main Reasons to Grow Opium Poppy in Myanmar.” This interesting chapter accounts for the reasons for persistent growing of opium poppy by rural farmers in Myanmar despite proscribing the plant by the government. The chapter provides a stimulating account of the various plights and dilemma of the poor rural farmers whose subsistence and livelihood are unstable and undermined by the inability of the government to provide alternative development after placing a ban on the growing of opium. The core reason among others has been that opium provides the locals with money to take care of their immediate needs and send their children to school. Other reasons include the various medicinal uses of opium and its strong spiritual and psychological affinity with the locals who strongly believe that the cultivation of opium has been a generational thing decades before they were born and do not deem it fit to bring it to an end in their own generation or lifetime. Despite fear of government sanction, the rural farmers remain resilient in the cultivation of opium with their associational body; The Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum(MOFF) which remains a rallying point for the farmers to articulate their views and demands against the government. The author suggests that more policy response is needed for the transformation of the rural farmers for sustainable livelihood and inclusive development. Chapter 7 is “Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications for Sustainable Consumption: A Case Study of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.” This chapter provides a stimulating argument regarding an aspect of sustainable food consumption linked to safer pork consumption in the Mekong region of Vietnam. The chapter critiques the unsustainable and unhealthy conventional pork slaughtering and argues that the consumers are willing to pay for a proposed certified safer pork however the challenge among others has been poverty and lack of income which xii
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increasingly undermine sustainable consumption. Again, safe pork concept is still relatively new for consumers in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. In this regard, the authors identified the implication of consuming safe pork in sustainability contexts and argue that a more economically stable household is needed to improve the social dynamics of consumption of the people which is necessary for sustainable and healthy consumption. Chapter 8 is “Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, and Sustainable Food Production, Distribution, and Consumption in Kebbi State, Nigeria, 1991-2018.” This study is highly policy relevant as it is among a few studies that has provided positive account of development aid among rural famers. The study examined some World Bank intervention in the rural Kebbi State northern Nigeria who are predominantly famers. The chapter specifically focused on rice farmers and chronicled how the Fadama, community-based agricultural and rural development programme (CBARDP), and international fund for agricultural development (IFAD) projects resulted in a boost in rural agricultural food production. The chapter also demonstrated the resurgence of technological innovation through corporate organizations in the area which benefited rural farmers who were largely practicing subsistence agriculture. The chapter posits that new agricultural infrastructure including storage facilities and farming materials provided to the rural farmers created more jobs and a boost in food crop production in the region. The chapter maintained that the government and relevant stakeholders need more collaboration for the sustainability of the development intervention. Chapter 9 is “Politics of Food Distribution: Role of The Church in Africa.” The food politics scholarship has expanded. The recent expansion and shift encompasses assigning role to the church in Africa to ensure sustainable food distribution and consumption. The chapter identified some of the core relevance of equitable distribution of food and builds on the scriptural injunction from Acts of the Apostles Chapter six verses one to six which examined the activities of the early church in relation to food distribution and argued that the church in the present time should be directly involved both in food production and distribution beyond the spiritual needs of its members as hunger, poverty and food insecurity have been on the increase in the developing societies particularly Africa. Chapter 10 is “Islam, Sustainable Consumption, and Consumers’ Motivations in Nigeria.” The chapter identifies the motivations for Muslim consumers in Nigeria and argued that Islam and its teachings propagates modesty in consumption. However the chapter posits that the Muslims who practice modesty in their consumption patterns do not understand that such consumption patterns are akin to sustainable consumption. The chapter shows that sustainability which is inherent in Muslim consumption pattern and lifestyle should be prioritized as a key motivation for consumption. The chapter therefore argues that more awareness and teachings are xiii
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needed for the Muslims in Nigeria to understand that their consumption pattern which is modest could be strengthened in line with the ideals of sustainable consumption. Fidelis Allen University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Luke Amadi University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
REFERENCES FAO. (2015). The State of Food Insecurity in the World - Food and Agriculture. Retrieved October 13, 2018, from www.fao.org/3/a-i4646e National Research Council. (2006). Food Insecurity and Hunger in the United States An Assessment of the Measure. Retrieved October 13, 2018, from https://www.nap. edu/.../foodinsecurity-and-hunger-in-the-united-states-an-assessment Paarlberg, R. (2008). Starved for science: How biotechnology is being kept out of Africa. Harvard University Press.
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Section 1
Food Politics in Global Contexts and Implications for Sustainable Consumption
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Chapter 1
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption: A Critical Perspective
Luke Amadi Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, Nigeria
ABSTRACT This chapter reviews key issues in global food politics. The aim is to investigate the character and trajectories of the prevailing food system in the liberal international order and, in particular, explore implications of global food politics on sustainable food consumption. Dominant theorizations of food consumption leverage on a common assumption of its essentially profit-oriented character based on the capitalist appropriation, social construction of consumption, and value augmentation leaving behind the more pressing problem of sustainability.
INTRODUCTION On February 6, 2019, Timothy. A. Wise, Director of Small Planet Institute’s(SPI) Land and Food Rights Program released his new book; Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food in New York. Wise briefly stated that; “The way we are producing our food, on chemical-intensive, industrialscale farms, is quite literally devouring the natural resources – soil, water, seeds,
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch001 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
climate – on which future food production depends”(Wise,2019). The FAO(2017) report reveals that in 2016, the number of chronically undernourished people in the world is estimated to have increased to 815 million, up from 777 million in 2015 although still down from about 900 million in 2000. Renewed academic interest in global food politics is informed by scant scholarship on challenges of sustainable food consumption within the logic of ‘food politics’ and the long term implications for sustainable development. Whilst Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs): “End hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” remains an issue of urgent policy concern, sustainable food consumption which could strengthen the attainment of this Goal, has not been given adequate scholarly attention. There is scant literature on how global food politics in the capitalist order supports or undermines such assertion and provides a more sustainable food system. Mainstream discourses lose sight of the challenging legacies of capitalist resource extraction, imperialism, the rise in consumer culture, megamergers and global power asymmetry resulting in food hegemony of the affluent societies of the North and concomitant inequality on food access which acerbates hunger and food insecurity among the poor societies of the South. While there are increasing problems of food insecurity, inequality, health challenges associated with capitalist consumption-obesity, carcinogenic effects of Genetically Modified(GM) foods including cancer, heart attacks etc and issues of environmental degradation, natural resource depletion, food shortages, climate change vulnerability, global warming etc, there is dearth of critical perspectives with particular reference to findings of the neoliberal critiques of food consumption and appropriate means of attaining sustainable food consumption. These critical issues with respect to the contemporary global food politics have stimulated urgent scholarly interest regarding options for sustainable food consumption which largely underscores the basis for the present chapter.
BACKGROUND In 2000, world leaders joined the United Nations in committing to meet eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)by 2015: the first of which was “to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.” In 2015, world leaders adopted a post 2015 development agenda namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 2 of the SDGs is to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. Despite these robust initiatives, “an average person in North America consumes~ almost 20 times as much as a person in India or China, and 60 to 70 times more than a person in Bangladesh. It is simply 2
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impossible for the world as a whole to sustain a Western level of consumption for all’(Brundtland, 1987). Similarly, the Worldwatch Institute (2004) posits that the ever increasing consumption rate of the societies of the North are unsustainable both in terms of natural environment and in relation to the South-the 2.8 billion people are unable to meet many of their basic needs, people who subsist on less than $2 a day. Consequently, food consumption disparity has among others resulted in ‘global food politics’ debate. Prevailing dynamics of global food politics have led to recent scholarly interest to promote sustainable food consumption and food security in order to remedy some of the fundamental problems associated with inequitable food resource use, access, power and control. FAO(2017)reports that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 call on all countries and stakeholders to act together to end hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition by 2030. In capitalist societies food provides a modality for resource appropriation through corporate power-a social construction of specific historical accumulation mediated by the logic of value augmentation. However, how the extraction and exploitation of food resources including destruction of the habitat and the ecosystem outweigh the transformation of the food system is increasingly less explored in scholarly debates. There is no consensus among scholars on the definition of the term ‘food politics’. However, the dialectical relationship involving power, conflict and interests in access, control, production, consumption and distribution of food constitutes food politics. Food politics are practices associated with power play in patterns of food production, consumption and distribution. It could be political, economic, social, corporate or cultural aspects of food production, consumption or distribution. Recent discourse on food politics takes a number of factors into account: Ecoefficiency, food security, malnutrition, hunger, smart agriculture, food safety and food related diseases, stunting, food inequality, regulation, consumption patterns, inspection, agribusiness, global corporate megamerger etc. Eco-efficiency upholds the production of food with ever less resources. Ecological footprint of food production and consumption are aspects of growing concerns to mitigate food politics by leaving behind legacies of ecological sustainability. Food politics can be informed, influenced or affected by a number of motivations such as taste, lifestyle, economic interest, income, prevailing social order or question regarding ethical practices in access and control of food . A number of existing debates appear to give less attention to the long term challenges of global food politics namely unsustainable consumption. This has been a lacuna that points to the need for a new research agenda which emphasizes “sustainable” food consumption based on the sustainable development trajectories and in particular, the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
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Against this background, this chapter argues that food politics within the logic of capitalist profit maximization and value augmentation have made the questions of sustainable food consumption an inherently contestable one. Since food production and consumption are interrelated and predicated on a notion of socio-economic interest, strands of “politics” are inevitable such as food commoditization or marketization, corporatization, agribusiness, land grabbing etc have been common marker in contemporary food politics. In food politics, particular attention, therefore, is paid to power relations through which food resource production, distribution and consumption takes place. It is these political power processes and the social actors involved that ultimately shape and structure who has access to or control over food. These political power structure, equally shapes the particular social and political configurations and the environments in which humans live. In sum, the sustainability evaluation of food politics reveals the inherently complex and often contradictory and asymmetrical nature of power in food resource access, acquisition and allocation(Rothschild,1976;Quan,2006). This chapter seeks to challenge this depiction of the post - Cold War order by highlighting the continuing significance of sustainable food consumption. In particular, it draws attention to the role and effects of capitalist consumption patterns linked to the logic of global food politics in the construction of unsustainable consumption. The central objective of this chapter is to provide a sustainability rendition of food consumption within the contemporary logic of global food politics. The chapter is concerned with food politics at the global level. This is because the questions regarding sustainable food consumption in the liberal international order and the relevance of the identified issues in food consumption such as food security, eco-friendly consumption have not been adequately addressed in both policy and scholarly discourses. Most of these contending issues which form emerging trends in food politics and are particularly important to understanding the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)are meant to be ‘global in nature and universally applicable to all countries’. The rest of the chapter is structured as follows; research methodology and theoretical framework; contending perspectives on global food politics, the sustainability movement and transformation of the food system, options for sustainable food consumption and conclusion.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The chapter seeks to review some of the legacies of global food politics to find out whether they have promoted or undermined sustainable, inclusive and equitable food consumption and in particular, find answers to the questions of why food should be sustained and how it could be achieved. The chapter is a content review analysis which draws on qualitative data gathered from a wide range of sources which were both conceptual, theoretical, empirical and comparative exploration of the nature, patterns and issues in global food politics and some insights on approaches to sustainable consumption. In order to provide depth of knowledge, the chapter explored multi-level issues associated with global food politics and sustainable food consumption. Particular attention is drawn to a number of factors: food inequality, the politics of global market leaders, beverage/ food processing politics, climate smart agriculture, agribusiness and the politics of agricultural value chain, the rise in megamergers, the coercive and exploitative character of capitalist food consumption, climate change and resource appropriation, the rise in corporatized food, enclosure systems or regulatory logic between food privatization and deregulation etc. The data were collected between August, 2018 and February, 2019 using a mixed method approach. We initially conducted on-line survey of relevant publications which yielded about one hundred and sixty publications that provided both quantitative and qualitative results. Following the survey, we undertook an in depth review of the more relevant literatures to find out more appropriate studies in line with our research objectives. Specifically, we looked at studies that emphasized “food politics” and “sustainable consumption” particularly since the 1990s,the search yielded a total of sixty six studies. The publications included books, journal articles and related scholarly publications from Scopus, Ebsco and ProQuest data bases. The study distinctively set out in more details to explore the patterns and dynamics of global food politics and in the alternative puts forward some approaches to sustainable food consumption. It aimed to identify both commemorative and pejorative debates on global food politics within the liberal logic and more importantly filled identified scholarly gaps. Specifically, it puts forward some sustainable food consumption approaches that could serve as useful proxy to strengthening the sustainable development agenda. Our theoretical framework draws from the political ecology theory. Politicalecology perspective seeks to unravel the nature of the social relationships that unfold between individuals or social groups and their natural environment mediated by the dynamics of power (Foster, 2000; Foster, Clark & York,2011). Put differently, environmental resource access and control is not insulated from class, gender, ethnic, 5
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
or other dynamics of power struggles. The logic of this power struggle in the context of food production, consumption, access and control and how the natural resources are either efficiently or inefficiently used including the attendant impacts on the ecosystem, constitutes aspect of the concerns of political ecology. Political ecology seeks to question the efficiency in the processes of environmental interactions and promotes elements of sustainability that could be attained through inclusive and responsive ecological process. The sustainability basis, of political-ecology is to enhance resource equality for present and future generation through efficiency and equitability. Political ecology is markedly a politico-ecological construction of environmental reality built on a more inclusive and equitable distribution of social power to achieve efficiency in environmental resource consumption. Within the discursive frameworks on food system, power and inequality becomes useful to understand how structural asymmetry and access to food resources undermine sustainable consumption.
Contending Perspectives on Global Food Politics Conceptualizing global food politics as an historically specific intuition invites divergent perspectives to understand the various ways unsustainable patterns of consumption could—in particular instances—have deleterious consequences. With specific reference to the liberal geopolitical order and, in particular, the distinct character of the political relations across the advanced capitalist world, a number of theoretical perspectives have sought to theorize the connections between global food politics and sustainable consumption(Stern, Dietz, Ruttan, Socolow & Sweeney,1997;Schor,2005; Hatt,Davidson & Lock,2005; Paalberg, 2013). The post -colonial perspective argues that the colonial state imposed food crop through the introduction of cash crop production and a coerce method of production(Ake,1996).Importantly, the colonial marketing boards were established which provided regulatory mechanisms to control peasant agricultural food crop production(Ekekwe,1986).Thus, peasant farmers produced what served the interest of the colonial state.The neo Malthusian thesis posits that population growth is central to ecological breakdown and food shortages(Hardin, 1968; Ehrlich,1968). The argument is that population growth without corresponding increase in food resource results in crisis over limited or scarce natural resources(Homer Dixon,1999). The eco efficiency thesis which is partly a critique of the neo Malthusian debate puts forward a resource sustainability argument as the perspective entails producing more with ever less resources (Schmidheiny, 2000:6). The argument is that ‘resource efficiency’ rather than ‘scarcity’ has been at issue.
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
There are perspectives on globalization and integration of the world into global markets following the disappearance of borders. The argument is that globalization has resulted in the creation of agricultural value chains, moves the economy towards a new paradigm from customized commodities to globally standardized products which are advanced, functional, reliable, and low priced and network across the borderless world (Levitt,1983; Ohmae,1990). The liberal perspective is market based strand of consumption in which individuals rather than state ownership and control of food production is inevitable. It is essentially profit oriented based on the market system leading to rise in food competition among the multinationals, agribusiness, the rise in GMOs, new consumer culture, lifestyles and changing consumption patterns. The liberal perspective holds that ‘the introduction of the global assembly line and the corporatization of food are positive developments’(Haley,Hatt & Tunstall,2005). They claim that the exercise of “freedom of choice” and “consumer sovereignty” creates a dynamic and democratic society (Lock & Ikeda,2005:29). The ecological modernization perspective posits that rapid advances in science and technology will resolve ecological problems. Ecological modernization theorists are optimistic that economic growth and environmental degradation can be reconciled through technological advancement and internalization of environmental cost(Mol,1996;Paalberg,2008).Again, ecological modernization theorists argue that through technological advancement, we can work through economic and environmental constraints (Spaargaren & Mol,1992;Christoff,1996;Paalberg,2008 ).Despite the claims of the ecological modernization thesis, critiques have opposed such claims arguing that relying solely on technology will fail(Schor,2005). The major focus of this study is on neo liberal account of global food politics, because it offers one of the most influential explanations of the distinct character of the post- Cold War food dynamics. David Harvey (2005) has provided one of the most sustained theoretical debates of both the neoliberal account of social dynamics and how it has fared in the context of sustainability. The complex processes of neoliberalization as Harvey(2005:3)argued has ‘entailed much ‘creative destruction’, not only of prior institutional frameworks and powers also of divisions of labour, social relations, welfare provisions, technological mixes, ways of life and thought, reproductive activities, attachments to the land and habits of the heart”. Among sustainable food consumption scholars, Juliet Schor (2005) has drawn attention to the critical challenges of the consumption and lifestyles of the Western societies particularly in the United States which has been increasingly disproportion. Similarly, inclusive consumption debate is reinforced with emphasis on the feminization of consumption (Roberts,1998;Bihagen, & Katz-Gerro, 2000; McGowan, 2006).
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Proponents of the democratic character of America as largely responsible for dominant “liberal consumption” uphold that the politically “open” and “reciprocal” character of the American state and the distinctly liberal form of “hegemony” that defined US power after 1945 account for much of its social dynamics(Ikenburry,2001). Of particular interest is the making and emergence of food hegemony (Schor,2005;Cote 2014). Emman Rothschild (1976) provided the theoretical substance of global power structure associated with food consumption as food hegemony easily becomes linked to food identity. Within the hegemony of Western powers, Schor(2005) identified how the America’s disproportionate consumption which has grown to a near hegemony has contradicted sustainable consumption. The underlying principles of social construction of consumption that shape the manner of capitalist social formation demonstrates the ways in which the interests of the affluent and industrialized capitalist societies shape the global direction of food production and consumption(Stern,1997). Food hegemony reflects a fusion of power between the industrialized and non-industrialized societies (Cox,1977). Based on these reasons, it is worth investigating the tensions between food in the affluent and poor societies and the emergent relationships. This helps to understand the patterns of ongoing global food politics. In particular, the capitalist construction of food consumption by the Western hegemonic powers. The present study builds on some of these critical arguments and, in many respects, share their perspectives on the centrality of unsustainable consumption in post- Cold War construction of consumption. However, by emphasizing the critical perspective of the prevailing patterns of consumption within the liberal-capitalist order, we aim to make a distinct contribution to this wider literature that is relevant to both an understanding of the specific contexts of issues in global food politics and the social construction of food politics in particular—one that points out the contemporary context of food capitalism, inequality, resource depletion and poor commitment to ecological foot prints of consumption(Wackernagel & Goldfinger, 2010). Policy attention is drawn to the notion that sustainable food consumption is important to the attainment of SDGs.In so doing, a review of prevailing salient issues in contemporary global food politics, and theorization of how and why sustainable food consumption is an indispensible strand of the overall sustainable development agenda is important thereby addressing a useful research gap in the literature. Essentially, the study transcends discursive analysis of capitalist consumption dynamics rather advances a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive accounts of food resource consumption namely the sustainability framings of food consumption, which are transformative in so far as it is pro poor, pro people and pro nature. And more or less responsive to the ways in which nature is extracted in the course of food consumption by the political elites and capitalist agents. 8
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Issues in Contemporary Global Food Politics There are several studies on food politics(Rothschild,1976; Mcmichael,1998;Grunbaum & Stenger,2015;World Economic Forum,2015; Tran &Harden,2016;Clap,2018;Wi se,2019). This suggests that food is increasingly a political issue (Tran &Harden,2016). Over the past few years, the legacies of global food politics in the wake of the neo liberal order have resulted in resurgence of several issues associated with food consumption leading to sustainability question in the development agenda. Contemporary global food politics is associated with the neoliberal policy prescriptions of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Such prescriptions have been argued to be at variance with sustainable and equitable food consumption since they are premised on capitalist accumulation (Alapiki & Amadi,2018). Sustainable food consumption not only underscores some neglected aspects of sustainable development but also better accounts for the specific consequences of the logic of capitalist food consumption by identifying the agency of post -Cold War food politics which most proponents of sustainable development have overlooked. Some of these growing concerns on capitalist consumption led Daniel Tanuro (2013) to argue that “green capitalism cannot work”. These recent and ongoing issues merit some attention. Recent decades have seen rising trends in global food inequality. McMichael (1998) has discussed aspects of global food politics linked to inequality in power play. From the geopolitics of food consumption, it appears that some of the foundational elements of food inequality are superficially examined; there is global North/South divide and unequal access to food. World hunger soars (UN,2017),global malnutrition increases(FAO,2017), inequality and injustice in food access acerbates (D’Odorico, Carr, Davis, Dell’Angelo & Seekell, 2019). There is evidence of inequality between the farmers and corporate giants who appropriate resources asymmetrically from the farmers. The politics of global market leaders have been another key strand of the global food politics. Market leaders are the leading corporate food giants, they wield influence in the logic of food consumption. Among global pesticide manufacturers, the natural habitat, insects and similar creatures are destroyed. Herbicides are the most commonly used pesticide including, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators. Carrington (2016) reveals how a test conducted by Bayer showed the harm of their product on bees. Similar concern is expressed with Monsanto, DowDupont, ChemChina (Escober, 2009). The logic of global market leaders is exemplified in Syngenta leading producer of pesticides and seeds, which at same time offers credit to farmers(Bene,2014). Similarly, Cargill aleading cereal company, advances credit to farmers, involves itself in food and feed production etc(Bene,2014). Moreover, 9
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
pesticide consumption in China surpassed the figures of second largest consumer, the U.S, twofold while India was third .Table 1 provides data on Agrochemical sales of the leading companies.
Table1. Agrochemical sales of the leading companies 2017 (2016) ranking
Company
$ million2
Reported currency millions
% Change $
% Change Reported
1 (1)
Syngenta
9,244 (9,571)
$9,244 ($9,571)
-3.4
-3.4
2 (2)
Bayer Crop Science
8,713 (8,810)
€7,403 (€7,961)
-1.1
-7.0
3 (3)
BASF
6,704 (6,163)
€5,696 €5,569)
+8.8
+2.3
4 (-)
DowDuPont
6,100 (6,162)
6,100 (6,162)
-1.0
-1.0
5 (5)
Monsanto
3,727 (3,514)
3,727 (3,514)
+6.1
+6.1
6 (7)
Adama
3,259 (3,084)
$3,259 $3,084)
+5.7
+5.7
7 (9)
FMC
2,531 (2,275)
$2,531 $2,275)
+11.3
+11.3
8 (8)
Sumitomo Chemical8
2,487 2,373)
¥279,484 (¥257,393)
+4.8
+8.6
9 (10)
UPL
2,296 (2,051)
Rs 150,060 (Rs 137,920
+11.9
+8.8
10 (11)
Nufarm
2,234 (1,969)
Aus$2,943 (Aus$2,648)
+13.4
+11.1
11 (12)
Arysta LifeScience
1,897 (1,816)
$1,897 ($1,816)
+4.5
+4.5
12 (13)
Beijing Nutrichem
923 (685)
Yuan 6,122 (Yuan 4,549)
+34.8
+34.6
13 (15)
Shandong Weifang Rainbow
780 (565)
Yuan 5,174 (Yuan 3,751)
+38.2
+37.9
14 (17)
Nanjing Red Sun
724 (526)
Yuan 4,799 (Yuan 3,496)
+37.5
+37.3
15 (14)
Kumiai Chemical
693 (577)
¥77,817 (¥62,549)
+20.1
+24.4
16 (16)
Sichuan Leshan Fuhua Agro-Chemical Technology
651 (552)
Yuan 4,318 (Yuan 3,664)
18.0
+17.8
17 (-)
Jiangsu Yangnong
587 (401)
Yuan 3,891 Yuan 2,664)
+46.3
+46.1
18 (-)
Sipcam-Oxon
531 (461)
€451 (€417)
+15.0
+8.2
19 (19)
Nissan Chemical
517 (479)
¥58,138 (¥51,952)
+8.0
+11.9
20 (18)
Jiangsu Huifeng Agrochemical
515 (403)
Yuan 3,416 (Yuan 2,679)
+27.7
+27.5
Source: Agrow,(2018)
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Table 2. Food Crop Production and Leading countries Country Argentina
Maize
Rice
Wheat
% Volume 3%
Brazil
7
EU-27
7
China
19
USA
41
Other countries
23
Vietnam
6
Bangladesh
7
Indonesia
9
India
20
China
30
Other countries
28
USA
9
Russia
9
India
12%
China
17%
EU-27
20%
Other countries
33
Sources: USDA,(2009/10),Bene Declaration,(2014)
Similarly, the politics of global market leaders is evident in food crop production. The total sales of food retail were estimated to be US$ 7,180 billion in 2009. The ten largest retail corporations had a share of 10.5% (Bene,2014). An important aspect of the politics of global market leaders is replicated in the domination of food retail corporations predominantly from the counties of the global North,see table 3. Soya production like other animal feed results in deforestation in places like South America and acquisition of agricultural land with the use of agrochemicals have posed ecological problems (Bene,2014). Beverage/food processing politics is exemplified in the capitalist accumulation of the corporate giants. The total sales of the food processing sector are estimated to be US$ 1,378 billion, of which the Top 10 has a share of 28%. In the coffee value chain, about 25 million farmers produce coffee consumed by 500 million persons. Three companies only roast 40% of the global coffee proceeds and five companies trade in 55% of the coffee(Bene,2014). 11
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Table 3. Top 10 supermarket /food retail corporations Name
Country
Volume % of Returns
Schwarz Group
Germany
0.90%
Carrefour
France
1.50%
Walmart
USA
2.70%
Tesco
UK
0.90%
Aldi
Germany
0.85%
Kroger
USA
0.85%
AEON
Japan
0.70%
Edeka
Germany
0.70%
Rewe Group
Germany
0.70%
Ahold
UK
0.70%
Other companies
89,50%
Sources: Planet Retail, ETC Group(2011),Bene Declaration,(2014).
Table 4. Major Soya Producing Countries Country
% Volume
India
3%
USA
35%
China
6%
Argentina
21%
Brazil
27%
Others
8%
Sources: USDA (2009/10), Bene Declaration,(2014)
Climate smart agriculture which is pro poor, inclusive and meets the agricultural needs of the farmers is undermined by the politics of agricultural value chain- a capitalist food ideology which encourages complex expansion of food production by the global food giants, from one “value process to the other” (Bene,2014). There are palm value chains, cassava value chains, feed value chains etc. The value chain is characterized by horizontal integration, in which corporate giants control a large chunk of the market and vertical integration premised on domination of the corporate giants in directing food production which does not distribute risks equally as local farmers who cheaply provide the raw materials bear much of the risks(Bene,2014). Cargill which produces animal feed, for example, is the world’s largest buyer of agricultural commodities while Charoen Pokphand is a leading meat producer and 12
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Table 5. Top Ten Leading Food/Beverage Processing Company Company
Country
% of volume
Nestlé
Switzerland
7%
PepsiCo
USA
3%
Kraft
USA
3%
ABinBev
Brazil
3%
ADM
USA
2%
Coca-Cola
USA
2%
Mars Inc.
USA
2%
Unilever
Netherlands
2%
Tyson Foods
USA
2%
Cargill
USA
2%
Other companies
72%
Sources: Food Research, ETCGroup (2011),Bene Declaration,(2014)
Table 6. Ten Top Animal Feed corporations Corporation
Country
% of Control Volume
New Hope Group
Taiwan
Cargill
USA
2.3%
Charoen Pokphand (CP Group)
Thailand
3.4%
Land O`Lakes Purina
USA
1.5%
Tyson Foods
USA
1.5%
Brazil Foods
Brazil
1.5
Nutreco Holding N.V
Netherlands
1.3%
Zen-noh-Co-operative
Japan
1.0%
East Hope Group
Taiwan
1.0%
Hunan Tangrenshan Group
Taiwan
0.7%
Other companies
1.8
84%
Sources: Feed International(2010),Alltech Global Feed Survey(2010), Bene Declaration, (2014)
shrimp(Bene,2014). Thus, these companies control large parts of the value chain, they determine specialty for livestock feeds. For instance, “90% of salmon feed is produced by only three companies: Skretting (belongs to Europe’s largest feed manufacturer Nutreco), EWOS(owned by Cermaq), and BioMar. The feed manufacturers pass on price increases to the salmon producers via contracts”(Bene,2014:7)
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Table 7. Sectors in the Food Value Chain Food Sub Sectors
Market share of the corporations
Turn over Volume of the Sector
Animal Feed
Market share of the TOP 10 corporations: 15.5%
Livestock Breeding(Only four companies worldwide for breeding chickens)
Market share of the TOP 4 corporations: 99%
Seeds
Market share of the TOP 10 corporations: 75%
US$ 34.5 billion
Fertilizer
Market share of the TOP 10 corporations: 55%
US$ 90.2 billion
Pesticides
Market share of TOP 11 corporations: 98%
US$ 44 billion
US$ 350 billion
Source: Bene Declaration(2014)
The feed market amounted to 870 million tons in 2011, worth US$ 350 billion. The Top 10 had a share of around 16% in 2009,Bene Declaration,(2014). The argument by critiques is, rather than value chains could there be nutrient and energy circulation or food sustainability chains(Bene,2014). The rise in megamergers have been another issue in global food politics. Angela Wigger and Hubert Buch-Hansen (2017) identify critical dimensions of ‘the politics of megamergers’, arguing whether they are “too big to control and in particular why the EU is not stopping them”. Related account is provided by Jenifer Clapp (2018) who demonstrates that corporate concentration or megamergers undermine sustainability in the global food system. In 2005, the world’s largest pig breeder and the world’s largest cattle breeder merged to form Genus plc (UK)(Bene,2014),while recently Dow and Dupont merged as DowDupont. Increasing concern is the disempowerment of farmers and imposition of corporate decisions on consumers. Wigger and Buch-Hansen (2017) emphasized the complexities of controlling the megamergers. Agribusiness is a strand of food politics debate. Timothy Wise(2019)has expressed concern on climate change vulnerability associated with agribusiness particularly in the developing societies of Africa. Agribusiness and the new face of global food politics are linked to capitalist farming which destroys the environment and human health (Atieri,1998;Henson,2002;ILO,2003; Bouwman,borman,van den Berg & Kylin,2013;Goulson,2013). There is growing concern on global land grab(Wise,2019). Unequal relationship between farmers and corporations have been central in agribusiness. The term “agropoly” which suggests how a few companies dominate agricultural produce; opines that much of what is consumed in the North 14
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
is produced more cheaply in the Global South. The profits are made by only a few, predominantly Northern, companies”(Bene,2014). Farmers are pressured to cultivate crops that meet the needs of the corporation who pay low prices for these crops and in turn sell seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at high prices to farmers and make more profits while farmers are at risk(Bene,2014;Wise,2019). Proponents of small farmer’s revival such as Altieri (2008)insists on revitalization of small farmers in the global South, termed “ planetary ecological asset” as they bear the burden of food crop production. The coercive and exploitative character of capitalist food consumption has been one of the most critical issues at the centre of debates on global food politics. Such coercive capitalist character reflects the ways in which both the superpowers and capitalist multinationals respond to food production and consumption. For instance, five companies dominate global coffee trade (Neumann, Volcafe, ECOM, Kraft, Nestlé) –with 55% of world trade(Bene Declaration,2014). In Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, Nestlé has 16 million coffee bushes under contract farming(Bene Delaration,2014). In addition – there are various core issues associated with the nature and character of capitalist food consumption. There is evidence of growing build-up of contaminants in food crops(Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005:71),this leads to food insecurity(FAO,2017) .In the United States ‘more than 600 companies in 44 different states sent 270 million pounds of toxic waste to farms and fertilizer companies between 1990 and 1995”(Savitz,Hettenbach &Wien,1998;Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005:71). Food insecurity forms part of the debate on ‘new food crisis’ and global North/South food dichotomy (Downes, 2004; FAO,2017). UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter (2011) had argued that the question regarding global food security transcends “supply or production”, rather argued on the need to strike a balance between production and the marginalization of farmers in the South in order to mitigate hunger and malnutrition. The production of corporatized food (Cox, Lowe & Winter,1987)such as milk in Canada, United States and Europe have been another aspect of global food politics. In the early 1990s, the United States approved Mossanto’s recombinant bovine growth hormone(rBGH or rBST2),a synthetic hormone designed to push cows’ physiological abilities to produce more milk(Kneen,1999).Several scholars have argued that recombinant bovine has negative effects on the cows, farmers and human health(Kneen,1999;Escobar, 2009). Privatization has resulted in the challenge of inclusive food system (Fresco, Ruben, Herens, 2017),green consumerism remains less revolutionary (Guckian,De Young & Harbo, 2017), food resources are increasingly depleted (Wise,2019). Privatization, food capitalism, commoditization and marketization entail greater power and autonomy in terms of strategic and other decision-making by corporate organizations. In essence privatization shifts corporate transactions from the public 15
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
to the private sector. This alters food policies and direction of food production and consumption. This has been a singular characteristic of the prevailing food system. The combined outcome of the above has been more perceptible in the United States(see Schor, 2005) and parts of Europe(Hobson,2003;Shove,2003;Holland, & Sourice,2016;Wigger & Buch-Hansen,2017). There are enclosure systems or regulatory logic between privatization and deregulation. This has been evident in the food system as the sector has developed into leading institutional-regulatory body (McMichael & Myhre, 1991). Putting into consideration the corporatization of food and global monopoly character of food giants, there are a number of regulatory procedures, such as pricing, target setting etc . These institutional or regulatory bodies have considerable influence on food production, distribution and consumption. Most of these ‘food decision making bodies’ function in a shady social arena, less accountability, without legal or democratic control. While the adverse ecological effects of food politics vary significantly among cities, a common consensus is that the natural ecosystem is destroyed and distorted. Both Stern et.al;(1997) and Shove (2003) have pointed out the environmentally significant impact of consumption. Thus, the global politics of food production and distribution with a set of social actors, undermine institutional and regulatory framework of the food system. Further, many ecological accounts of the liberal food consumption logic have critiqued mainstream consumption patterns for their shortcomings in providing sustainable frameworks(Alapiki & Amadi,2018), as well as their inability to address the issues of inequitable consumption (Davidson & Hatt,2005;Foster, et al., 2006).In their views, Holland and Sourice(2016)argue that Monsanto’s lobbying has been an attack on humanity, the planet and democracy. The question of efficiency is a growing concern in food politics .In essence, it can be argued that food undergoes series of processes and such transitions account for the increasing complex patterns of food politics. Despite global governance, the activities of powerful multinationals, similar institutions and global actors increasingly alter the course of equitable food production, distribution and consumption. Thus, issues in contemporary global food politics suggest the multidimensional turn food politics had taken in recent decades(Haley,Hatt & Tunstall,2005; Wigger &BuchHansen,2017; Clapp,2018). Contemporary scholarship on sustainable food consumption challenges the question of global power structures and the changing forms of consumption. In this regard, new food landscapes as discussed had emerged and increasingly distort the eco system which suggests alternative options for sustainable consumption.
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
THE SUSTAINABILITY MOVEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE FOOD SYSTEM The trends and issues associated with corporate food giants and food politics have not happened in a social vacuum, rather this has often triggered criticisms, oppositions, and counter criticisms. Sustainability movements are generally poised to opposing the dominant unsustainability practices for a more resource efficient and equitable demands in food consumption. Rachael Carson and the publication of her book;The Silent Spring triggered incipient environmental consciousness in the United States in the 1960s. This led to the emergence of the green movement in the 1970s including the Environmental Justice Movement(EJM).The movements emerged from environmentally conscious and ecologically emancipated civil society organizations(CSOs),farmers and similar groups who are opposed to deleterious capitalist resource extraction which taints nature. The Club of Rome, has been one of such pioneering movements which published the “The Limits to Growth” document in 1972. Studies point out the rise in sustainability movements(Brulle,2000; Allen, 2004;Jacob & Brinkerhoff,1999). There is also resurgence of food activism and related social movements pushing for a more sustainable pattern of consumption. Scholars of food activism argue that all over the world, the agro-industrial food system has been increasingly exploitative leading to deterioration of natural food stocks, and adverse effects on human health(Counihan & Siniscalchi,2013). Clapp(2017)provides insights on the challenges and contradictory implications of recent agribusiness megamergers. The world Social Forum(WSF)has been a global coalition working towards ecological transformation of the food system through non -violent social resistance and opposition to neo liberalism and corporate control of trade(Halley;Hart &Tunstall,2005:98).Another movement: La Via Campesina cordinated by Henry Saragih is an international movement of peasants, small scale farmers, landless people, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers which aims to de-globalize the economy. It is a movement which promotes the replacement of neo liberal economic policies with food democracy(sovereignty)and emphasizes the ‘right of communities to protect and regulate domestic agricultural production and trade to achieve sustainability, guarantee a livelihood for farmers, and ensure that members of the community are fed’(Tulip & Michaels,2004; Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005:99). There have been fight against GE foods as a dominant struggle by farmers and the public against corporate control of the food system(Magdoff,Foster & Buttel,2000:17;Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005:70).The anti GMO movements have been pushing against GE foods and resistance to corporate control of the food system,Some 17
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
countries have banned GE foods such as Canada,Thailand, Sri Lanka,China etc. A study showed that China banned the growing of GE rice,corn,soy and wheat for fear of losing its export markets. Anti GE campaigns have targeted companies that use GE ingredients in their products-Starbucks Coffee,Campbell Soup,Kellogg’s cereals,McDonald’s,Burger king and Pizza Hut(Clarke & Inouye,2002; Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005: 96). US and French farmers have been involved in an anti-trust lawsuit against the major agri-chemical companies, charging “Mosanto-and ‘non –indicated co-conspirators’ including Novartis,Dow and Dupont-with using biotech patents to seize monopoly control of world agricultural markets(Lappe &Lappe,2003:303-4;Halley;Hart &Tunstall,2005:99).In Brazil, the Landless Workers Movement (LWM) have demonstrated how land redistribution has helped to end hunger(Lappe& Lappe,2003; Haley,Hatt & Turnstall,2005:99). While recognizing the emergence of a number of anti -unsustainable consumption movements and activists, a general process of “sustainability revolution” has been less evident. The dominant outcome has been largely passive. On the contrary, food activism such as water rights movements in Canada including Maude Barlow and some water activists advocating for consumption transformation are “ultimately suppressed” by capitalist elites and similar contending classes within the international capitalist system. Alan AtKisson Director of Partnership & Innovation Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) argued that the sustainability movement has disappeared and asked where it went. Atkinsson(2019)argued that while the movers are still there, the movement appears invisible.
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: OPTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONSUMPTION Why sustainable food consumption? There is increasing need for sustainable consumption as a number of factors account for this. With finite natural resources “sustainable” consumption will meet the consumption needs of the present and future generations without tainting the natural environment. What has been at issue is the level of commitment of key stakeholders and global actors to a more inclusive and sustainable food consumption. While efforts towards sustainable food consumption are legitimated on the basis of protecting and preserving the natural environment and for equitable and healthy food consumption, there has been a tendency to intensify efforts at institutionalizing sustainable consumption as there are less certification on the practice of sustainable food consumption by both global multinationals and individuals.
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Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Although the practice of sustainable food consumption remains at the superficial level, its potential at transforming the food sector and preserving the ecosystem is ever important. Following the huge investment in food production by food capitalists, there is palpable weak incentive to sustainability. Thus, incentives on ecological foot print of capitalist food production and consumption will stimulate disincentive to both consume or produce unsustainably. Food safety as advocated by the WHO is central to sustainable consumption. The aim primarily is to protect human health against foodborne diseases. This could be achieved in many ways such as organic foods, de-globalizing consumption as global food giants and conglomerates are globalized within highly competitive and often lethal environments which have consequences for sustainable consumption. The Brundland report (1987)suggests that ‘most industrialized nations, must alter present systems in order to cut surpluses, to reduce unfair competition with nations that may have real comparative advantages, and to promote ecologically sound farming practices’. Revitalizing small farmers have been at issue particularly in the global South. Miguel Altieri (2008) outlined five reasons why small farmers should be revitalized pointing out that they are ‘plenary ecological assets’. Climate smart agriculture has the potential of redirecting the level of deleterious resource use in the cause of food production. This will help maintain ecological balance in food production and consumption. Climate smart agriculture aims to protect the rights of peasants and rural farmers marginalized and exploited by capitalist corporates and more importantly, protect the natural environment and check deleterious ecological effects of food production and consumption. Recent discursive shifts and political-institutional frameworks challenge dominant food politics and instead suggest a move in the direction of transforming the food system. Thus, institutional overhaul is needed, NAFTA and WTO have key roles to play in re-creating policy instruments that could check unsustainable consumption. Against the monopoly inherent in the prevailing food system, sustainable food consumption, demands diversity in the food system. This will take account of ecological justice, agro- biodiversity, gender and local ecological knowledge system(FAO,205). Such engagements entail political will and new policy frameworks that could create more proactive social space for eco- friendly food consumption and related sustainability trajectories. To institutionalize standards for sustainable consumption requires a more integrated approach in which production, distribution and consumption could be harmonized along sustainability lines. Specifically, policy initiatives should be tailored towards, ecological considerations, socio-economic processes, and global food governance systems. To begin with, there is need to check persistent food policy fragmentation which undermines coherent drive to revolutionize sustainable food consumption. 19
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
Cleaner production has become one of the most recent approaches to sustainable consumption. According to Ecosteps (2003) and Environment Australia (2000) cleaner production(CP) denotes as UNEP posits, ‘the continuous application of an integrated, preventive environmental strategy to processes, products and services to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment’ There is need for equitable and re-distributive policies (Moulaert & Swyngedouw, 1987; Amin, 1994). Smart and green city thesis had emerged to remedy some of the questions regarding unsustainable city life and consumption patterns with concerns on green urbanization(Amadi & Igwe,2018). While the smart city trajectory is relevant, the capitalist origins of corporate globalization following the rise in global food hegemony has given new direction to food politics. In essence, capitalist accumulation has been at variance with overall sustainable urbanization imaginaries (Amadi,2016). Central to ecological foot print of food consumption are concerns over deteriorating environmental conditions which suggests the basis for a sanitized consumption pattern . In the U.K. – and parts of Europe – dynamics of food politics took the form of a ‘socialized’ pattern of living. Dominant food system is largely concerned with providing a variety of foods and meeting consumption needs of the wider society without considerations to ecological foot print of food consumption. Profitability remained a dominant concern of capitalist food consumption with less emphasis on ecological efficiency in food production, hence the “politicization of food” has been promoted by capitalist multinationals and affluent individuals or elites whose tastes could run counter to the tenets of environmental sustainability. This negatively affects sustainability standards. If these must change, political will and collective action is needed. Dynamics of sustainable food consumption such as green consumerism can be prioritized in local and global sustainable food consumption discourses.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS There are several future insights for sustainable food consumption. The present chapter has been emphasizing the viability of the sustainable food consumption which is a key strand of the objective of this book. Without collective commitment to sustainable food consumption there might be a bleak future for the food system. Future research direction should address a number of contradictory images of the ongoing global food politics. For instance despite the assumptions of the liberal order in the context of freedom and equality, existing institutional patterns of global food system as this chapter reveals point out that the prevailing system has been fundamentally asymmetrical, non –inclusive and unsustainable. 20
Issues in Global Food Politics and Options for Sustainable Food Consumption
In this prevailing order, it is difficult to redress some of the foundational elements of capitalist consumption . As Martin and Parker (1997)argued, if food production is largely informed by profit motive either in public or private sectors, it could be contradictory as economic process could take a different turn .Thus, as demand for food increases there should be a corresponding need to replenish the environment or the finite natural resources for production. To improve sustainability awareness in food consumption future research must emphasize ecological considerations, it is important to note that sustainability logic of food consumption must be institutionalized at all levels of food production both privately and publicly and at all levels of government including the non-state actors and the civil society organizations(CSOs).Future research opportunity should look at ecological certification of the multinationals. What interacting variables and evidence suggest that global corporate food giants are formally certified in food sustainability contexts? What indicators measure or justify sustainability certification? This takes the question of sustainable food consumption to a new research direction. There should be evidence of corporate greening and more importantly, ecological foot prints of food production and consumption.
CONCLUSION Following the number of literature reviewed, sustainable food consumption is fundamental to the overall sustainable development agenda. Particular attention is drawn to the ecological footprint of food consumption which is essential not only for the transformation of food system but for inclusive and equitable consumption. The particular institutional configurations of global food politics significantly points out the increasing adverse effects of unequal power structure and limited access to food resource as well as its effects on both the ecosystem and human beings. The tendency towards sustainable food consumption no doubt challenges global food politics and seeks to change the regulatory contexts in prevailing global food system in many significant ways. This chapter has been emphasizing that sustainable food consumption is transformative in the sense of providing ecological accountable frameworks which could redirect the prevailing ways of consumption. Thus, multinationals and similar actors operate in ways that are at variance with the ideals of sustainable consumption. In the alternative, this chapter demonstrates that ecological considerations constitutive of resource equality and sustainability remains inevitable. This is contrary to capitalist consumption linked to prevailing global food politics. Increasing evidence includes: climate change vulnerability, ecological breakdown, obesity, cancer, heart attacks and related diseases etc. The prevailing order has failed to deliver the core ideals of sustainable consumption. 21
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This undermines the scope and depth of ecological justice and natural resource governance. Our arguments therefore stress the critical importance of sustainable food consumption in the liberal order. It demonstrates that food politics are not only dominant within liberal social Order —rather have been increasingly internationalized, as hegemonic and legitimate within the food system. The contradictory dynamics of “politicization of food”, provides elements of creative destruction. It is this “ unsustainable consumption pattern” emanating from the liberal international order that provokes the question for sustainable food consumption which is the basis for natural resource efficient dynamics.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thanks to Educational Support & Development Initiatives for the Less Privileged(ESDILP)for your support to this research.
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ADDITIONAL READING Alapiki, H., & Amadi, L. (2018). Sustainable Food Consumption in the Neo Liberal Order: Challenges and Policy Implications. In E. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies:Pennsylvania. IGI Global Publishers. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch005 Clapp, J. (2017). Bigger is Not Always Better: The Drivers and Implications of the Recent Agribusiness Megamergers. Waterloo, ON: Global Food Politics Group, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/global-food-politics group/news/biggernot-always-betterdrivers- and-implications-recent Howard, P. (2016). Concentration and power in the food system: Who controls what we eat? (Vol. 3). Bloomsbury Publishing. Wise, T. (2019). Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness. Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food The New Press.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Capitalist Consumption: A pattern of consumption informed by profit motives. FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. GATT: General agreement on tariffs and trade. SC: Sustainable Consumption is consumption that meets the needs of the present and future generation without tainting the environment.
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Section 2
Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Policy for Sustainable Food Consumption
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Chapter 2
Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders in Developing Countries Ibnu Budiman Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT This chapter analyzes whether the current policy for climate-smart agriculture meets the demands of climate justice and respects the rights of smallholders, and if not, how it should be amended. The study is based on a literature review and several interviews with climate-smart agriculture actors from diverse backgrounds: (1) consultant or practitioner, (2) farmer, (3) business or entrepreneur, (4) scientist. To examine the climate-smart agriculture concept and its implementation, the following ethical positions are mainly considered: (1) maximalist, (2) minimalist, (3) Pogge´s intermediate position, (4) Nussbaum’s capability approach, (5) Kantian, (t) altruism. This study found that the current climate-smart agriculture approaches are not fairly implemented, due to the unjust sharing of benefits of income and burdens of emission reduction costs, among smallholders and big industries. According to the principles of climate justice, this sharing proportion should be equally distributed based on an individual’s capacities and poverty should also be taken into consideration.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch002 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders
INTRODUCTION Climate change is already causing subtle changes in weather patterns that are overwhelming communities. It affects the capacity of communities to cope with physical disasters and social disasters like chronic poverty (Comfort et al., 1999; Heltberg et al., 2009). Heltberg et al. (2009) state that adaptation strategies have done little to address the underlying problems of vulnerability. Risk and hazard amplified by climate change affect the agriculture sector negatively. At the same time, (industrialized) agriculture is considered as one of the causes of climate change due to its contribution of 13 percent of total global emissions. In response, international organizations have proposed the policy of climate-smart agriculture as a solution (World Bank, 2011). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) established climate-smart agriculture as a holistic concept that addresses agricultural development issues and other sustainable development goals, inter alia climate change. Climatesmart agriculture purports to tackle both environmental problems and socio-economic challenges. FAO has promoted climate-smart agriculture to developing countries, by introducing a change in food systems through multiple approaches and resource components. In general, climate-smart agriculture is conceptualised to address the three following elements: (i) improving crops productivity and people incomes; (ii) increasing resilience of livelihoods; (iii) abating greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emissions to protect ecosystems (FAO, 2010). Among other actors involved, some powerful actors may exploit their position when implementing climate-smart agriculture, causing inequality and affecting farmers’ rights and their welfare. In this way, climate-smart agriculture may lead to agri-food companies acquiring land holdings and thus, forcing farmers to transfer their holdings because of their inability to conduct climate-smart agriculture practices (Taylor, 2017). On the other hand, development projects that implement climatesmart agriculture claim to target poverty reduction, food security, and economic empowerment (Steenwerth et al., 2014), These development projects also have their limitations because of the way development has become an ‘industry’ that often does not hold its promises; and sometimes has disastrous effects (e.g. Ferguson, 1990; Moyo, 2010). Therefore, long-term, effective solutions for farmers are unlikely to be found in intervention-specific development alternatives (Escobar, 1992). Structural support for all, rather than project-based support for some is required, and farmers need to have a say in development processes on the basis of deliberative democracy, in which deliberation is central to decision-making (Habermas, 2001). Farmers need to get involved in consensus decision-making for climate-smart agriculture because by its nature farming is a locally-specific issue that defies one-size-fits-all solutions.
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Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders
Developed countries have a duty to support vulnerable smallholders in low-income countries for ethical reasons (not least because the wealth of developed countries is in part based on the import of food products from these very countries). Through the concept and practice of climate-smart agriculture, climate change adaptation agendas in the agricultural sector are emphasized in part to comply with this ethical duty (Nunan, 2017). In this paper, we query whether current policy and practice for climate-smart agriculture meet demands of climate justice and particularly respects the rights of smallholders; and if not, how should policy and practice be amended. This study is a general analysis of smallholders’ cases in developing countries in South-east Asia, South Asia, and Africa. Chapter two describes the conceptual framework and methods utilized in this study. Chapters three and four analyse and discuss the findings within the wider literature. Chapter three focuses on an analysis of the relationship between agri-food industries, farmers and poverty, under the principle of climate justice. Chapter four discusses potential solutions to transform the current implementation of climatesmart agriculture through global order transformation and social movements. Chapter five concludes the results and discussion and provides direction for further research.
FRAMEWORKS AND METHODOLOGY This study addresses the view in proposals for climate-smart agriculture meeting demands of climate justice and respect for the human capabilities of smallholders, given the uncertainty of attitude from related stakeholders. Literature reviews were conducted, as well as several interviews with climatesmart agriculture actors from diverse backgrounds (profession and countries): (i) consultants or practitioners; (ii) farmers; (iii) business or entrepreneurs; (iv), scientists. These actors come from the Netherlands, Germany, and Indonesia and they have experiences related to agriculture in developing countries. Purposive sampling to determine the climate-smart agriculture actors chosen for the study is adopted. Those actors were chosen due to the capacity and experiences of the actors in relation to climate-smart agriculture. The interviews were conducted for about one to two hours with each actor, within a month. To examine the climate-smart agriculture concept and its implementation, the following six ethical positions are mainly considered: (i) maximalist; (ii) minimalist; (iii) Pogge´s intermediate position; (iv) Nussbaum’s capability approach; [v] Kantian; and (vi) effective altruism. These ethical positions were selected due to their relevance to the case of climate-smart agriculture.
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Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders
Table 1. Ethical positions Maximalist
Maximise general welfare
Minimalist
Not inflict harm on people
Intermediate Shape and enforce social conditions which are harming the global poor
Capability approach • Justice is grounded on the individual • Ten human capabilities, inter alia life, health and control on the environment.
Kantian
Forbids us from using people as a mere means
Altruism
Do as much good as possible
From a maximalist view, it is obligatory to maximise general welfare and the outcome is of importance (Chappell, 2009). Maximalist intends to do the best and would not settle for less. Minimalist emphasizes justice in holdings. It looks at how people first come to own unowned and natural world property, what types of things can be held and so forth. Minimalist focuses on the urgency of negative duties to not inflict harm on people (Callahan, 1981). Negative duties reduce all ethical questions to the principle that one can live one’s life as one likes so long as no harm is done to others. Pogge (2001) argued that negative duties need to be managed in the theory of global justice. He claimed that by shaping and enforcing social conditions that foreseeably and avoidably cause the monumental suffering of global poverty, people are harming the global poor. These people are active participants in the largest, though not the gravest, a crime against humanity ever committed. In the capability approach by Nussbaum (2007), justice is grounded on the individual. She states that the central human capabilities include but are not limited to the ability to live to the end of human life of normal length and to be adequately nourished. Nussbaum distinguishes ten human capabilities, inter alia life, health, and control on the environment. Kantian theory forbids us from using people as a mere means (Wood, 2007). That action is morally permissible only if it would be permissible for others to do the same act. Effective altruism is a philosophy and a social movement that aims to revolutionise the way we do philanthropy. It encourages individuals to do as much good as possible, typically by contributing money to the best‐performing aid and development organisations (Singer, 2015). In this study, climate-smart agriculture is viewed as a policy narrative. Blaikie (2009) states that policy narratives are constructed by international development institutions. Therefore, public speakers may frame an issue strategically in terms of their interests and their agenda. For Blaikie (2009), narratives are required to be
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implementable and doable by policy, hence, some facts may be used and some other facts may be ignored in order to persuade human beings. Narratives make sense of complexity, reduce uncertainty and appeal to common sense. Consequently, it is crucial to reflect on narratives. An analysis is presented of the relationship between climate-smart agriculture and expectations about development, food security in a changing climate and the reality of actual development. Likewise, this paper goes along with the critics of development and with the path of alternatives for development. This study aims at drawing attention to moral commitments of climate-smart agriculture proposals, pointing to the possibility of a radical break with(from?) the present. Empirical findings and normative perspectives are utilised together to elaborate climate-smart agriculture concepts and implementations. In the following section, arguments and counter-arguments for the intended outcomes of climate-smart agriculture in terms of climate justice and expectations of farmers are presented, whereas, in section four, potential adjustments of climatesmart agriculture approaches are clarified.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Climate-Smart Agrifood Industries and Injustice for Smallholders Practices of conventional agriculture systems have led to an increase in GHG emissions and several forms of environmental degradation (Horrigan, Lawrence, & Walker, 2002). However, there is still uncertainty about the impacts of agricultural practices on the environment (Payraudeau& van der Werf, 2005). In order to deal with those issues, FAO has established an approach known as “Climate-Smart Agriculture” (CSA) through several programmes. For instance, Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) studies the life cycle assessment (LCA) of agricultural production chains by looking at mitigation opportunities, identifying the barriers of sustainable agriculture adoption at the farm level, and calculating the costs (FAO, 2010). These studies have been conducted on some agricultural commodities and processed products in developing countries. The same studies have also transformed the concepts of economies of scale into ecology of scale (Affandi, personal communication, December 12, 2017). Another FAO programme is ExAnte Carbon balance Tool (EX-ACT). It aims at supporting the accounting process of GHG emission reductions from agricultural production. MICCA and EX-ACT provide knowledge and information to assist farmers and decision-makers to find policy options for climate change mitigation (FAO, 2010). 35
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The involvement of strategic decision-makers is expected to accelerate the actions for climate-smart agriculture. Therefore, FAO (2010) promotes a collaboration of diverse stakeholders, practitioners, farmers, and international development organizations, inter alia the World Bank, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This partnership has had an impact in several countries in South Asia and Africa, but not yet in Southeast Asia (Affandi, personal communication, December 12, 2017). Nonetheless, the climate-smart agriculture concept has been critiqued as a regime of an institution that forms material power by controlling agricultural production, financial investment, and technology. Climate-smart agriculture is promoted to benefit transnational actors. As front-runners, they mobilise the flows of technology and finance into a regime that rebuilds a new world agrifood system (Newell & Taylor, 2017). The transnational businesses have used their power to choose particular suppliers that perform sustainably. They have established various supply chain certification systems as strategies to control suppliers in developing countries (Bulkeley& Newell, 2015). According to Pogge (2010) and Gauri & Sonderholm (2012), the domination of transnational businesses in climate-smart agriculture is not ethical due to the fact that the global rules and regulations are set by particular international institutions. The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) initiative utilises political movements, involving private companies, e.g. Syngenta and McDonald’s for greenwashing industrial agriculture (Budiman, 2016). Meanwhile, another global coalition claims that farmers are the key element of green economy (Farming First, 2011). However, Chandra, McNamara, &Dargusch (2017) argue that climate-smart agriculture has marginalized vulnerable smallholders due to the undermining of socio-political responses, inter alia inequality, uneven power relations, and social injustice. Hence, current practices of climate-smart agriculture increase the incomes of private actors instead of those of farmers. Moreover, Kuikman (personal communication, December 5, 2017) claims that climate-smart agriculture approaches are basically common practices that farmers have already performed previously; however, the focus on the reduction of emissions is an innovation. Within climate-smart agriculture approaches, the duty of emission reductions tends to burden smallholders more than the industry.
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Why is Climate-smart Agriculture Imposed more on Farm Levels than on Industry Levels? This Issue is Linked to Climate Justice Climate justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centred approach (Aminzadeh, 2007). Within climate-smart agriculture approaches, farmers have not been completely put in the centre of the approach. Hence, many climate-smart agriculture projects do not safeguard farmers’ rights and do not share the burdens, benefits, and impacts of climate change equitably and fairly (Budiman, 2017a).
As Industries Possess more Power and Produce Higher Carbon Footprint Compared to Farmers, who Should be Financially Responsible for Climate Actions to Save the Planet? Developed countries are targeted under the polluter pays principle (PPP) in which the burden is on those who pollute. Due to this principle, the emissions trading system (ETS) in New Zealand planned to put carbon pricing in agriculture practices in the forest area. However, Manley &Maclaren (2012) report that carbon trading has the potential to increase forest profitability and to influence the choice of silviculture. Knowing the risk that might arise from setting carbon prices in agriculture, the New Zealand government decided to cancel the plan (Matthews, 2015). Caney (2010) argues that PPP is not appropriate for poor countries that do not have the capacity to pay. He suggests that PPP should be sensitive to those countries by considering the fact that poor farmers produce emissions because of survival reasons, fulfilling their basic needs. Thus, the burden for climate actions shall not belong to them, but to entities that have the greatest ability to pay (Caney, 2010). Caney (2010) discusses climate justice in a horizontal level, considering relations among countries, but he neglects climate justice in a vertical level, considering the relationship between major corporates as buyers and farmers as suppliers in the production chain. In principle, all actors in the agrifood value chain should bear costs (burden) for climate-smart practices equally. When farmers cannot afford climate-smart agriculture practices, they are supported by institutions and donors. The projection of climate-smart agriculture may develop means to produce food with low-carbon technology. To make these climate-smart agriculture practises feasible, the strategy is to structurally force farmers to join larger firms (Kuikman, personal communication, December 5, 2017). In the end, farmers may become human labour for major agrifood corporates. They may lose their rights and their functioning to have control over their environment.
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Forcing farmers structurally to be labour in major corporates is unethical due to the fact that it eliminates the farmers´ right to enjoy their valuable functioning (quality of life). As sovereign individuals, farmers should be able to explore their capability freely. In India, farmers claim that climate-smart agriculture helps them to protect their crops from climate change (VoA, 2016; Khatri-Chhetri et al, 2017). Kuikman (personal communication, December 5, 2017) acknowledges that climate-smart agriculture works and that it is unethical to allow farmers to farm in an unsustainable way. Emitting a great amount of GHGs causes environmental problems that limit the rights of other people. A life cycle assessment study shows that smallholders’ daily practices lead to higher emissions (Priambodo& Kumar, 2001). This finding justifies the use of technology to reduce emission. Horlings& Marsden (2011) argue that the dominant food regime has utilised technological development through climate-smart agriculture although it causes new negative side effects and sociocultural problems to farmers. Affandi (personal communication, December 12, 2017) denies Kuikman’s claims by saying that farmers are victims of bigger regimes of economics and politics, including the regimes of climate change and global capitalism. Before those regimes emerged, farmers´ practices had been sustainable. Then those regimes came with agricultural policies that introduced high input agriculture systems. Nowadays, farmers are already comfortable with those intensified agricultural practices. Farmers have contributed immensely to food security. However, the current regimes want to reform farmers´ behaviour in terms of climate change. Therefore, farmers have been steered by massive regimes. They are trapped in the neoliberal system, and they are not the one to be blamed. Are bigger political regimes responsible? The United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), Paris COP 21, lacked discussions about serious strategies for climate-smart agriculture (Saikawa, 2015). The non-legally binding commitments may contribute to climate injustice in terms of agricultural stress and food insecurity. In addition, the target of 1.5-2.0 degree, as stated in the Paris agreement, is projected to endanger water resources and agriculture. In Paris agreement, there is no provision for the topic of loss and damage that is important to prevent farmers from climate disasters (Weiskel, 2016). Accordingly, farmers are gradually trapped in poverty and become more vulnerable. In the extreme, for the sake of food security, the world’s powerful actors, who look for the most efficient way to produce food, may bid farewell to farmers and welcome to agrifood technologies. Thus, where is justice? Or have those actors already redefined justice? Even from a libertarian view, those powerful actors’ plan is unethical because minimalists have negative duties not to harm others, especially farmers who possess low bargaining power and often lose in this kind of battle. 38
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The current climate-smart agriculture concept is powered by strong capitalist actors that affect the justice within existing climate-smart agriculture arrangements. This may serve to ensure that agriculture remains a parking lot for farmers’ poverty, especially in developing countries (Budiman, 2016). If the capitalist regime is unstoppable, altruists should develop effective development programmes as explained in the following section.
Climate-Smart Agriculture, Development Programmes, and Poverty among Farmers Easterly (2008) shows that life expectancy in developing countries is lower than in developed countries. Most people residing in rural areas of developing countries are in extreme poverty while managing small farms (United Nations, 2011). Steenwerthet al. (2014) connect poverty reduction, food security, and economic development to climate-smart agriculture. Mbowet al. (2014) query whether climate change mitigation can become a driver of farmers´ decisions, particularly if mitigation efforts do not lead to short-term increases in income or welfare. An FAO working paper (2013) shows that the expenditure of human labour for clearing weeds increases due to climate-smart agriculture practices. Furthermore, farmers in Bangladesh are unwilling to reduce fertilizer applications (Rahman, personal communication, December 12, 2017) and German farmers claim compensation (Knobloch, personal communication, December 8, 2017). On the other hand, fertiliser subsidies in Indonesia cause environmental problems (Osorio, Abriningrum, Armas, &Firdaus, 2011). Nunan (2017) argues that current climate-smart agriculture approaches change neither practices on the ground nor the agricultural lobby. Moreover, Nunan (2017) critiques the fact that climate-smart agriculture targets thousands of small businesses each working in different conditions and with individual farmer behaviours. This causes the technical effectiveness and adaptation measures of climate-smart agriculture to be uncertain or questionable. Accordingly, governments may avoid regulations in this sector where implementation and monitoring for uncertain outcomes may be costly. On top of this, smallholders may not be able to sustain climate-smart agriculture activities in the long-term due to the fact that credit can only be obtained with land tenure (Fröhlich, Schreinemachers, Stahr, & Clemens, 2013). Are these obstacles conquerable? For this, we should have a closer look at developing countries and their circumstances. Many developing countries receive development aid. Therefore, some organisations are concerned that development aid will be conditioned based on climate-smart agriculture, resulting in increased vulnerability among smallholders.
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Shames et al. (2012) state that climate-smart agriculture programmes as any other development project may fail. However, smallholders have neither an asset base nor surplus capital to compensate for project failures. Therefore, there is feasibility to implement a successful climate-smart agriculture project through development programmes. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) primarily promote climate-smart agriculture with a view to enhance the capacity of the agricultural systems to support food security and climate mitigation (FAO, 2017). Have NGOs accomplished their purpose? The FAO (2017) states that there is no one-size-fits-all blueprint for how climate-smart agriculture should be pursued. Roe (1991) shows that blueprints are undergirded by narratives. He argues that the reasons we do not learn more from past development efforts are precisely the same reasons we cannot plan better for future ones. Therefore, attention should be given so that practitioners can better utilize the development blueprint.
However, Development Projects do not Really Reach Poor Farmers Additionally, Sharma&Suppan (2011) critique that a monitoring methodology on climate-smart agriculture has not been developed and the international understanding of this concept and its practical designs are limited. Based on an experienced development narrative, Ferguson (1990) argues that the actual effects of a planned development intervention may be different from the intended effects and that this may occur unconsciously in a systematic way. His conclusion reveals that development programmes fail to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor. Ferguson shows that projects do not help to eradicate poverty since they only reinforce the system that in the first-place causes poverty (Bradshaw, 2007). It is a Marxist political economy view, which argues that development requires social transformation. From a Kantian view, development programmes may be unethical since actions are judged according to their consequences, not their intention. In contrast to Ferguson (1990) from the Marxist, political economy view, development programmes create conditions for large investments and capitalist accumulation. Does development as a transformation toward a capitalist and industrial economy also reduce poverty? Do poor farmers want to encourage their children to become farmers? Kuikman argues that those statements are romanticising. It only protects poor farmers instead of enhancing their capability to develop.
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According to Escobar (1992), development discourse creates ways of thinking about poverty and ways of designing programmes in order to alleviate poverty. A number of experts represent different interpretation regarding strategy for development programmes that are rooted in local histories and traditions In other words, Escobar (1992) argues that development has to be redefined. Climate-smart agriculture does not redefine agriculture ‘development’. Kuikman also states that climate-smart agriculture is not as novel as it seems to be. However, he is positive about consumers as a major market force. Mitlinet al. (2007) acknowledge public opinion as the key arena in which dominant views can be contested and argued that counter-hegemonic alternatives may require actors from outside and within the state, not only NGOs. Currently, NGOs participate in policymaking at the global level in terms of climate change; however, their operational experience is their strong point (Mitlinet al., 2007). This may allow us to use the development concept differently in the future in order to achieve the intended outcomes. Mosse (2004) holds the view that there is a gap between policies and practices that may lead to unintended effects. As opposed to Ferguson (1990), he presumes that these unintended effects are neither necessarily perverse nor hidden. Thus, these effects may be used creatively and innovatively. It is important to acknowledge that there is a difference between a partial, reformist, intervention-specific alternative and a radical system, structure changing alternative (Escobar, 1992; Mitlin, Hickey, &Bebbington, 2007). The latter contests hegemonic ideas about the role of markets in organising society such as social movements that contest neo-liberal policies (Mitlinet al., 2007). Contemporary partial, reformist, intervention-specific alternatives turn to transnational advocacy based on issues such as climate change. An act to help farmers is correct if and only if it is the act that, among all the acts available to the stakeholders, maximizes the overall interest-satisfaction among all affected farmers. In the last decade, a number of economic publications have stressed the counterproductive consequences of development aid (Easterly, 2008; Moyo, 2010). Common concerns include the idea that development aid feeds a cycle of dependence in recipient countries, promotes corruption and constitutes a barrier to developing countries taking responsibility for their own economic and social development. Transforming institutional capability in utilising aid is needed. Based on the premise of climate-smart agriculture implemented in the current development industry, climate-smart agriculture within development programmes is incommensurate with effective altruism (Singer, 2015). Sachs (2006) suggests that to end poverty, neither laziness nor corruption must be overcome, but instead geographic isolation, vulnerability to climate events, and diseases must be taken into account. He believes in the existence of poverty traps. 41
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A number of micro-level studies have evidenced the existence of poverty traps (Berhanu, 2011). However, macro-level studies have not proven the existence of poverty traps because people’s behavior for increasing returns to saving is rarely found and initially poor countries have not grown more slowly than other countries. Therefore, Easterly (2008), inter alia, promotes a gradual change, on the basis of a unique equilibrium determined by adverse fundamentals. Kuikman and Rahman argue that being poor is not an excuse not to contribute to climate-smart agriculture (personal communication, December 2017). In contrast, Knobloch (personal communication, December 2017) argues that poor farmers are concerned with their survival. Escobar (2002) shows that the development discourse creates abnormalities that the poor must be treated and reformed. However, our findings show that the development discourse, by creating ways of thinking about poverty and designing modes of climate-smart agriculture programmes, appears non-uniform. The fundamental different views on development programmes may not meld in the near future. By definition and principle, climate-smart agriculture is necessary for environment and development. However, the current implementation of climate-smart agriculture in developing countries as promoted does not fit with climate justice. Then, how can climate-smart agriculture be ethically implemented? Habermas (2001) suggests a rational consensus and an adjudicating principle through whichdecision should be made by concerning the justice and equality of communicative processes. Meanwhile, Chambers (2003) defends a communicative interaction without procedures to ensure spontaneity in his participatory rural appraisal approach. Kapoor (2010) critiques the Chamber´s approach that privileges common experience over theory and therefore, it lacks principles that check against power inequalities and arbitrariness. Hence, climate-smart agriculture development should be implemented in a dialogical process that allows arguments and counter-arguments, resulting in just and equitable outcomes to eradicate poverty among smallholders. To reach an acceptable argument may occupy much time. In the meantime, social movements combined with government programmes and corporate farming can be an alternative strategy to alleviate farmers’ poverty.
A Transformation from Global Order to Social Movement Inequality in the current implementation strategies of climate-smart agriculture may trap farmers in poverty. Referring to the first part of our research question, the existing climate-smart agriculture approaches do not meet the demand for climate justice. Farmers are still left behind. Climate-smart agriculture ignores farmers’ capabilities to effectively farm and to own land. The power of big corporates in 42
Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders
climate-smart agriculture eliminates the freedoms of farmers to enjoy their valuable functioning, hence, more attention on farmers’ capabilities is advisable (Robeyns, 2011). Therefore, a revision of climate-smart agriculture policy and practice is required to save farmers´ rights. This section focuses on the second part of our research question, the potential opportunities to improve the implementation of climate-smart agriculture and to increase economic resilience for farmers.
Feasibility to Revise Global Order Affandi (personal communication, December 12, 2017) suggests a change in food production and in generating livelihoods in terms of climate-smart agriculture. Regarding the responsibility of reducing emissions, LCA may be useful and may identify which activities or which actors, e.g. industry, farmers, or consumer, are mainly accountable. The industry level as the richest actor has the greatest ability to pay for emission reduction costs. As a powerful actor, it has the means to facilitate a structural change in climate-smart agriculture implementation. According to Pogge (2010), the current global order by global institutions has established the rules and regulations that benefit the interests of developed countries over developing nations. This leads to the moral criticism of rich groups exploiting their bargaining power intellectually and economically to shape a new way of imperialism. They form the exclusion problem or access problem for developing countries (Pogge, 2005). Thus, this global order neglects smallholders in developing countries. In the case of climate-smart agriculture, FAO and its alliance can be viewed as global institutions that advance giant agri-food industries of developed countries to set up climate-smart agriculture. In agreement with Pogge, this paper argues that global order needs to be changed, removing barriers in agri-food fair trade. Costs to reduce emissions in the agricultural sector are burdens for developing countries, most likely increasing poverty. Current climate-smart agriculture threatens smallholders´ access to their farms and to their basic human rights (Sonderholm, 2012). Nowadays, farmers are not solely producers of food, but they have also become consumers of food produced by big agri-food industries (Affandi, personal communication, December 12, 2017). Recent climate agreements may form new geopolitics of food security as a response to uneven food supply and its distribution. Some developed countries have used agriculture resources for bioenergy, this humiliates humanity and hunger in poor countries (Weiskel, 2016). It is not easy to change the global order. Climate-smart agriculture is the way towards market-based solutions that involve businesses in climate governance. Bulkeley & Newell (2015) argue that globalization has increased the number of 43
Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy and (In)Justice for Smallholders
business participation in climate governance that endorses broader shifts from the state to market power. One of the key sectors in business is finance, e.g. the insurance industry works with leading banks and climate-smart agriculture promotes climate insurances. However, this may not benefit farmers, it causes more risk for farmers for being in debt. Climate-smart agriculture as a form of governance should emphasise voluntarism and networks of partnerships of civil societies and farmer groups, in contrast to neoliberal modes of governance. The establishment of firms as private governance has to innovatively reconsider particular arrangements of governance and actors that are served or neglected. It is crucial to ensure that farmers are served and receive longterm benefits from climate-smart agriculture arrangements. Firms differently draw boundaries of governance compared to states. This raises problems of transparency, representation, and legitimacy of private governance (Bulkeley & Newell, 2015). Alternatively, the climate-smart agriculture approaches may be integrated into innovative concepts, e.g. doughnut economics by Raworth (2017). She claims that it may reduce inequalities in wealth and income. Monbiot (2017) supports Raworth’s idea of a structural change. According to this, money, markets, taxes and public investments are designed to conserve and regenerate resources rather than to squander them. Big corporates are expected to invest in green projects. Raworth (2017) wants new metrics that measure genuine prosperity, not the speed of growth that degrades our resources. In these new metrics, farmers may be part of markets and households may benefit from the above-mentioned investments, potentially eradicating poverty. Nevertheless, this idea needs institutional and political shifts that currently occur slowly in several parts of the world. These movements require our support to expand. Weiskel (2017) suggested that group conversations as a means of convening public discussions towards citizen-based actions are needed in a sustainable development transition. For instance, the Cambridge Climate Research Associates have conducted a Citizen-Science Online Learning Initiative to facilitate new forms of citizen-scientist collaboration. This method may be applied in climate-smart agriculture to enable discussions between farmers, governments, industries, and scientists, triggering discourse of structure change of the current climate-smart agriculture approaches. This may provide an opportunity for farmers to include their opinion in consensus decision making. Furthermore, that group can be a group that can involve in attempts to achieve institutional reforms in national settings, as Pogge (2010) suggested. This change is expected to eliminate the harms caused by the current global order.
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To revise the global order may take a long time, especially nowadays when populist leaders in many countries recall the attention to climate issues. More practically, Pogge (2010) also recommends that individuals take compensatory actions to economically contribute to the national economy and to fight against the active collaborators of global order.
Socio-Technical Transition: A Collaborative Movement Chandra et al. (2017) show how three integrated socio-political processes such as inequality, unequal power relations, and social injustice make smallholders significantly vulnerable. They suggest that development programmes need to renew concepts of inequality, unequal power relations, and social injustice to be embedded into both policy and practice of climate-smart agriculture. Agroecology could be an example of that development programme. It examines local risks, specificities, and priorities of smallholders. This practice considered Nussbaum’s approach to respect farmers’ capability. This may be a short-time response to maximize farmers’ efforts to taking part in neoliberal agribusinesses. Agroecology combines farmers’ knowledge and their culture with modern scientific findings. It is sustainable farming practise that returns CO2 to the soil, reducing about a quarter of all current global GHG emissions. Through family farms that are rich in biodiversity, often on collective territories, agroecology nourishes people and heals broken ecosystems. In this sense, climate justice and food sovereignty are acts of political resistance. They exist outside the corporate control of the food systems (Budiman, 2017b), most likely alleviating farmers’ poverty. Additionally, farmers are proud of being farmers (Affandi, personal communication, December 12, 2017). To implement climate-smart agriculture approaches, collective farming can be triggered by incentivizing farmers (Matthews, 2015). The main incentive expected by farmers is an increase in income, usually facilitated by collaborations in the form of cooperatives. Kuikman (personal communication, December 5, 2017), Affandi (personal communication, December 12, 2017), Knobloch (personal communication, December 8, 2017), and Rahman (personal communication, December 12, 2017) are positive about collective actions of cooperatives to sustainably grow and support food production, and to achieve the climate-smart agriculture objectives. However, they emphasize that these collective actions shall not reduce farmers´ sovereignty. The ownership allows farmers to be partly independent of big industries. Cooperatives are good governance to improve agri-food value chains.
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Farmers must increase their motivation and acceptance of innovations and technologies, and to raise their awareness of the environment. The freedom of farmers is limited by public demand (Affandi, personal communication, December 12, 2017). Technological innovations in climate-smart agriculture are viewed as barriers in collaboration with farmers. Collaborations and cooperatives need a successful innovation that is partly dependent on the business models that are used to diffuse them (Long, Blok, & Poldner, 2017). Hence, effective business models need to maximise the diffusion of technological innovations to collaborate in climate-smart agriculture with farmers. Moreover, the business model can link the collaboration with consumers side. Results of LCA studies show that high emissions are also caused by consumers, due to their preference for certain products. Thus, firms claim that they produce products that are demanded by consumers. In this case, the concept of ecolabelling may incentivize farmers to use climate-smart agriculture practises. However, there is no demand for climate-friendly food in developing countries. Affandi (personal communication, December 12, 2017) states that the middle class may become aware of organic food through education. External costs of food processing are not considered; therefore, prices remain low. Currently, consumers are not willing to pay higher prices for climate-friendly food. Nonetheless, promoting fair trade concepts may offer a solution. In Indonesia, associations of coffee farmers have started coffee shops in town. These farmers have established business relations with medium scale businesses to promote their products. These business connections may be expanded into bigger social movements to enhance farmers’ resilience. In addition, public awareness about climate-friendly food has to be raised, to increase market demand. Movements may be integrated with international development programmes. With reference to effective altruism by Singer (2015), different approaches may be combined to optimise the utilisation of the climate-smart agriculture approaches. He defines effective altruism as the most good that we can do to change ideas about living ethically. Altruists should choose an option that enhances farmers´ livelihoods significantly. Aside from that, academics and scientists are also part of the climate-smart agriculture practises. These people are expected to take their profession seriously and to negotiate ethically to support justice for farmers.
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The current climate-smart agriculture policy and approaches are not fairly implemented, due to injustice in sharing benefits of income and burdens from emission reduction costs, among farmers and industries. In principle of climate justice, that proportion sharing should be equally distributed, based on an individual’s capacities, considering poverty-sensitivity. Industries have a greater ability to pay for emission reduction costs. Likewise, farmers also must farm sustainably. To enforce justice on climate-smart agriculture, the transformation of global order that is empowered by big food regimes of transnational companies will have to be forced and accelerated, to fix climate-smart agriculture implementation. Alternatively, we have argued that social movements and gradual change may hold the promise of the climate-smart agriculture development for farmers. Multi-stakeholders can unite to support these movements. An undistorted communication and a reflection on development narratives may facilitate a successful implementation of climatesmart agriculture. Another strategy can also come from the consumer side. Based on the premise of consumers as the major market force and their ethical rethinking process towards climate-smart agriculture, ecolabels may facilitate the establishment of climate-smart agriculture practises. Introducing ecolabels that are not beneficial for industries in the first instance may compensate for climate-smart agriculture practises. An agricultural cooperative society may reduce the dependence of farmers on traders. For example, innovations such as the certified carbon neutral food or beverage produced by cooperatives may be the entering wedge of future development towards carbon neutral foodstuffs (Birkenberg & Birner, 2016). This scheme is expected to incentivize farmers fairly. We can build our hope on those various alternative movements to change the direction of the current climate-smart agriculture approaches. As the old saying goes, if you do not change direction, you most likely will end up where you are headed. Climate-smart agriculture should promote the aforementioned solutions to achieve a just(fair?) transition for different groups of people and the environment. These modalities are required to actualize climate-smart agriculture policy as part of the notion of sustainable development to balance economic development, environmental protection, and social equality. Further research is required to present better argument on how the capitalists/ beneficiaries of the current global order justify their version of climate-smart agriculture.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thank you to Henk van den Belt,the interviewees, and LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education) for your support to this paper.
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Chambers, R. (2003). Whose reality counts? Putting the first last. London: Intermediate Technology. Chandra, A., McNamara, K. E., & Dargusch, P. (2017). The relevance of political ecology perspectives for smallholder Climate-smart agriculture: A review. Journal of Political Ecology, 24(1), 821–842. doi:10.2458/v24i1.20969 Chappell, T. D. J. (2009). Ethics and experience: Life beyond moral theory. Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Comfort, L., Wisner, B., Cutter, S., Pulwarty, R., Hewitt, K., Oliver-Smith, A., & Krimgold, F. (1999). Reframing disaster policy: The global evolution of vulnerable communities. Environmental Hazards, 1(1), 39–44. doi:10.3763/ehaz.1999.0105 Easterly, W. (2008). Can the West save Africa? Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. doi:10.3386/w14363 Escobar, A. (1992). Imagining a post-development era? Critical thought, development and social movements. Social Text, (31/32): 20. doi:10.2307/466217 Escobar, A. (2002). The problematization of poverty: The tale of three worlds and development. In S. Schech & J. Haggis (Eds.), Development: A cultural studies reader (pp. 79–92). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. FAO. (2010). Climate-smart agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/climatesmart-agriculture/en/ FAO. (2013). Advancing agroforestry on the policy agenda: A guide for decisionmakers. Rome: FAO. FAO. (2017). Economics and policy innovations for climate-smart agriculture: What is Climate Smart Agriculture? Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/climatechange/ epic/activities/what-is-climate-smart-agriculture/en/#.WjKTa9_iZP Farming First. (2011). The story of agriculture and the green economy. Retrieved from https://farmingfirst.org/tag/the-story-of-agriculture-and-the-green-economy/ Ferguson, J. (1990). The anti-politics machine: ‘Development’, depoliticization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Fröhlich, H. L., Schreinemachers, P., Stahr, K., & Clemens, G. (Eds.). (2013). Sustainable land use and rural development in Southeast Asia: Innovations and policies for mountainous areas Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Gauri, V., & Sonderholm, J. (2012). Global poverty: Four normative positions. Journal of Global Ethics, 8(2-3), 193–213. doi:10.1080/17449626.2012.705787 49
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Mitlin, D., Hickey, S., & Bebbington, A. (2007). Reclaiming development? NGOs and the challenge of alternatives. World Development, 35(10), 1699–1720. doi:10.1016/j. worlddev.2006.11.005 Monbiot, G. (2017). Finally, a breakthrough alternative to growth economics – the doughnut. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/12/ doughnut-growth-economics-book-economic-model Mosse, D. (2004). Is good policy unimplementable? Reflections on the ethnography of aid policy and practice. Development and Change, 35(4), 639–671. doi:10.1111/ j.0012-155X.2004.00374.x Moyo, D. (2010). Dead aid: Why aid makes things worse and how there is another way for Africa. Penguin Politics. London: Penguin Books. Newell, P., & Taylor, O. (2017). Contested landscapes: The global political economy of climate-smart agriculture. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 19(1), 1–22. Nunan, F. (Ed.). (2017). Making climate compatible development happen. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315621579 Nussbaum, M. C. (2007). Frontiers of justice: Disability, nationality, species membership. The Tanner lectures on human values. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. Osorio, C. G., Abriningrum, D. E., Armas, E. B., & Firdaus, M. (2011). Who is benefiting from fertilizer subsidies in Indonesia? Washington, DC: The World Bank. Payraudeau, S., & van der Werf, H. M. (2005). Environmental impact assessment for a farming region: A review of methods. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 107(1), 1–19. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2004.12.012 Pogge, T. (2001). Introduction: Global Justice. Metaphilosophy, 32(1-2), 1–5. doi:10.1111/1467-9973.00171 Pogge, T. (2010). World poverty and human rights: Cosmopolitan responsibilities and reforms (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Pogge, T. W. (2005). Human rights and global health: A research program. Metaphilosophy, 36(1-2), 182–209. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9973.2005.00362.x Priambodo, A., & Kumar, S. (2001). Energy use and carbon dioxide emission of Indonesian small and medium scale industries. Energy Conversion and Management, 42(11), 1335–1348. doi:10.1016/S0196-8904(00)00127-8
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Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Random House Business Books. Robeyns, I. (2011). Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy: The capability approach. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/capability-approach/ Roe, E. M. (1991). Development narratives, or making the best of blueprint development. World Development, 19(4), 287–300. doi:10.1016/0305750X(91)90177-J Sachs, J. (2006). The end of poverty: Economic possibilities for our time. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Saikawa, E. (2015). A win for air quality in Paris summit, but Climate-smart agriculture still lags. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/a-win-for-air-quality-in-parissummit-but-climate-smart-agriculture-still-lags-52240 Shames, S., Wollenberg, E., Buck, L. E., Kristjanson, P., Masiga, M., & Biryahwaho, B. (2012). Institutional innovations in African smallholder carbon projects. Copenhagen, Denmark: Academic Press. Sharma, S., & Suppan, S. (2011). Elusive promises of the Kenya agricultural carbon project. Minneapolis, MN: Academic Press. Singer, P. (2015). The most good you can do: How effective altruism is changing ideas about living ethically. Castle lecture series. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sonderholm, J. (2012). Thomas Pogge on global justice and world poverty: A review essay. Analytic Philosophy, 53(4), 366–391. doi:10.1111/j.2153-960X.2012.00566.x Steenwerth, K. L., Hodson, A. K., Bloom, A. J., Carter, M. R., Cattaneo, A., Chartres, C. J., & Jackson, L. E. (2014). Climate-smart agriculture global research agenda: Scientific basis for action. Agriculture & Food Security, 3(1), 11. doi:10.1186/20487010-3-11 Taylor, M. (2017). Climate-smart agriculture: What is it good for? The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(1), 1–19. United Nations. (2011). World economic and social survey 2011: The great green technological transformation. Economic & social affairs. New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. VoA. (2016). Indian farmers battle with Climate Smart Agriculture. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIPQrqc_KsU
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Weiskel, T. (2016). What comes after Paris COP21? Agricultural stress, food insecurity and “climate justice? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=d1yZ_zC4lHM Weiskel, T. (2017). What are transition studies? Retrieved from https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCd0XBz6FNzyJupMIoEDC1Fw Wood, A. W. (2007). Kantian ethics. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/ CBO9780511809651 World Bank. (2011). Climate-smart agriculture: Helping the world produce more food. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0V2xzEw44Y
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Chapter 3
A Review on Impact of Changing Climate on Sustainable Food Consumption Tosin Kolajo Gbadegesin University of Ibadan, Nigeria
ABSTRACT Food security is of great importance in the politics of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) because of its implication on environment and people. The changing climate is adding to world resource problems such as food security, water scarcity, pollution, soil degradation, etc. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use demand by agriculture has continued to influence what people quantity and quality of available food. This review used resources from all relevant literatures to examine impact of changing climate on sustainable food consumption by identifying effect of changing climate on nutrition, food production, and food consumption, and provides recommendations on sustainable food consumption measures. The review is of the opinion that food consumption patterns are changing in the face of population growth, economic development, and environmental challenges. Such shifts place increased pressure on already depleted natural resources due to the resource-intensive production and transportation requirements of these products.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch003 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
A Review on Impact of Changing Climate on Sustainable Food Consumption
INTRODUCTION Feeding a global population of nine to ten billion people by 2050 presents an enormous challenge and at the same time humanity is facing a variety of serious sustainability challenges. On the environmental side, it is global warming and resource scarcity, on the social side, it is increasing inequity. At the same time, focus on growth, innovations and technological solutions builds a locked-in situation in a system, hindering an effective targeting of these challenges if not contributing to them. Outside the effects on humans, further stress is placed on the ecosphere and biodiversity (FAO, 2012; IPCC, 2012). Food security is a major issue in the politics of sustainable food consumption and production (SCP) because of its impact on the environment, health of the people and the economy. Several key issues high on policy development agendas worldwide show how far-reaching the problem is. Serious environmental challenges associated with food production and consumption include water scarcity, soil abjection, eutrophication of water bodies, climate change, water pollution, and loss of habitats and biodiversity. Food consumption is responsible for most of the global water use as well as for generation of about one fifth of greenhouse-gas emissions (GHGs) (Bazilian et al., 2011). Latest efforts by international and national policy makers have sought to urge individuals to engage in several ranges of environmental friendly practices to address both discrete environmental problems and global challenges of great importance such as climate change (Hanss & Böhm, 2012). The concept sustainable consumption was first coined in Oslo in 1994 in line with the Brundtland commission definition of “sustainable development” and includes both consumption and production. It was seen as the use of goods and services to meet basic needs and improve quality of life, while reducing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, in order to meet the needs of the present and future generations (Brundtland Commission, 1987). Similarly, sustainable consumption has attracted attention under the headline of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). It received support with respect to implementation at the World Summit of Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002 where each participating countries pledged themselves to promoting SCP, with developed countries taking the lead (Gerbens-Leenes et al., 2010; Fuchs & Lorek 2005). Over the years, the importance of sustainable food consumption policies has been increasingly expressed at international policy level. In 1992, Rio Declaration on Environment and Development calls upon States to reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption in order to achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life. There is also Agenda 21 with its chapter 4 on sustainable
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consumption and production. Similarly, in 1999, UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection gives governments a comprehensive framework for policy setting for more sustainable consumption and production. And in 2002, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the summit called for development of a 10-year plan to speed-up the move towards sustainable consumption and production patterns (Fuchs & Lorek 2002; Lorek, Spangenberg & Oman 2008). Gerbans-Leenes & Nonhebel, (2002); Schafer, Herde & Kropp (2007) have examined the environmental impact of different food consumption patterns in terms of energy and land use. Results demonstrated higher use of energy for food of animal origin, processed food and greenhouse cultivations, compared with plant food, fresh products and open-air cultivations. Accordingly, diets rich in meat consumption were found to consume energy and devour lands (Gerbans-Leenes & Nonhebel, 2002). Schafer, Herde & Kropp (2007) stated that present food consumption patterns are unsustainable, as they endanger not only the carrying capacity of the earth, but human health as well. Food production and consumption is increasing the rate at which natural resources such as water and energy are depleted. Chemical materials such as pesticides and fertilizers are also overused in the process (WHO, 2004). Climate change is one of the most challenging threats facing the world (UNFCCC, 2007). Most notable consequences include shortfall in rainfall, droughts, high temperature, flooding and unpredicted weather. Developing countries are usually the most vulnerable because their economies as it is more dependent on climate sensitive natural resources making them less able to deal with the impacts of climate change (UNFCCC, 2007). This creates a vicious circle, as malnourished population is less resistant to the effects of climate change, such as the spread of diseases. Climate change is equally expected to negatively affect both crop and livestock production systems in most regions, although some countries may actually benefit from the changing conditions (Church & Lorek, 2007). Climate changes together with other environmental constraints are affecting food production and consumption and they will likely undermine the possibility of meeting world food demands. By 2050, a year in which global population is projected to reach 9 billion people, the dynamics between population, diet, and climate change will amplify challenges facing global food systems (IPCC, 2014; UNFCCC, 2007). The effects of changing climate are already visible in some places. For example, drought in Eastern and Southern Africa left more than 1 million children undernourished in 2013. Food prices in those areas have skyrocketed and many farmers have struggled to produce crops (IPCC, 2014). Also, by 2050, it is predicted that heat waves, floods and other climate change effects will not be the only worry as there is an evidence of global warming affecting diet and nutrition (Godfray, Beddington, Crute, Haddad, Lawrence, Muir & Toulmin 2010).
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It is noted that geographic limits and yields of different crops may be altered by changes in precipitation, temperature, cloud cover and soil moisture as well as increases in CO2 concentrations. High temperatures and reduction in rainfall affect soil moisture, reducing the quantity of water available for irrigation and impair crop growth in non-irrigated regions (IPCC, 2014). Climate change influence food production due to resulting geographical shifts and yield changes in crops, reduction in the quantity of water available for irrigation, and loss of land through sea level rise and associated salinization (Prasad, Staggenborg & Ristic, 2008). It is noted that higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere also mean that wheat; rice, maize, potatoes and other staples will grow with lower levels of protein and by 2050 extra 150 million people in 47 countries will be at greater risk of malnutrition (Collier, Conway & Venables 2008). For example, climate influences the seasonality of food production and consumption, epidemics of diarrheal disease, and water use for mothers whose ready access to clean drinking-water in coastal regions declines as sea-levels rises (IPCC, 2012). The UN stated that four out of five people on the planet depend mostly on grain staples and legumes for dietary protein, and estimated that poor nutrition already accounts for around three million deaths among young children every year (UNFCCC, 2007) while Fuchs & Lorek (2002) experiments shows that higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are associated with protein losses of around 5%. Prasad et al., (2008) showed how droughts, floods and other weather events linked to climate change hurt global crop yields and lead to a less healthy diet composition in addition to making food less available overall. Lorek et al., (2008) found that on average the consumption of vegetables and fruits will decline 4% by 2050 due to climate change compared to a projection of consumption without global warming. The decline is expected to hit low and medium-income countries more compared to high-income countries across the globe (IPCC, 2014). IPCC(2012); Beddow et al., (2012) stated that rising temperatures and particularly greater intensity and frequencies of heat waves, droughts and floods will threaten global food security by reducing vegetable and fruit yields, hit grain crop harvests such as wheat in one of the most populous and poorest nations on the planet. Approximately, about 1.3 billion ton or one third of food gets lost or wasted globally per year. These occur throughout the food value chain, through waste of edible foods in medium and high-income countries while in lower income countries, it is lost at earlier stages such as during storage and transport. Summarily, greenhouse gas emissions and land use demand by agriculture has a significant impact on what people eat and global food systems. To achieve food security at a time of climate change, policies promoting sustainable food consumption
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need to be developed. Consumption activities that help reduce the ecological and social problems associated with conventional production and consumption need to be encouraged (Bazilian, Rogner, Howells, Hermann, Arent, Gielen, Steduto, Mueller, Komor, Tol & Yumkella, 2011).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The aim of this review is to contribute to knowledge on impact of changing climate on sustainable food consumption. Using resources from all relevant literatures, this review theoretically examines sustainable food consumption by identifying impact of changing climate on nutrition, food production and food consumption and provides recommendations on meeting the growing food demand in this era of climate change.
EFFECT OF CHANGING CLIMATE ON FOOD PRODUCTION Effect of Changing Temperature Agriculture is perhaps the most sensitive of all food security activities affected by climate change as increase in temperature affect the moisture availability through evaporation. Evaporation increases by about 5% for each 10C increase in main annual temperature and this is significant in tropical regions where most crops are generally constrained by water availability (WHO, 2004). Meteorological records show that heat waves have been more frequent since the end of the last century, and it is expected that this trend will continue over coming decades. Together with limited rainfall, this directly impacts the performance of some crops. The adaptation of crops to these occasional temperature increases varies depending on the geographical region. The impact is more in temperate zones than in hotter zones where agriculture is already at the limit of its ability to adapt, and where it might be faced by conditions that have never been experienced before (Thornton, Ericksen, Herrero & Challinor, 2014). Increasing temperatures have different effects on farming in different parts of the world and productivity may increase in medium and high latitudes due to longer growing seasons (FAO, 2010). In Europe, crops traditional to the south, such as maize, sunflower and soy, could flourish at higher latitudes, leading to harvests increase of around 30% by 2050, depending on the crop (El-Fadel, Ghanimeh, Maroun & Alameddine, 2012). A 20C increase in temperature in medium latitudes could lead to a 10% increase in wheat
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production, but would result in a corresponding loss in lower latitude (Battisti & Naylor 2009). However, in semi-arid and tropical regions, where farming conditions are extreme, an increase in temperature could lead to reduction in harvests, increasing the stress of high temperatures, with increased water loss through evaporation, further increasing water stress for plants (Tirado et al., 2010). Soil fertility can also be impaired by increased air temperatures. Furthermore, losses from evaporation and longer growing seasons could result in increased water demand in the Middle East, North Africa and South-East Asia. Maize is usually one of the crops mostly affected by increased temperatures and changing rainfall (FAO, 2006). Crahay (2010) found that agricultural output might decrease by 10% by 2055, mainly in Africa and Latin America, affecting over 170 million small-scale farmers in these regions. The effect of changing climate on pests may add to the effect of other factors such as the overuse of pesticides and the loss of biodiversity which already contribute to plant pest and disease outbreaks. Higher temperatures resulting from climate change may spread insects and pathogens to a wider range of latitudes (Beddow et al., 2012).
Effect of Changes in Rainfall Patterns Water is crucial for plant life. Any change in rainfall patterns would impact directly on agriculture, 80% of which is dependent on rainwater. While it may be difficult to predict the effects of global warming on rainfall in a particular region, most of the forecasts produced conclude that there will be an increase in rainfall at high latitudes in winter, with lower rainfall in tropical and subtropical regions (Elliott, Deryng, Müller, Frieler, Konzmann, Gerten & Glotter 2014). In a nation like India, rainfall is expected to be lower in the dry season, with higher rainfall throughout the rest of the year (Beddow et al., 2012). Drought is a regional phenomenon, with different characteristics depending on the climatic region, frequency and duration. Lack of rainfall causes water stress in plants and, as with heat waves, the areas most affected will be those already suffering extreme water shortages (Elliott et al., 2014). Dryness of the soil stops root growth and decomposition of organic material which further decrease soil fertility. However, droughts have further effects, as they increase soil erosion due to reduced plant cover; this is of particular concern on mountain sides (El-Fadel et al., 2012). Important effects of climate change will be an increase in the severity of droughts, both in terms of their duration and frequency, such as the one that affected the Horn of Africa in the late 2011, with famine affecting 13 million people (Battisti & Naylor 2009). Forecasts suggest that by 2050, the proportion of the earth subject to constant drought will increase from 2% to 10%, with the area suffering from extreme droughts increasing from 1% to 30% by the end of the 21st century (WHO, 2013). Samuel et 59
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al., (2017) estimated that rainfall shortages in certain African countries dependent on cultivation of non-irrigated and semi-humid crops could reduce production by 50% by 2020, exposing 70% of the population dependent on such crops on the continent to serious food insecurity. Irrigated crops account for 20% of cultivated land globally and 40% of the food produced. Usually, the water used is drawn from rivers; as a result availability depends on weather in remote areas. One example of this is agriculture along the length of the Nile, which depends on rainfall in its highest stretch in Ethiopia (Elliott et al., 2014). In other regions, river flows depend on ice melting (FAO, 2008). In medium and high latitudes, mild winters result in lower precipitation in the form of snow, resulting in reduced water flow in spring (Samuel et al., 2017). Almost a sixth of the world’s population lives around the Ganges and Indus river basins, using their waters for domestic and agricultural purposes. Both rivers depend on melting of glaciers in the mountains, and this in turn is being influenced by global warming. This phenomenon may result in seasonal flows in rivers, decreasing in the dry season and increasing in the rainy season with greater risks of flooding (Mason & Calow, 2014). Combined with increasing populations in the area, this could result in water shortages in future. In other situations, water shortages are not due to low rainfall, but to surface run off, evaporation and deep percolation (FAO, 2010). Similarly, Mougou, Mansour, Iglesias, Chebbi & Battaglini, (2011) stated that there will be an increase in the amount of water falling as torrential rain over coming years. Mougou et al., (2011) further stated that excess water can damage crops, ruining harvests and flooding can devastate large expanses of cultivated land. Nelson, Rosegrant, Koo, Robertson, Sulser, Zhu & Ringler, (2009) stated that tropical cyclones may become more intense over the coming decades, with stronger winds and higher rainfall. These cyclones can have serious social and economic impact, particularly on developing countries. For example, in the Indian Ocean region like Myanmar, Bangladesh and India where majority of the people are domiciled in river deltas. Increasing populations in these areas make them extremely vulnerable to the risk of flooding, which will be aggravated by loss of harvests. However, inland regions may benefit from these weather systems as they decay to heavy rain. For example, for Cyclone Eline which devastated agriculture in Madagascar in 2000, but whose subsequent rains helped to offset drought in the south of Africa (Crahay, 2010).
Effect of Rising Sea Level Over the past one hundred and fifty years, sea level changes have been observed at tide gauge stations, and for the past twenty years, with satellite altimeters. Rising sea levels are inevitable consequences of climate change. There are two main factors responsible for this increase: thermal expansion of the oceans and an increase in 60
A Review on Impact of Changing Climate on Sustainable Food Consumption
Figure 1. IPCC 2100 Sea Level Rise Projection. Source: Church, Clark, Cazenave, Gregory, Jevrejeva, Levermann, Merrifield, Milne, Nerem, Nunn, Payne, Pfeffer, Stammer & Unnikrishnan, 2013
the volume of water due to ice melting from warming (Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, 2010). Although these effects should be taken into account at present, they are not expected to occur in the short term, given the rate of ice melting in the major ice shelves at present (Stéphane, Colin, Robert, Nicholls & Jan, 2013). The fourth IPCC report estimated that sea levels could rise by between 0.1m and 0.5m. The most vulnerable regions to such changes are those in river deltas and island states in South-East Asia, which could suffer flooding of crops and salination of underground water sources (Samuel et al., 2017). IPCC also predicted a global sea level rise (SLR) by 52-98 cm by 2100, which would threaten the survival of coastal cities & entire island nations (Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, 2010). For the past, proxy data are shown in light purple & tide gauge data in blue. For the future, the IPCC projections for very high emissions (red) and very low emissions (blue) are shown. 61
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Effects of Changes in Atmospheric Composition The levels of carbondioxide in the atmosphere and effect on climate change are interlinked during most of the Earth’s history. The present global carbon dioxide levels are at 38% higher than the levels that hovered around 280 ppm during the last 2.1 million years (Ahn and Brook 2009; Goodwin et al., 2009). Human activities of this age such as fossil fuel burning, deforestation, draining of wetlands, adoption of modern technology in farming and livestock rearing etc., are the main factors responsible for the present degraded state of the global environment. A higher concentration of carbondioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere may have a direct effect on physical processes in plants, such as photosynthesis and transpiration. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere increases photosynthesis by between 10% and 50%; this is beneficial (Horisch et al., 2009). However, comparing the overall effect of CO2 on fertility with the results of climate change, it is believed that the former is much more critical for determining whether harvests increase or decrease. Damage from consumption of the toxic emissions from CO2 by the surrounding vegetation can affect the quality and aesthetic value of plants and reduce their economic value (Westenbarger & Frisvold, 1994). If CO2 fertilization remains high, climate change will benefit agriculture in Europe and the USA. However, in Africa and India, despite the increased fertilization levels resulting from higher CO2, climate change will result in harvests falling by 5% by 2050 (Goodwin et al., 2009). Ozone hampers photosynthesis and accelerates leaf ageing, impacting on harvests. These effects are particularly visible in agricultural products, reducing their market value (Caesens et al., 2009). When CO2 settles in the atmosphere, the resulting water can become harmful to vegetation and aquatic life (Johnson and Fegley, 2002).
Effect of Ground-Level Ozone Ground-level ozone is obtained primarily from chemical reactions between humaninduced emissions. Ozone formation increases with increase in temperature, particularly above 320C (900F) (Ainsworth, Yendrek, Sitch, Collins & Emberson, 2012). Apart from being a human cardiorespiratory toxin, ground-level ozone is also a plant toxin, preventing crop photosynthesis and growth, and reducing the weight and yields of grain (Bell, Goldberg, Hogrefe, Kinney, & Knowlton, 2007). Open-air experiments showed that the ozone concentrations of 54-75ppb found in polluted regions decrease yields by 8-25% in rice, soybean, and wheat (Ashmore, 2005). Globally, the current levels of ozone pollution are expected to have reduced maize, wheat, and soybean yields by 6-9%. Efforts from government in the area of
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regulation are believed to contribute to reduction in ozone levels over the coming decades in developed countries (R. Soc. 2008). Many developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, can anticipate increased ozone levels due to greater emissions and warming (Tirado et al., 2010).
EFFECT OF CHANGING CLIMATE ON NUTRITION The link between climate change and nutrition is multifaceted. The common expectation is that climate change will have an effect on nutrition outcomes through its impact on the underlying drivers of nutritional status (Mueller, Gerber, Johnston, Ray, Ramankutty & Foley, 2012). The seasonality of climate, climate and weather shocks, year-to-year variability and longer-term shifts all influence directly and indirectly, the four environments which underpin nutrition: food, social, health and living environments (Mueller et al., 2012). Climate influences the seasonality of food production and consumption, epidemics of diarrheal disease, and the time utilization of mothers whose ready access to clean drinking-water in coastal regions declines as sea-levels rise (Tilman and Clark 2014). Droughts affect human nutrition not only by seriously reducing crop harvests but also by reducing grazing and fodder for livestock, thus lessening the availability of milk and meat. Drought inhibits plant growth and development by disturbing the uptake and absorption of essential minerals. This is reflected in the final crop yield, and may also affect the nutritional content of roots/tubers, foliage and seeds (WHO, 2013). Beyond its effect on yields, increase in CO2 levels is changing the nutritional composition of crops. Experiments in which food crops are grown at elevated CO2 levels, both in chambers and in open-field conditions using free air CO2 enrichment methods, showed reductions in protein content in the edible portion of these crops. Grains and tubers including rice, wheat, barley, and potatoes experience 7-15% reductions in protein content, whereas legumes and crops show either very small or insignificant reductions (Long, Ainsworth, Leakey, Nosberger & Ort, 2006). When these nutrient changes are modelled across current diets, more than 200 million people are expected to fall below thresholds of recommended protein intake, and protein deficiency levels among those already below this threshold will worsen (Myers et al., 2014). Crops grown at elevated CO2 also exhibit lower concentrations of important minerals. CO2 concentrations of 550ppm can lead to 3-11% decreases of zinc and iron concentrations in cereal grains and legumes and 5-10% reductions in the concentration of Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Sulphur, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Manganese across a wide range of crops under more extreme conditions of 690ppm CO2 (Medek, Schwartz & Myers, 2017). These reductions 63
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in zinc content are expected to place about 150-200 million people at risk for zinc deficiency and will aggravate existing deficiencies in more than 1 billion people (Long et al., 2006). In addition, roughly 1.4 billion children ages 1-5 and women of child bearing age, which represent 59% of the world total in these groups, live in countries where current anaemia rates exceed 20% of the population and where dietary iron intake is expected to decrease by 3.8% or more as a result of these CO2-mediated nutrient changes (Myers et al., 2014). Overall, hundreds of millions of people are expected to be placed at risk of zinc, iron, and/or protein deficiencies as a result of rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, and about two billion people already experiencing zinc or iron deficiency are likely see those deficiencies exacerbated by this effect (Samuel et al., 2017). Similarly, Selenium affects the level of nutrients absorbed by plants when they are growing. It’s an essential element for humans, boosting immune systems and preventing cognitive decline (Myers, Wessells, Kloog, Zanobetti & Schwartz, 2015). A lack of selenium has also been known to inhibit the proper growth of children’s bones in some selenium deficient areas of China (Long et al., 2006). A recent study has projected that, as a direct result of climate change, 66% of croplands will lose 8.7% of their Selenium (Myers et al., 2014). Nutrient content of seafood is also affected by changing climate. This occurs by changing the nutritional composition of phytoplankton communities with consequent effects on the food chain (Myers, 2015). Warming leads to reduced long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content in phytoplankton and in cold-water pelagic fish, such as sprat and anchovy. Another study suggested that uptake of minerals such as iron becomes more limited in warmer and more acidic waters, though further examination of impacts on micronutrient composition is needed (Crahay, 2010). The direct effects of CO2 emissions combined with attendant changes in climate lead to substantial uncertainties regarding the implications for the availability of food and nutrition. For fisheries, the compounding complexity of how the entire marine food chain will be affected leads to perhaps even greater uncertainty (WHO, 2013).
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FOOD CONSUMPTION Climate change could have a pronounced effect on incomes and urban consumers’ access to food. Long-term climate changes and trends may act as a drag on economic growth and job creation through mechanisms including higher mortality, lower performance, and social unrest, limiting households’ ability to earn incomes and improve their purchasing power. Reduced economic growth could make it more difficult for governments to manage food prices and fend off higher and more volatile food prices. This would result in food becoming more expensive for poor 64
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households. At the same time, climate change impacts on the economy and natural resource-based activities may threaten some livelihood activities underpinning food security especially in areas with high concentrations of people and economic activities (Dell et al., 2009). Heat extremes could impact incomes and food access through reducing labour productivity and affecting sensitive sectors. Increase in temperature will take an especially heavy toll on manual workers especially in Middle East North Africa (MENA) countries as heat extreme affect tourism sector (DARA, 2012). For example, the proportion of the workforce expected to be particularly affected between 2010 and 2030 by reduced productivity ranges between 10-20% in most MENA countries. Tourism being one of the climate sensitive sector is likely to shift in seasonality, as visitors would avoid hot months, and is projected to decline around 8% for MENA region by 2050 (Bigano et al., 2008). According to Parsons (2009), by the 2030s, it is believed that urban areas will face disruptive extreme events that threaten incomes, health and food security. The study further stated that heat waves are expected to become more common and more intense. Heat extremes threaten health in several ways. Most relevant to food security are the impacts of heat stress on human physiology (Parsons, 2009). Exposure to heat stress increases the risk of dehydration, strokes and heart disease as the human body has to work harder to maintain an average body temperature and dehydration can affect food metabolism (Parsons, 2009). Preventing heat stress requires avoiding strenuous activity and drinking enough water, but this is a challenge for people in certain occupations and living conditions (Schellnhuber et al., 2014). Extreme climate events may present shocks to food safety, affecting utilization. Under scenarios of prolonged heat extremes, non-refrigerated foods will spoil more quickly if electricity supply is strained, breaks in the cold chain may raise spoilage in chilled foods too (Kolahi, Rastegarpour, Abadi & Gachkar, 2010). Periods of high temperature also result in higher incidences of common forms of food poisoning, such as salmonellosis (Confalonieri et al., 2007). A study in Beirut projected climate change driven increases of 16-28% in food and water-borne related morbidity by 2050 (El Fadel et al., 2012). And diarrhoeal disease could increase between 6-15% by 2040 if health infrastructure does not improve from its current status (Kolstad & Johansson, 2010). Climate variability and extremes could affect harvests and global food prices which would make food security of urban populations less stable. With food accounting for 60% of household spending in the poorest countries (e.g. Yemen) and 35-45% of spending in middle-income countries (e.g. Algeria, Iraq) food price volatility has a large impact on the welfare of population (Kolahi et al., 2010). Global agricultural production is expected to continue rising, yet all regions can expect increasing risk of harvest failure due to climate shocks (Abou-Hadid, 2014). Expected increases in 65
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population and incomes combined with climate change mean prices for most food commodities are expected to rise by 2050 (Nelson et al., 2010). This contrasts with the second half of the 20th Century, when food prices fell. While an increase in food prices is enough to threaten the food security for those struggling with current costs, many more will feel the impact if food markets become more volatile and countries are unable to increase trade to offset unpredictable price spikes brought on by climate shocks (DARA, 2012). Imports vital to stability of local food markets may be further affected by climate change. For instance, while it is not possible to forecast developments on international grain supply chains, rising sea levels and increasing extreme events including storms and wave surges could potentially disrupt deliveries of supplies, for example if port infrastructure is damaged. Such events would likely push up prices, and possibly make food temporarily more scarce (Tacoli et al., 2013). Food losses during transport and storage will remain high and vulnerable to climatic events unless infrastructure is well designed and maintained. Poorly constructed warehouses mean supplies are at risk from flooding and disease. For food that requires cooling, electricity systems are at risk from load-shedding as well as storms, and water-cooled systems are vulnerable to drought. With food storage and transportation systems already saddled with problems in many countries, climate change is expected to present more challenges. Temperature rises and more extreme weather events may lead to more post-harvest losses, for example if higher humidity of stored foods rises above safe levels, it will increase fungal or pest infection (Kitinoja, 2011). Losses of perishable foods including fruit and vegetables are already high, and more extreme temperatures could obstruct efforts to bring these down. This could limit potential export revenues and also impede strategies to raise domestic consumption of fruit and vegetables needed to improve diets. Countries that rely heavily on open storage to store grain such as Egypt could experience higher losses of cereals (USDA, 2014).
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS There is need for nutrition transition from meat-based consumption that is occurring in low and middle-income countries and that has world-wide consequences for supply, thus putting enormous stress on ecosystems. This transition can occur from switch in a diet rich in animal proteins to a diet that is closer to health guidelines and that at the same time puts less pressure on the environment. Investment should be made on renewable energy technology especially in development of solar dryer as it has the tendency to reduce quantities of wasted foods.
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According to European Commission (2007), understanding factors influencing food choice such as biological determinants, economic determinants, physical determinants, social determinants, psychological determinants, attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about food plays crucial part in people’s consumption approach. Consumers also need to be empowered to choose instead of being told what to or not to eat, and food should be safe. As food consumption is a daily routine, consumer choices are also daily routines. It should be noted that calories are not good enough without micronutrients. Cognitive and physical development depends on eating the right things. This review call on policymakers to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the lines of the Paris Agreement, which commits countries to working to keep global atmospheric temperatures from going beyond 2°C (3.6°F) by 2100. Meeting this agreement would help prevent some of the most dramatic effects of climate change on sustainable food consumption. Governments should equally adjust public health and food programs to meet the expectations of malnourished population. Also, strategies to maintain adequate diets need to focus on as countries with less capacity to cope with food security challenges must be given attention. Efforts aimed at reducing vulnerability to nutrient deficiencies by supporting diverse and nutritious diets in children, enriching the nutritional content of staple crops and breeding crops less sensitive to these emissions effects need to be supported. It is noted that the world’s climate change and nutrition communities have overlapping agendas, this situation should improve. More collaboration between the two communities could generate a better understanding of climate-related risks to nutrition while also engaging the nutrition community in concerns about the impact of food systems and dietary choices on greenhouse gas emission. It would be ideal to identify dietary choices that are both good for health and good for the planet. The climate and nutrition communities should engage in dialogue that can stimulate collaboration between them and improve the coherence of their respective policy agendas. This review also suggests that the three areas in sustainable food consumption: the food we consume, the means of transport we choose, and the type of housing we live in should be given balanced attention. These areas together are vulnerable to impact of climate change and efforts should be made to address all the areas. Also, since feeding nine to ten billion people by 2050 presents an enormous challenge, a number of options such as closing the yield gap, increasing the production potential of crops, reducing waste, changing diets and expanding aquaculture etc. are particularly important, all of which need to be coordinated in a multifaceted and linked global strategy to ensure sustainable and equitable food security.
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Embedding risks associated with changing climate to the food supply system could help reduce long term costs and increase efficiency, for example by minimizing the impact of heat extremes on post-harvest losses in food storage and distribution. Climate risk management could also help mitigate the potential for cascading impacts, where risks to key bottlenecks in the food supply system result in widespread consequences. People in remote rural areas and rapidly growing and informal urban areas have the greatest challenges in accessing safety nets and basic services. Rural and urban poor people who are unable to find, afford, or safely consume food predictably are already living in risk, and are vulnerable to climate impacts on food systems. Addressing the needs of these communities is likely to require both more resources and reforms in policies and systems but is likely to provide benefits towards increased social stability. Food subsidy programmes should be put in place in continents such as Africa and Asia.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS It is evident research on the interaction of climate change, food, and agriculture is growing every day, there are many pressing areas that require additional study in order to enable researchers, policymakers, and others to fully adopt a sustainable food consumption approach. Areas such as application of climate-smart technologies for food production, development of seedlings better able to cope with changing climate, frameworks for sustainable food consumption implementation and creation of habitat suitable for continuous food production need to be accorded attention. Also, climate change should not divert attention from fundamental food security and development aims and objectives, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Instead, risk associated with climate change should be mainstreamed into food systems to help address underlying vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and risks from other sources.
CONCLUSION As climate change policies have become more of a priority over the years, it is expedient to look at ways it connects with sustainable food consumption. Also, fostering sustainable food consumption should be an integral part of the sustainable development strategy. Therefore, this review looked at different climatic factors affecting food production and made recommendations on approaches toward sustainable food consumption. It offers insights for researchers, politicians, and activists who intend to contribute to this objective. 68
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Climate change poses risks and challenges to the whole food value chain, from production through to distribution and to consumption (DARA, 2012). Seizing the imperative to adapt to the challenges of climate change can be an opportunity to reform and strengthen food systems and food security, and also the human security, stability, and longer term sustainable development of nations from most-vulnerable to least-vulnerable. Similarly, climate risks to food security especially for poor rural producers can be reduced by helping them to cope with droughts through improved programmes that anticipate and reduce the impact of shocks and help affected people recover quickly. Also, by improving access to appropriate techniques and technology, utilizing climate-smart technologies and by adopting climate-smart food policies, farm productivity would increase and people will be more equipped to deal with climate challenges affecting sustainable food consumption.
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ADDITIONAL READING Di Falco, S., Yesuf, M., Kohlin, G., & Ringler, C. (2011). Estimating the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in Low-Income Countries: Household Level Evidence from the Nile Basin, Ethiopia. Environmental and Resource Economics, 52(4), 457–478. doi:10.100710640-011-9538-y Giesen, R. H., & Oerlemans, J. (2013). Climate-model induced differences in the 21st century global and regional glacier contributions to sea-level rise. Climate Dynamics, 41(11-12), 3283–3300. doi:10.100700382-013-1743-7 75
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Goodwin, P., Williams, R. G., Ridgwell, A., & Follows, M. J. (2009). Climate sensitivity to the carbon cycle modulated by past and future changes in ocean chemistry. Nature Geoscience, 2(2), 145–150. doi:10.1038/ngeo416 IFPRI. (2015). Global Nutrition Report 2014: Actions and Accountability to Accelerate the World’s Progress on Nutrition. Washington, D.C.: IFPRI. IPCC. (2007). Climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability summary for policy makers (Contribution of working Group II to the forth assessment Report of the IPCC). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Muamba, F., & Kraybill, D. (2010). Weather Vulnerability, Climate Change, and Food Security in Mt. Kilimanjaro. Poster prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association 2010 AAEA, CAES, & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado, 25-27 July, 2010. Stehfest, E., Bouwman, L., van Vuuren, D. P., den Elzen, M. G. J., Eickhout, B., & Kabat, P. (2009). Climate benefits of changing diet. Climatic Change, 95(1-2), 83–102. doi:10.100710584-008-9534-6 Steinfeld, H., & Gerber, P. (2010). Livestock production and the global environment: Consume less or produce better? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(43), 18237–18238. doi:10.1073/pnas.1012541107 PMID:20935253
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A colorless gas with density higher than 60% of dry air. Climate Change: Change in weather patterns and related changes in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, occurring over time scale. Diet: The kind of food a person, animal or community habitually eats. Environmental Challenges: Refers to the existence of crises in the environment in such a way that it can cause damage to man or his environment. Food Consumption: The quantity of food eaten by a person so as to allow growth and provide energy to the body. Food Production: Process of preparing food by converting raw materials into ready-made food products. Greenhouse Gas (GHG): Is a gaseous compound in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared ray. Nutrition: The process of providing or obtaining food necessary for health and growth. 76
Section 3
Violence, Displacement of Farmers, and Food Insecurity
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Chapter 4
Violence, Politics, and Food Insecurity in Nigeria Fidelis Allen University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
ABSTRACT This chapter explores how violence and politics affect food security in Nigeria against the backdrop of existential oil, cult, herdsmen versus farmers conflict and Boko Haram insurgency. It examines the contribution of politics and violence in the rising rate of food insecurity in parts of Nigeria. When villagers run away from the violence of cult groups, herdsmen and farmers clashes, and the terror of Boko Haram, the impact on availability and affordability of food requires more accountability. So is the link between oil violence and food insecurity, considering how the industry, through pollution, has considerably reduced cultivable land and fishing in the Niger Delta. Relying on secondary and primary data, the chapter argues that a complex mesh of illegal political relationships and considerations in frequent cases of non-state and criminal armed violence is fast reducing men and women labor in peasant agriculture, such that availability and affordability of food have become threatened.
INTRODUCTION Food Security Information Network report (FSIN, 2019) on the global food security situation, identified 113 million people currently in acute food insecurity. Two-third of this number reside in eight countries, including Nigeria. Conflict and natural disasters were mentioned as two main factors responsible for this. In the same vein, the Food and Agriculture Organization insisted in a 2017 report, stated that DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch004 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
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the greatest number of the world’s undernourished people were in regions affected by conflict (FAO 2017). Rural communities are more prone and affected by these conflicts, and therefore tend to face the greatest challenge of access to food during and after conflicts. This context is crucial, considering the oil and cult debacle in the Niger Delta, herdsmen versus farmers clashes in parts of the country, and Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. The resource-based nature of these conflicts and politics around them delineate specific trajectories. The global food security discourse became intense after the foundation laid by FAO in 1996. That year, over 190 representatives of countries assembled in Rome for a summit. The meeting ended with the Rome Declaration on Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action. They pledged reduction in the number of people living in hunger, especially in developing countries, by at least half, by 2015. One interesting aspect of the summit and the declaration was the pledge of commitments, including creating social, political and economic atmosphere conducive for achieving sustainable food security, where men and women are active participants. This declaration has frequently been cited as a basis for a shared pursuit of food security, at the individual, household, regional, and international fronts. Decades since that declaration, Africa is the only continent where the food security situation has not become better. What accounts for this? The question of violent conflict and nature of politics, in a country that has continued to pay lip service to agriculture since oil and gas became her main foreign exchange and national income earner remains crucial in the discourse of food security in the case of Nigeria. Yet this has not been sufficiently explored. How are oil conflicts, farmers and herdsmen clashes and Boko Haram insurgency contributing to food insecurity in Nigeria? The chapter addresses this question, with content analysis derived data sets from mainstream discourses of politics, conflict and food security.
BACKGROUND Food insecurity has been conceptualized in terms of citizens’ inability to access adequate food and nutrition (Satter, 2007 Purokayo & Umaru, 2012). Discussions of the definition of food security easily point to the Food and Agriculture Organization which contends that: Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The four pillars of food security are availability, the stability of supply, access and utilization (FAO, 2004:4).
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There is a binary view to it, necessitated by the difficulty in discussing the subject of security without, at once, referring to insecurity. The idea is, notions of security tend always to carry a background sense of insecurity. Food security relates to the nature of food systems—production, distribution and exchange-- that enable access and quality (Ferree, 1973). Indicators such as affordability, preference, allocation, and utilization are critical (Ferree, 1973;Gregory, Ingram, & Brklacich, 2005). Availability and sufficiency are essential elements of any food secure people. As such, food stock, market and price are embedded in the conceptualization of the dimensions of food security. Countries or communities that depend mostly on external supplies or importation of the bulk of the food they need, face a risk of food insecurity (Paarlberg, 1999;Suweis 2015). The sense also is that food security is a highly normative concept, that requires a review of the reality in relation to the expected. Food insecurity, therefore, helps to make this easily comprehensible. This also means that the binary view, from a quantitative and qualitative angle, enables the understanding of the political and policy atmosphere of food security or insecurity (Hospes, Van Dick & Van den, 2010). In an age of climate change and its destructive potentials, the problem of food shortage has, in part been linked to natural disasters, such as regular flood and other forms of extreme weather conditions (Gregory, Ingram, & Brklacich, 2005; Hitzhusen & Jeanty, 2006; Melgar-Quiñonez, et al., 2006; Haen & Hemrich, 2007; Barnett & Adger, 2007; Birkland, 2009; Evans, 2010;Osuolale, Ogunrinade, & Shittu, 2016; Ashagidigbi, Yusuf, & Omonona, 2013; Hendrix & Brinkman, 2013). This easily, enables a supposition that food security is affected by stress in food systems (Stringer, 2000; Haen & Hemrich, 2007; Podesta & Ogden, 2008; Akinyele, 2009; Eme, 2011; Wu, Ho, Nah, & Chau, 2014; Olukunle, 2015;Owolabi, Ashaolu, & Twumasi-Ankrah, 2016). As Stringer (2000) argued, worldwide, with developing countries facing the biggest threat, upwards of 820 million people face chronic hunger due to food insecurity. This bleak image of a world without adequate food for many, is linked to several factors, including climate change, conflict, failure of development, inappropriate government policies, and so forth. Empirical analyses of the effects of global climate change on agriculture show a significant link in the case of Nigeria (Apata, Ogunyinka, Sanusi, & Ogunwande, 2010). The authors sound a strong warning about hunger-related deaths in the coming years. The theoretical literature suggests that natural resource-based political economies in developing countries tend to produce similar resource-curse outcomes, which themselves take diverse forms depending on the nature of the resource. In the case of oil and gas, the curses include violent conflicts, pollution, declining agriculture, and twisting of small-holder farmers (Frankel, 2010 Anugwom, & Anugwom, 2009). Struggle for grazing and farmlands, control forests, and mineral resources (fossil fuels, for example) have attracted the interest of scholars. A section of the 80
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literature even implies that when developing countries attempt industrialization of their agriculural sector, regardless of the advantage of mass production, the impact on peasant farming and their overall wellbeing has been underestimated and often neglected. When many of rural farming population come face to face with the forces of free market, in an environment of the non-developmental state, the social cost, which includes food insecurity, has also been highlighted, in the case of Africa (Diouf, 1989; Tilman, 1999; Das & Teng, 2000;Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Morales, 2001; Sunding & Zilberman, 2001; Baiphethi & Jacobs, 2009; Bain, et al., 2013). The growing reality of shrinking smallholder farming due to disempowering effects raises the unanswered question of what needs to be done to address the issue of food shortages. In the same vein, the continuous linking of previous studies under the resource curse thesis, in the struggle for resources suggest regular analysis of conflict dynamics and the issues in question. Politics of resource distribution and access has severe implications for food security, which have to be constantly interrogated. The literature has noted that across the world, emphasis on the industrial model and application of dangerous chemicals in food production, may lead to increased food stock, but accessible, affordable, efficient and healthy food, which can only result from the democratization of food systems based on organic and smallholding. Industrial agriculture is driven by profit motives, associated with the market system that concentrates wealth and power in a few. In the same vein, regime and conflict management type, have been suggested as important factors in the management of natural resource conflicts. They are equally important in ensuring an atmosphere for production, especially at the individual and household levels. The idea of democratic politics, where actors are assumed to more likely use peaceful means in the management of conflict, or where democracy itself, is assumed to have the capacity to respond to the needs of citizens without necessarily applying force, suggest a need to understand how democracy has failed along this line-a gap that needs to be filled in the discourse of violent conflict, political and food security within a broader understanding of the African situation. The danger of continuous neglect of agriculture generally and the promotion of industrial agriculture in total relegation of the value of peasant Labour agriculture for consistent availability and access to food has been stressed. The critique of capitalist agriculture has raised issues that have to do with the risk of rising inequality, food insecurity, and what it means for violent politics (Marah, 2006; Austin, 2010). The line between politicians, private economic interest and agricultural capitalists, where former or retired politicians retreat to farms, raises the question of people-driven agriculture policies. Too often, policies are perceived to be anti-peasant farmers, which till date, remain the largest segment of agriculture Labour that feeds the local population. Capitalist agriculture increases inequality 81
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in access to food and dehydrates politics and policy of a people-oriented farming tradition by balkanising the solidarity of the poor and setting people against people in the struggle for survival. Democratizing agriculture, by making production, distribution, consumption accessible and affordable, at the level of smallholding, will reduce inequality and the risk of violence in politics of food systems (Lappe, 2016). The power which this approach delivers to the poor, in relation to dealing with the problem of hunger in the midst of plenty, has a retarding influence on the tendency for peaceful economic, social and political relations in communities.
Methodology The author deployed interpretive qualitative approaches in context of discourse theory. Data derived from content analysis of relevant secondary and primary sources were applied to addressing the key question of the study.
VIOLENT CONFLICT: THE CONTEXTS Niger Delta crisis, herders/farmers conflict, cult violence, and Boko Haram insurgency are in focus, as defining features of the Nigeria’s current security challenges and conflict (Obah-Akpowoghaha, 2013). The Niger Delta, where Nigeria’s oil is mined, has been a hotbed of conflict that has affected agriculture and fishing, in ways that have made food availability and affordability difficult for community people. As early as 1958, Nigeria had recorded an initial shipment of product. In the years that followed, the country would progressively become distinguished among oil exporting countries for its huge reserves (Akhakpe, 2012). Shell Nigeria (formerly Shell D’Archy), long before the country’s political independence in 1960 was the sole international oil company, searching for the product in the entire country. With more licenses given to other international companies, Shell lost the monopoly. The Federal Government, by law, owns oil and gas in Nigeria. The Land Use Decree of 1978 (enshrined in the Constitution of 1979 and subsequent ones), makes government owner of all land and natural resources. The government, in the main, has joint venture relationships with the oil majors, and other forms of contract for the development of oil and gas in its drive to make oil key export commodity, revenue and foreign exchange earner for the country. The character of the state, which by definition is the owner of oil and gas, as well as land, has informed the specific interest-based relationship between the government and international oil companies for the purpose of extracting the resource. This has created enormous friction between local communities where the resource (oil) is found on the one hand 82
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and the oil companies,government security and the government on the other. Crisis in this region has hovered around the nature of the oil economy and the implications for the survival of those who previously depended on a naïve peasant agricultural economy. Escalation of the conflict to the point of regular attacks on oil facilities, kidnapping of oil workers and exchange of fire between militant organizations and government security, arising from pollution of river, land, creeks, and air, due to activities of oil companies, and quest for development, took a gradual process, as nonviolence was the initial method of engagement. Tension started rising in the 1990s after the failure of initial nonviolent engagements, through letter writing and discussions with oil company executives over concerns bordering on pollution of the environment via regular oil spills and the implications for peoples’ livelihoods (Emmanuel, Gordon, & Nkem, 2006; Jernelöv, 2010). Even long before independence, the Niger Delta, comprising minority ethnic groups, in the Southsouth, among which are the Ijo, expressed deep concern about development and resources endowed by nature in the region. The 1958 Willink Commission, created to address these concerns, in the context of an emerging postcolonial state, acknowledged the fears of these minorities. The issue of oil and its potential impact on the lives of people in local communities, were particularly articulated by the late Adaka Isaac Boro and his friends, to form the basis of an early initial violent resistance and call for a sovereign state of Niger Delta in the immediate post-colonial era—1966--just before the beginning of the Nigeria civil war. The government crushed the rebellion and imprisoned Boro and his friends on treason charges. He joined the Federal Forces against secessionist Biafra (in the civil war), after his release. Since then, force has been the main approach of the government in responding to threats to oil production. National security is tied to the protection of oil facilities, to guarantee uninterrupted production. But the use of force by the government with the support of oil companies has achieved only little, when it comes to pacifying agitating communities. The Mobile Police wing of the Nigeria Police invaded Umuechem, Etche, in Rivers State on 1 November 1990 at the instance of Shell, killing many and burning houses. The incidence, till date, is fondly referred to as Umuchem Massacre, because of the national and international condemnation it received (Dode, 2012). The community has two major oil fields and numerous wells operated by Shell. After several years of writing letters and appealing for facilities such as road, electricity, and other infrastructure from the company without response, the community people, including hundreds of women, mobilized for a peaceful protest that lasted two weeks before the deadly response of the police who were called in to avert destruction of oil facilities. The protesters were not interested in the destruction of oil facilities, of which the police needed to have investigated before unleashing violence on the community. 83
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In 1995, Ogoniland suffered the same fate. Co-founder and leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), late Kenule Saro-Wiwa, was killed with eight others, after a state-managed trial by the Federal Military Government under late General Sani Abacha. The Ogoni people had mobilized under the leadership of Saro-Wiwa in peaceful agitation for the protection of their environment from oil spills and development, which again drew the anger of the government. Saro-Wiwa and the others were tried for the death of four prominent Ogoni leaders who had died at the hands of angry youth. Like a chain of action and reaction, the hanging of MOSOP leaders further increased the tension and caused a reaction in other parts of the region, including Ijo communities. And culminated in the emergence of armed groups in the region, who at the time had believed nonviolence was unable to get the government to respond well to their quest for development and protecting the environment. They took on international oil companies and government security with force. Armed militia groups, with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF) as the most prominent, emerged with strategies of direct attack on oil facilities belonging to companies and kidnapping of oil workers. The groups demanded more utilization of revenues from the oil business for the development of the region and asked for a more responsible approach that protects the environment from pollution (Nkejiaka, 2010; Ebienfa, 2012; Tantua, 2015). The issues remain that of development, which includes protection of natural resources of land, river, creeks, critical for agriculture and availability of food in communities. Host communities face a huge burden of increasing loss of access to productive land and water due to pollution (Oruwari, Owei, & Jev, 2004;Fanchette, 2006; Ojakorotu, 2008; Joseph-Obi, 2011; Nwankwo, 2015; Koos & Pierskalla, 2016; Mohammed & Lenshie, 2017; Albert, Amaratunga, & Haigh, 2018). Since land and right of way are pivotal to onshore oil prospecting and drilling, relationships between farming communities and international oil companies have been mainly volatile. Even offshore oil production is a threat to fishing in coastal communities of the region. It remains a source of worry for the livelihoods of those who depend on the rivers, streams, swamps, seas and ocean for food. The issue of land grab, is as much serious for women who presently constitute at least little half of those involved in peasant agriculture workforce or labour. Meanwhile, they are hardly acknowledged for entitlement, ownership and access to land. The implications for food security is huge. Nigeria’s shift from agriculture to oil as the main source of national income and foreign exchange made oil a key national security commodity and turned the country into a significant food importer. As a result, local production has waned. Though the local farming population remains an important element in the availability of food, the effect of oil development without regards for impact on peasant farming 84
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has put the country on a downward trend in food security. Determination of oil price at the international market lacks national or local inputs. Were it possible, every oil exporting country would have preferred the side that turns in more money, to take care of needs at home. Price is externally determined, making it difficult to guarantee wellbeing in seasons when it is low. For a country that depends largely on the importation of food, the economic life of ordinary folks become tough. This is when local productive capacity and volume of food produced, are expected to take the burdens off. Nigeria has experimented several policies to address complaints by people of the Niger Delta. For example, the Oil Mineral Producing Commission (OMPADEC); Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs(MNDA) were established to respond specifically to socio-economic needs of the region (Omotola, 2007). An Amnesty Programme of the FG created in 2009, which entailed disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, was intended to discourage rising youth militia violence and restore daily oil productions. Oil production had consistently come under threat from attacks on facilities and kidnap of oil workers, warranting closure or shut-in, in some cases. Oil violence has different dimensions. The physical, which encapsulates the non-state and state exchanges with deadly physical consequences, and the most subtle structural nuances found in policies and practices that demean socio-economic life of the people (Tantua,Devine & Maconachie, R. (2018. Pollution easily comes to mind and the institutions that prop it, by failing to act in ways that deter rather than encourage. The lack and failure of relevant policies and laws to check individual, community, corporate and political behaviours that make sustainable development difficult. Violent political processes and succession at the three tiers of government— local government, state and federal—is a crucial element. The military intervened in the sixth year after independence and set a chain of coups and long years of the military regime in the country. A civil war that started in 1967 and ended in 1970, is a remarkable aspect of the discourse. The war slowed agriculture and affected food security, especially in the secessionist Biafra, where hunger became a weapon against communities and the rebels. Access to food was deliberately denied them, according to oral stories told by some who experienced the war, of how many eat lizards and unknown vegetables for the purpose of survival. The war ended in favour of the federal forces, but thousands of children and women died as a result. As well, reconciliation has remained a key issue with groups in the Igbo Southeastern states, where pro-Biafra groups have re-emerged in recent times, campaigning for an independent or sovereign Biafra. Not many have asked questions around the long term effect of that war on agriculture and food security, and the impact on women, who have had to cater for children alone after the death of their husbands in the war.
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The military’s presence in the political space as rulers, continued in the postwar period, with only a little time for civilian multiparty democracy to thrive, until 1999. Since then, regimes have changed without the military-style strategy of coups. Instead, political parties and politicians have driven the process. This has been seen as credit, for a country, with a history of the military spending more time than civilians at the helm of affairs. The 1999 elections, that ushered in a new government, with Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as President, and the party having a majority in the National Assembly, were characterized by violence. One aspect of it, from the supply side, is the role played by politicians and violent cult groups. In the same vein, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 elections were characterized with various degrees of violence, with cult violence playing a damaging role. Politicians, increasingly, have deployed the services of cult groups in elections. Cult violence is increasingly a disturbing occurrence in the Niger Delta, especially since 1999. It is one among other forms of violence-- political violence, violent crime, kidnapping, and criminality (PIND, 2019). Cult violence was predominant in Rivers State. In the same vein, Bayelsa and Delta States, where incidences of political, cult and criminal violence were noticed. These problems relate to the question of food insecurity. The history of violent cultism in Nigeria is often discussed in the context of university-based groups, beginning from 1952, when Wole Soyinka and a few others, founded the Pirate Confraternity at the University of Ibadan. It was established in the spirit of anti-colonial and non-violent struggles for rights on campus. The splinter groups that later emerged from this initial group, over the years, have resulted in the formation of numerous cult groups, with violence and sacraments as modes of operation. The period before the 1999 elections, saw the replication of these groups in streets. Many campus cults also turned politically active in support of some politicians seeking elective positions. These groups are dreaded for their violent activities. The use of deadly weapons such as guns and other dangerous weapons in rival clashes easily presents the groups as undesirable and anti-social. For their ability to fearlessly inflict pain or outrightly assassinate their victims, the groups became increasingly useful to politicians. Looking at the case of Bayelsa and Rivers States, in the Niger Delta region, political cultism has benefitted from a background grievance structure and psychology, with militant leaders continuing to exercise a huge influence on young people, who benefited from the Federal Government Amnesty Programme (Ibaba, 2009 Uwasomba & Alumona, 2013).). Within the period in which elections have been conducted for the purpose of democratic succession, the impact of cult violence on communities and the political outcome has been significant. Politicians’ behaviour of abandoning most of these cult members after each election, easily push them into 86
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other areas of crime with the guns they already have. Politicians are often accused of buying the guns these groups use. Kidnapping, armed robbery, ritual killing, and assassination are related crimes in which members of these groups easily switch to after elections. In all, the impact of activities of these groups, on community development and security is multidimensional. In many communities, villagers and visitors live in fear of being kidnapped or killed. A misleading sense of material reward among young people who otherwise would remain unemployed and unable to access food and education has fueled recruitment and proliferation of these groups. The Amnesty programme had first led to the enrichment of a few militant leaders, through oil pipeline surveillance contracts, oil bunkering and spoils. In a similar vein, cult leaders receive monetary rewards from their political patrons, which has become a motivating factor for young people. Cult violence is not only cutting short lives of young people through rival clashes, and those of members of opposing political elites, it is corroding democratic citizenship and destroying the peasant economy of those who depend on agriculture -based labour for survival. By living in fear and not optimizing their labour in farming and fishing, food availability has become a vexing issue. In other words, politics supports cult violence, which in turn has affected communities in ways that define access and availability of food (Oyerinde & Ajayi, 2010).. It is fueling the proliferation of small arms in previously peaceful communities. The flip side of growing criminal activities is the threat posed to inter-community peaceful relations and how it is affecting the economic life of people. For example, in parts of Ahoada West Local Area, precisely between communities in Joinkrama and neighbouring Ekpeye villages, villagers are at the risk of a feud that may result in large-scale violence, if dispute and deaths arising from activities of armed youths are not addressed. Already, the insecurity created has caused a lot of fear in the local fishing and farming population, especially after the beheading of a local fisherman in the Orashi River a few days ago. Meanwhile, these communities have had no history of inter-community violent relationships. Instead, trading, fishing and farming in close proximity and mutual benefits characterized relationships. On the issue of herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria, it is not a recent phenomenon. At issue are the deadly consequences since 2015, which include the impact it has on agriculture and food security in places like Benue, Middle Belt Nigeria known as the food basket of the nation. This is the general impression or perception among many, who desire more insights into the problem as a basis for a sustained policy discourse of managing the conflict and dealing with the threat of the associated food insecurity issues. It is increasingly becoming difficult to say which, between herdsmen-farmers conflict and Boko Haram insurgency, has created more food security problems in Nigeria. In the case of the former, Amnesty International reported that in January 87
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2018 alone, 168 persons died from clashes in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and other states in the country. Rising struggles for grazing land and farmland, linked to resource scarcity, associated with desert encroachment, which in itself, is a manifestation of the effects of climate change, is crucial. The shrinking Lake Chad Basin is equally instructive. Regular attacks by herdsmen have led to a growing displacement of people. As at January 2018, Nassarawa alone had upwards of 11,000 internally displaced people in 11 camps (Egbuta 2018). The question of who is arming herders and farmers in these clashes remains unanswered, knowing that the cattle business itself is capital intensive. Analysis and information about the owners of these cattles are important for insights into who is arming the herders and the farmers. This race for arms is part of the trigger or predisposing factors for the escalation of the conflict. Response to the least provocation is based on the availability of arms. A social conflict theoretical perspective of this conflict suggests an ever-present competition for scarce resources between the parties. Meanwhile, success at helping them to reconcile the incompatible goals has not been achieved. The government, which has the major responsibility has a history of efforts at doing so, but it is yet to solve the problem. Unequal access to resources and the struggle for the control of these resources remain critical elements for successful intervention. An initial grazing reserve policy, formulated by the government of the Northern Region in 1965, was well intended. But, it has not been pursued, since oil replaced agriculture as the economic mainstay of the country. This policy entailed the establishment of 417 grazing reserves, with facilities, such as water, space, and vaccination services provided by the government. Herders were in turn, required to pay taxes for the facilities and services (Egbuta, 2018). By the 1970-80s, however, when oil had become a major revenue earner for the country, interest in agriculture began to wane, with little attention given to the functionality of the reserves, with the result of the reversal of the development. Herders have long gone back to the practice of using seasonal vegetation for the grazing of their cattle. This practice has meant indiscriminate movement to places where grasses for the cattle can be found. The approach faces many challenges, including growing urbanization, industrialization, and desert encroachment, with consequences of depleting land resources. Besides, Nigeria’s population has grown from a modest 35 million people in 1965 to about 180 million, in recent times. This alone implies the tricky situation of intense struggle for limited resources. Boko Haram fighters seem clearly to have no mercy on their victims. They have regularly attacked villages, leaving families in sorrow, from the killings and damages usually associated with the attacks. When the House of Representatives in Nigeria, on 11 April 2019, asked President Buhari to address them within 48 house on his effort towards curbing insecurity created by Herdsmen attacks and why for too long, 88
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the federal government has not declared them a terrorist organization, a strong sense of concern and message about the protection of life and properties was probably intended. The growing frustration and feeling of helplessness, irrespective of party affiliation in that lawmaking body, raised the matter to the President from bipartisan thinking. Regular attacks, destruction of houses, cattle, and deaths These attacks are deepening violence on farmers in the Northeast and many other parts of the country. In November 2018 at Jiddari-Polo, near Maiduguri, five farmers were hacked to death by a group, sparing a 75-year-old to take a message to soldiers about their impending attack on their location. In the same month, 15 farmers will be killed in Monguno, about 140 kilometres from Maiduguri. In October of the same year, 12 farmers were murdered in Kalle, a village close to Maiduguri (17 kilometres away). Since 2009, the group has killed at least 27,000 persons and displaced 2 million people (Vanguard, 2018).
CONTRIBUTION TO FOOD INSECURITY As Men and women face severe consequences from armed violence, including the impact on sustained peasant agriculture in communities that have depended on their immediate environment for food for centuries, evidence of social, economic, environmental and political conflict contributing to this problem continues. Content analyses of media, special reports and scholarly investigations point to this conclusion. There are consistent struggles for land and overcoming of deep-seated grievances (Brown,2015; Osuolale, Ogunrinade, & Shittu, 2016; Akujobi, Ebitari, & Amuzie, 2016). In the case of Niger Delta, evidence of destruction of rivers, creeks, land, sea and air, due to years of pollution from oil-related activities in the region, serve clearly as violence. This structural violence, having discouraged productive agriculture in many communities, has inspired an alternative economy of violence. Illegal oil business, involving breaking and syphoning of crude oil, for the purpose of direct sales to foreign ships or production in local refineries (popularly called bush refineries), attract unemployed youth. But the trade itself is dangerous, both for the environment and life of the participant. Oil theft, a term used in describing all of this, is not restricted to what the poor youth does anyway, it happens at other levels. Stealing at export terminals is usually carried out by a combination of high profile officials of the state’s main oil company, government agencies, and officials of oil companies. At the level involving oceangoing vessels, only the rich top political and business class, and armed forces do have the means (Ako, 2009).
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The rising incidents of kidnapping has instilled enormous fear in people. Journeys undertaken by traders from Port Harcourt to Mbiama, face this threat. Mbiama is a village in Ahoada West Local Government Area, with a weekly market in food stuff on large scale, produced by rural farmers. The number of traders who visit this community weekly has reduced, due to the risk involved. Gokana, Ahoada West, Ikwerre, Obio Akpor, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni, and Abua are examples of local government areas in Rivers State, with long tales of gruesome dislocation of local farming populations. In 2012, a major cult crisis in Gokana, prevented full implementation of Federal Government’s World Bank funded project –Fadama 3 Development Project. It was intended to boost agriculture, and by extension food security in the zone (Dumkor, 2019). Between 11 and 12 April 2019 alone, twenty one persons were beheaded in cult counter attacks in Rivers State. In Bayelsa State, fishing communities in Ogbia, Ekeremor, Brass, Nembe and Yenegoa, have suffered similar fate. Cultists, acting as pirates and armed robbers roam the waterways for victims. A growing disincentive in rural agriculture and fishing results from pollution and sometimes failure of yield in highly polluted soil. The worry is the long term effects. Staples, such as gari, derived from cassava, plantain, banana, yam, rice, and local species of fruits and vegetables, needed for nourishment, previously attainable in rural communities, have become scarce and expensive, when available. This raises the question of price as an index for measuring whether people or households are food secure. Food quality is at issue, in a country where storage or preservation of agricultural products has declined. It is even worse when the issue of flooding is considered along with insecurity and conflict. Many traders who manage to go to villages where certain fruits and foodstuff are still available, return with goods already depreciating in value because of lack of storage facility. In the Niger Delta, in villages where cult rival clashes, kidnapping and assassination have thrived, for example in Rivers State, production of gari and fufu (derived from cassava) have faced the problem of adequate farming population. Not many are in their villages to cultivate and plant this crop in season because of insecurity. Some locals have ran to Port Harcourt, or distant communities, to live, for fear of being kidnapped or killed. It was common some two decades ago, for those living in urban centres to travel to their villages most weekends to attend to their farms and return with farm products, as a form of self-support, to cope with economic challenges associated with city life. Some even left family in their villages, to be in the city as a strategy for coping since the country-side was secure and supportive with local food items. Armed violence, as obtainable today, has put a lot of fear in people, some of whom, have not even visited their villages and spent a night for years especially since 2015. Kidnapping by cultists is significant for understanding how this problem is 90
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affecting peasant agriculture and food security. Ogoniland, Emohua, Etche, Obio/ Akpor, Ikwerre and Ahoada East and West Local Government Areas of Rivers State are examples. In the last two years, residents in these communities have faced a severe sense of insecurity because of local violence and crimes. Even the price of food from these communities have become unaffordable for the poor. For example, travelling on the Eas-West Road has long been a challenge, for fear of being kidnapped by armed cultists, who rob and kidnap for ransom on a regular basis. At the time of writing, four days earlier, seven passengers in a bus were killed by members of these groups shooting at the moving bus whose driver out of fear had refused to stop. In the case of Boko Haram, thousands of women, children and men have been displaced or killed (Wodon & Zaman, 2010; Ahokegh, 2012; Onah, 2014; Kah, 2017; Namahe, 2018). Northern Nigeria, before the rise of the insurgency, where this insurgency has raged, since 2009, was the source of many agricultural food crops (Miller, 2012; Ogunrotifa, 2013; Khan & Hamidu, 2015). Farming in the states suffers frequent attacks by this group and has become difficult for a region that was previously known for its agriculture and food systems that made the region self-sufficient in food. The crisis has reduced the capacity of the region to produce enough food for themselves and distant places that previously depended on these communities for certain food crops (Seleye-Fubara & Bob-Yellowe, 2005; Achoja, Ebewore, & Ideh, 2008;Purokayo & Umaru, 2012; Iwilade, 2014;Salihu, 2018). Women comprise the main source of peasant agriculture labour in the Niger Delta Anugwom & Anugwom, 2009). Food stock and affordability have been impaired by insecurity created by criminal violence in many communities. Women easily advised themselves or so adviced by their husbands to limit their farming activities. Internally displaced camps in the Northeast, harbour many women, who have not only lost touch with their ancestral homes and farmland, they face a risk of acute hunger. Depending on support from the government and donors, has a limitation of not addressing the concern of victims who yearn for peace in order to return to their villages to take care of their farms. It is instructive that Boko Haram fighters, habitually loot available food in villages after attacking, killing and burning houses (Kharas,2011). Rural people, culturally tied to local food, sometimes have issues adjusting to the new reality of eating food served in Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) camps. Besides, the question of the right quantity for households has been raised.
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FUTURE DIRECTION OF RESEARCH There is need to unearth sponsors of armed violence and the killings associated with them. Often, for example, the repeated cases of clashes between farmers and herdsmen are analysed with digging dip into how these clashes are funded. The question of political economy of violent conflict remains mainly covert, in this conflict, as well as the emerging threat posed by increasing activities of non-state armed groups in local politics, especially, before, during and after elections. Overall, policy perception of food security in Nigeria needs better clarity in the context of the dynamic nature of politics, conflict and threats to the wellbeing of communities.
CONCLUSION Activities of armed groups in the Niger Delta, herdsmen in conflict with farmers in parts of the country and members of the Boko Haram, have impacted farming and availability of food. This is not a problem that affects the immediate environment alone, the entire country feels the effect, through the rising price of food. Worse, political complications around these conflicts are not only prolonging the problem of food insecurity, but the potential for broader socio-economic upheavals also cannot be ruled out. This chapter has assessed the link between violence and politics and food insecurity and the trajectories that they follow. Increasing politically motivated criminal violence in parts of the country, oil-related conflicts, farmers and herders clashes, as well as the protracted Boko Haram violence have continued to pose a threat to peasant farming and food security. The chapter situates the discussion of how conflicts are contributing to food insecurity by examining the activities of armed groups in parts of the country. As villagers run away from their villages because of violence, and maintain a sense of insecurity and fear of returning, and face the reality of regular destruction of crops and cattle, the net result includes limited food stock. Fewer farmers are unable to produce for the entire population that needs food. The impact on the availability of food is well considered, even in terms of affordability. Cult violence in parts of the Niger Delta is as much a troubling issue, for the insecurity it has promoted among rural farming populations. Community people who run away from their villages or even do much less than they used to with regards to farming because of the threat posed by oil and cult violence means limited access to affordable food. While oil exploration has reduced cultivable land and fishing for people, members of cult groups kill, rape, rob and double as tools in the hands of power-seeking politicians during elections. The net result of all this, include reduction of Labour of men and women in peasant agriculture, fishing, and the inability of people to afford rising food prices. 92
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Adequate and effective security, political and economic response to violence is necessary to address the root causes of these conflicts and check the food insecurity trend, and negative influence on the wellbeing of people.
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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Cult Violence: Killings, attacks, intimidation, and harm associated with activities of members of groups, who by their violent mode of operations are seen by society as secret societies. Their alliance with some members of the political class in recent times in the effort to secure political office has meant killings and rival clashes resulting in deaths. Food Politics: This refers to the political atmosphere, institutions, processes, or content that either deter or promote food security or insecurity. It also refers to relations of power among groups and individuals at the governmental and nongovernmental levels. Food Security: Is a concept that, among others, denotes people’s access to safe food and enough to meet dietary needs at all times. Availability and affordability of food, which the concept emphasizes, implies that food secure people would boast means of access, either by their purchasing power or ability to produce themselves. Oil Violence: This refers to the socio-economic conditions that fuel physical violence and killings, resulting from issues that relate to the struggle for oil benefits. Environmental problems are embedded in this understanding, speaking directly or indirectly to the implications this has on people’s wellbeing. Violence: Is viewed from a structural and physical perspective, in which issues of justice and socio-economic change in context of sustainable development are considered.
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Chapter 5
Nomadic Terrorism, Displacement, and Food Insecurity Challenge in the Food Basket of the Nation Opeyemi Ademola Olayiwola Pan African University, Cameroon
ABSTRACT The Middle Belt region of Nigeria, comprising significant parts of Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Kogi, and Kwara, has been a battle ground for the nomadic terrorism in the past few years. Through the inspiration of Boko Haram, the nomadic terrorists have been able to infiltrate this part of the country impossible for the conventional Boko Haram to penetrate, leading to destruction of lives and livelihood, and displacement of thousands of people, with Benue State, referred to as the “Food Basket of the Nation,” the worst affected in the zone. While much attention is given to its impacts on human insecurity, what has been less observed, at least from an academic point of view, is its food insecurity impacts. Using phenomenological qualitative research, the study examined the impacts of nomadic terrorism on food insecurity in the Food Basket of the Nation in Nigeria. The study has implications for policymaking to address the state of IDPs in new location and militate against nomadic terrorism and conflicts in the Food Basket of the Nation and tackle food insecurity.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch005 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Nomadic Terrorism, Displacement, and Food Insecurity Challenge
INTRODUCTION Since independence on 1st October 1960, Nigeria has experienced series of coup d’états, a civil war and persistent ethno-religious conflicts (Suleiman, 2015; Dembele, 2015). The current situation in the country, with the Boko Haram and nomadic terrorist activities, however, is more problematic than in previous years (Dembele, 2015). Although both national and international attention were given to Boko Haram insurgency, the resurgence of nomadic terrorist activities has again brought to the fore the challenge of governing or maintaining law and order across the country (Oginni, Opoku & Alupo, 2018). Nomadic terrorist activities has attracted condemnation from within and outside the country because of the devastating impact of its activities across the country (Abbass, 2014). The North-Central zone- the epicenter of agro-pastoralist crisis recorded huge loss of lives and livelihood with Benue State, refered to as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, worst affected in the zone (Amadi & Anokwuru, 2017; Fajonyomi, Fatile, Bello, Opusunju, & Adejuwon, 2018) . There is much discourse on the impact of nomadic terrorism on human lives and property in Nigeria. However, little attention has been given to its food insecurity impact, especially on those that were forced to move out of their villages and homes. In the midst of limited food production and economic activity in the region, it is important to understand the food insecurity impact on the internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the nomadic terrorist activities. The violent activities by the nomads has resulted in huge death of thousands of people, destruction of property, and massive displacement in the region (AdemolaAdelehin, 2018). Already, seven out of the 23 local governments in Benue state, namely Guma, Gwer-West, Agatu, Logo, Kwande and the Northern part of Makurdi mostly affected by the nomadic terrorism have tale of woes to tell (Eme, Onyishi, Uche, &Uche,2014). As a result, the state is faced with the ongoing challenge of responding to fluctuating but large numbers of IDPs. While the camps are not prisons, the IDPs live in a state synonymous with that of prisoners (Adewale 2016). Some of the IDPs in Benue state confessed to having fled their homes without taking anything. They have no money; they have nothing but hope and the will to survive. In a study, Mercy Corps (2017) highlighted the food insecurity crisis in an area considered to be the “Food Basket” of Nigeria, as IDPs lack sufficient, stable and access to food supply.
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BACKGROUND The state of household food insecurity is an evolving concept that is wide spread in both the developed and developing countries (Adebayo, Olagunju, Kabir, & Adeyemi, 2016). As noted by Smith and Subandoro (2007), food insecurity continues to be a major developmental problem across the globe, thus undermining people’s health, productivity and often their survival. However, the potential for, and impact of, food insecurity will vary by location (Lloyd’s, 2016). In sub-Saharan Africa, the phenomenon is most felt (Adebayo, et al 2016). In general, developed countries are at lower risk of food insecurity than developing countries (Lloyd’s, 2016). In the words of Kuku and Liverpool (2010) and Amalu (2002), conflict, terrorism, drought, famine, degradation, deforestation, land tenure system, water stress, global climate change, extension gap, and low agricultural productivity are some of the factors restricting access to food or constraints to food production and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Food Basket of the Nation, the current situation is characterized by massive displacement and food insecurity. The presence of large number of displaced households continue to strain local resources and exacerbate food, relief commodity, shelter, livelihood, and protection needs, among others (Fajonyomi, et al 2018). Conceptually, the World Bank (2001) identified the three folds of food security. These are (1) food availability, in the form of sufficient quantities and qualities of food for the households through their own production and markets, (2) food accessibility, is about resource needed to obtain sufficient quantity and quality of food, and (3) food stability, which is explained by a condition to ensure a population, households or individual have access to sufficient quantity and quality of food at all times. This study uses all these components to investigate the links between nomadic terrorism, displacement and food insecurity in Guma and Makurdi areas of Benue. For instance, nomadic activities not only have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of those involved, but they also disrupt and threaten the availability of food production. Similarly, food insecurity is said to exist when food supply is unstable and unreliable for one reason or another (Kah, 2017). Adebayo & Olaniyi, (2008) noted that the impact of nomadic terrorism had been observed to lead to the displacement of the farmers from their places of origin, with a far-reaching impact on farming activities. This study based its analysis of food insecurity on household level, similar to the position of Babatunde, et al (2014) that “analysis in district or regional level will not automatically guarantee food security in household level”. The higher the probability of becoming food insecure, the more vulnerable one is. Being food insecure does not necessarily indicate vulnerability, because the food situation could improve, in particular if looking beyond the very short run. Chronically food insecure people live below the food security line (Babatunde, et 103
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al 2008). Potentially food insecure people are living on the edge. Although they are not food insecure today, they face a high probability of becoming so. The probability of becoming food insecure in the future is determined by the present conditions, the risks potentially occurring within a defined period and the capacity to manage the risks (Babatunde, et al 2008). In the case of IDPs in Benue state, risk factors threatening food security include physical (displacement, destruction of property and livelihood, illness, injuries), life cycle-related (death) and economic risks (income-generated activities, unemployment). These risks cause food insecurity by lowering food production, reduce income, reduce assets holding, and increase indebtedness (Okoli & Atelhe, 2013; Babatunde, et al 2008). Consequently, there is lack of stable supply and rising food prices in the food basket of the nation as a result of growing fears of insecurity (Eme, el at 2014). Price movements of food items affect the ability to buy food. For example to cope with rapid food inflation, a household could cut its food purchases and adjust its consumption patterns. Typical coping strategies include: buy a smaller quantity of food, switch to different types of food, reduce dietary diversity and skip meals. However, the link between conflict, terrorism, displacement and rising food scarcity became critical issues in expanding food insecurity. This is the focus of this chapter as it examines food insecurity issues associated with internally displaced persons in their camps. For the purposes of this study, nomadic terrorism was examined because of the inspiration it has implicitly received through radical Islamic ideology and Boko Haram terrorism. Given the religious ideology of Boko Haram which assumes the authority to declare Christians and non-Boko Haram Muslims as infidels, the sect seeks to inspire other Islamic groups and movements to take up arms against Christians (World Watch, 2015). This study therefore argues that, nomadic terrorism is Boko Haram in different form, which aims to infiltrate parts of the country especially where Boko Haram could not penetrate.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY While much is known about the human insecurity and displacement of thousands caused by the nomadic terrorism in the state, there are relatively fewer empirical studies, in the literature, on their broader connection to food insecurity. Although food insecurity is considered a general problem among many poor farming households in Nigeria (Babatunde, Omotesho, Olorunsanya, & Owotoki, 2008), this study posits that the problem is more prevalent among the IDPs. Using a qualitative method of data collection, the study explored phenomenological approach as it documented the food insecurity impact of nomadic terrorism on the IDPs (who have to contend with losses and relocated to new communities) in IDPs camps of Guma and Makurdi in 104
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Benue state, Nigeria. The study purposively sampled thirty (30) households in the two IDPs camps in Guma and Makurdi Local Government Areas. While much is known about the devastating impact of nomadic terrorism on human security, that is, the security of lives and property (Abbass, 2012; International Crisis Group, 2017; Johnson and Okunola, 2017; Bagu and Smith, 2017), little is attention is paid to its food insecurity impact particularly among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). More so, some of these studies have been unable to sufficiently provide adequate qualitative data that examine the possible impacts of nomadic terrorism on households. However, there is no empirical evidence of the possible impacts of the terrorism on food insecurity in the Food Basket of the Nation. Therefore, this study examined the food insecurity impact of nomadic terrorism on IDPs in Benue State, referred to as the “Food Basket of the Nation” for their farming and massive involvement in agricultural food production. Further,Qualitative methodology enables researchers to identify, describe, and analyze the insights, perceptions and experiences of participants involved in a study(Creswell, 2009; Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2008; Patton, 2002).In adopting this methodology the study examined participants from Guma and Makurdi through interviews. The study has implications for relevant agencies in making efficient and sustainable policies to build the resilience of IDPs in their new locations; hasten the return process of IDPS to their homes of origin; militate against nomadic terrorism and conflicts in the Food Basket of the Nation and tackle food insecurity.
Loss of Life, Property and Livelihood The nomadic terrorism in some parts of Benue state has resulted in loss of lives and property (Eme, et al 2014). The respondents were led to discuss what they had lost during the attacks by the nomadic terrorists. Almost all the participants shared painful experiences involving loss, which ranged from loss of property to destruction of homes and livelihoods. According to one participant “My rice and yam were all destroyed. My house was burnt. I did not leave with any single thing, not even my clothes” (IDP from Anhaa village). Some of the participants recounted as follows: I have lost many things. I lost harvested food that I stored in my house. I have lost everything I planted in my farm, ready to be harvested. In my farm, I planted yam, guinea corn, and rice. Everything is lost. While we were trying to escape, my elder did brother did not make it. He was killed. My house was burnt down. I have lost everything(IDP from Asangaba village)
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All the properties I have gathered in life were burnt down. My house and farmland were burnt. When it comes to farming, I majored in rice. We have rice. I kept about six bags of rice in my house, hoping that I will sell and get some money to take care of myself and my family. They were all burnt. Some of my relatives were killed. I lost my brother, his wife and three month old twins (IDP from Bawa village) On the particular day we were attacked, our entire village was burnt down. I lost my senior brothers. Five persons were killed that particular day. But some were still killed after that day. Because they went back our village in order to harvest what they planted in the farm. We were not allowed to harvest (IDP from Agundo village) I lost my brother on that terrible day. I lost my fish pond and my farmland. I lost my poultry and pig farm. I lost my orange farm too. Our houses were burnt down. I almost died. Because when I was trying to escape, my hands were almost cut off. But I escaped narrowly. There are many of our people in Makurdi who cannot walk again (IDP from Shetavan village). Other participants related that they had been separated from family members, and that they did not know whether their family members were dead or alive. In their attempts to survive, they could not move with their family members, which made it difficult for them to tell their whereabouts. One participant said “Some of my family members sustained injuries. Because we were attacked when we were not expecting, we have lost our people and separated from family members” (IDP from Karvine village). Another participant said “Our village is filled with just one family. We are extended families. But the conflict has separated us” (IDP from Agundo village). According to another participant “My brother is missing and we have not seen it since June 2018” (IDP from Anhaa village). These losses of lives and separation of family members have adversely affected farming activities and other related businesses (Eme, et al 2014). The displaced persons in affected states in Benue state were forced to depart for uncertain destinations. Most of them were forced to congregate in camps where they hope to find safety, food and shelter, while few were fortunate to take shelter with family or friends. The only consolation for many of them was that they have survived and escaped from the terrorists who attacked their homes and attempted to murder them (Adewale, 2016). However, the violent attacks has resulted in a drastic reduction in farm outputs, a development that has heightened the fear of food insecurity (Eme, et al 2014).
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Sufficient Food for Household Food availability is a function of local production, imports, food stocks, and food aid (United Nations, 2016). For the IDPs in Guma and Makurdi camps, there exists fear, human anguish and food insufficiency. Nomadic terrorism became a threat to personal safety and security of people in Benue state and forced them to take flight from the comfort of their homes (Adewale, 2016). For the predominantly farming communities of Benue, farming is no longer business as usual. The IDPs painfully shared that the nomadic terrorist activities has destroyed both food production and food stocks. The majority of participants (61%) shared the pain of having insufficient food for their households. Several farmers have been displaced and dispossessed of their farms by nomadic terrorists believed to be Fulani herdsmen (Eme, et al 2014). The participants shared the impact the terrorist activities of the nomads has had on food availability for their household. According to one participant “To get sufficient food for my household is a big problem” (IDP from Shetavan village). Another participant said “My wife and I just divorced. The suffering is so much. She left me because I could not feed her” (IDP from Anhaa village). In view of food availability, they compared their lives before and after the displacement: As a farmer, we don’t buy food. We have them in abundant. But now it is very difficult to feed my household, not to talk of myself. We have lost everything both in store and the ones on the farm yet to be harvested. We have to go back to buying food, which has not been easy for us because we have no money (IDP from Asangaba village). We are just managing to feed ourselves. It has been very difficult. There is nothing for coming for about three months. What I have been doing is to go to some of my relatives who can give me some food. This is what I do to feed my household (IDP from Schobo village). I have one wife and seven children. Before we used to cook with 8 cups of what we call ‘Jogobi’. Now it has reduced to 4 cups. Though it has not been easy but we are used to it. We don’t have sufficient food as we used to (IDP from Kasid uvir village). There is nothing we are doing here. There is no land to farm. This has affected availability of food. To get food to eat is a problem for us. My family is not with me again. My wife has gone somewhere to get food. She is now doing house help for us to get something (IDP from Agundo village).
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In terms of availability of food supply, nomadic terrorism in Benue state has resulted in food scarcity and food shortage due to destruction of farmlands, attack on farmers’ home and unprepared migration of people away from communities to IDPs camps. For instance, when asked if they (participants) are worried that food would run out before they get another, many of them (89%) expressed uncertainty and fear. The remaining respondents (11%) expressed certainty. Thus, food items were in abundance before the attack and displacement which have significantly reduced food availability. These include: yam, maize, cassava and rice. According to some of the respondents: Before we were attacked and displaced, rice, yam, cassava and maize were all available in abundant for consumption in my house. We were eating as we want. Because as farmers, we have what to eat and to sell. But to be honest to eat is difficult for us. I can tell you that there is no hope for food tomorrow. There is no food (IDP from Agundo village). We don’t joke with rice, yam, maize and cassava. We were having them in abundant before the attacks and our displacement. We are farmers, so we got them from our farm produce. But now, we do not have them again (IDP from Aahan village). The participants shared that it has affected their feeding pattern. They gave comparison regarding when they receive assistance from the government or NGOs and when they did not receive anything. According to one of them “We eat once a day when we have no support from the government. But our feeding pattern changed to twice a day once we start getting support” (IDP from Agundo village). Some of the responses are summarized below: Before me and my children can eat 300naira yam for four days. We cannot try it now. We eat in the morning. But we manage to feed our children in the evening, while the adults in the house forget about food. (IDP from Asangaba village) Before we eat three times a day. But now it has reduced to one. It has not been easy on us but we have to do this to survive (IDP from Kasid uvir village). Before we used to eat twice a day. Now, we manage to eat once a day. However, I still try as much as possible to give my children twice a day. My wife and I paid the price to eat only once (IDP from Schobo village).
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Before we were attacked and displaced, I can tell you that I don’t know my feeding pattern. Because we have food in surplus. We eat whenever we want to eat. For instance, when we go to the farm we eat roasted yam. When we get home in the night, we eat pounded yam again (IDP from Agundo village). One participant said “definitely there must be a great difference in the health of someone who eat once a day and another who eat twice a day” (IDP from Bawa village). The following are the responses of other participants: Our health is at stake because we are suffering. We have no food to eat. Before, our diet used to be balanced because we have food in abundance. But there is no food, and our children are suffering most of headache and stomach pain. Thank God for the Red Cross Organization. They have been helpful. We are lucky. They give us drugs when we go there (IDP from Agundo village). It has affected my children. The only thing we try to do is to manage to feed them. Three of them in high school have stopped schooling since we were displaced. We don’t have money to pay their fees (IDP from Asangaba village).
The Resources Needed to Access Food Supply The displaced persons came in with the intention of taking shelter and finding food security for their households. Although these happened for several months through the government and some NGOs, the participants painfully shared the suffering they are going through as a result of lack of access to food supply and other related problems. One participant mentioned that “it’s getting to four to five months we have receive food supply. So our life now, we are living from hands to mouth” (IDP from Anhaa village). Another participant said “the time we came here government helped us with some other NGOs. But we have not seen them for more than three months now” (IDP from Asangaba village). Some of the responses are shared below: When we came to the camp here, the government and other NGOs were supplying us food for our households. Things have changed now. We no longer receive food supply from them anymore. It has been long they came (IDP from Kasid uvir village). Initially when we came to the camp, they were supplying us little food like rice. We get our share of food base on what they brought to us. When they brought plenty we can get a bowl of rice. When they bring small for us, we get like cups of rice. So we were able to cook once a day and feed our household. Most times members of
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my household are not satisfied with what they are eating but we leave it like that. But the whole story has changed now. They are not giving us anything again (IDP from Schobo village). In view of food access, that is, resource needed to obtain sufficient quantity and quality of food, almost all the IDPs lamented that life has been hard for them because they could not cope with the higher prices of food items. Almost all the participants expressed inadequate resources to meet household food needs. Due to food inflation, many respondents (83%) has had reason cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food. The remaining (22%) have not had cause to skip their meals. The use of skipped meals is used to meet up with household food budget. The nomadic attacks on communities in Benue state have had adverse effect on the prices of food items. The following summarized some of their responses: The displacement has affected food prices in market. For instance the price of one bag of rice used to be between 9000naira and 10,000naira. But now, especially at the time of harvest, we can have it for 16,000naira. Now we are buying it for 13,000naira or 14,000naira. Also, melon that used to be between 25,000naira and 30,000naira is now 100,000naira. (IDPs in Duara camp) Food supply has reduced drastically. The very few people that has food has inflated the price. We now buy a bag of rice for 13,000naira or 14,000naira, moving from 9,000/10,000naira it used to be. (IDPs in Duara camp) Now even if you go to the market to buy a particular food items, you may not get it. Because they have become scarce and there are no people to bring them. For instance, Guinea corn has become scarce in the market. When you even get it, it will be sold for 13,000naira per bag, from 7,000naira it used to be. (IDPs in Duara camp) Given the importance of income-generated activities to food security, many of the participants have resolved to get themselves involved in activities that can generate money for them. One participants mentioned as follows “What we do is to get some money so as to buy little food we can in the market” (IDP from Agundo village). Another participant responded that “I have stopped to rely on the government or any NGOs to feed my family. I have been working very hard in getting involved in some business so as to get some money to feed my household” (IDP from Shetavan village). In terms of food access, some participants shared the need to get some financial assistance, not just to buy food for their household, but to acquire some piece of land to continue their farming activities in the new location. The IDPs believe that 110
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financial assistance can be a short term strategies to cope with food insufficiency, which will invariably affect their access to food. One participant said “the United Nations has been helpful by giving some amount of money” (IDP from Makurdi). However, many participants shared that they have not been able to get any. Therefore, some have resort to borrowing from relatives and friends so as to be able to buy food in the market. Some participants recounted their experiences: As we came here and no food to eat, I borrowed money from one of my sisters. I used this money to hire some piece of land, where I cultivated rice. Because if I lost interest in farming, there is nothing to do again” (IDP from Agundo village). We love to start our farming business so we can take care of our household and we stop depending on uncertainty. But we don’t have money. The UN is giving out money, 17,000naira. But we are not lucky enough. We have not seen our names on the list. Those that have received theirs have started business. There are people by the road side doing small scale business (IDP from Kasid uvir village).
Returning to their Communities and Farmland Food insecurity is so severe for the IDPs in Guma and Mukurdi areas. These IDPs now live on the assistance provided by NGOs and uncertainty. It emerged that all the participants were willing to return to their communities and farmland in order to start afresh. Returning to their homelands appear to be the long-term strategy and solution to their food stability. Almost all the households of the IDPs are not willing to change their livelihood. They seem to believe in farming. One participant mentioned that “I am ready to go back. I don’t have food here. When I go back I will be eating at home” (IDP from Asangaba village). They found it difficult to open a new chapter in their new home. While some NGOs has been assisting in food supply, the participants confessed the instability of food supply. Another participant said “We have hope of returning. We want to return. Because as farmers we have no other thing doing but farming” (IDP from Bawa village). They all mentioned that they had reliable means of livelihood in their homeland, and so they had plans of returning. Their expectation was to be receiving sufficient food ‘‘at all times’’ (a language of stability dimension) when they came into the camps. However, they painfully shared their readiness and willingness to return to their communities of origin, in order to be freed from food insecurity and suffering. According some of them: I am willing to go back. If all conditions are put in place, I will like to go back to my community of origin, my home and farmland, then I can start afresh again. What are we doing here? To get food to eat is a problem for us. (IDP from Kasid uvir village) 111
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I plan to return to home. If they give me the opportunity now, I am ready to go. I am willing and hopeful that I will go back home. We also hope to get financial assistance to a new life again. I still believe in returning to my farming activities. (IDP from Shetavan village) Ah! We are suffering in this place. There is no sufficient food for us. The government was feeding us before. But now the government has stopped feeding us. It’s more than six months the government has stopped. We are suffering here so much. It’s better we go back home. (IDP from Shetavan village) I want to go back home. I want to start a new life again. But the situation is not good now. Some of my brothers went home recently. They planted some crops but what they planted were cleared again. So I will go back home once things have remain calm. (IDP from Agundo village) The participants were asked to explain the reason behind their decision to return to their communities. Uncomfortably and suffering due to food shortage and instability were mentioned by most of the participants. For example, one participant said “I want to go back home because am not enjoying this place” (IDP, Guma). Another participant said “I am even ready to go home now because we are not comfortable where we are here. We are suffering” (IDP, Guma). Another one said “We suffer a lot here. For about 5 months, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has stopped giving us food” (IDP, Guma). The participants compared how their lives before displacement with their present situation. To them, life was better before they relocated. Almost all the participants mentioned their willingness to return home because of their passion for farming activities. They succinctly maintained that they have no other thing to do but farming. Some of the participant mentioned that they could not farm in their new location because they are not getting land.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS The study found that many left their homelands with nothing, while some are fortunate to pick few of their possessions In terms of availability of food supply, the study found that nomadic terrorism in Benue state has resulted in food scarcity and food shortage due to destruction of farmlands, attack on farmers’ home and unprepared migration of people away from communities to IDPs camps. For instance, when asked if they (participants) are worried that food would run out before they get another, the many of them
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(89%) expressed uncertainty and fear. The remaining respondents (11%) expressed certainty. Thus, the study discovered that the food items abundantly available before the attack and displacement have significantly reduced. These include: yam, maize, cassava and rice. The study found that there is limited assistance from the government to the IDPs which affected their feeding patterns. This limited food supply has complex implications for the health of the displaced persons who eat irregularly and education of the children. The findings of this study is consistent with the findings of Oti, Onyia and Umounyang (2017) and Sulaiman and Ja`afar-Furo (2010) who found that the outcome of nomadic violent activities has resulted in reduction in healthcare provision of the family and interruption of education of children. Reducing expenditure on health and education were also some of the more common livelihood coping strategies (United Nations, 2016). Again, the study found that despite the involvement of the IDPs in activities that can generate income, meeting their food needs was limited. In terms of the resources needed to access food supply. The study found that displaced persons do not have access to resources needed to access food supply. Rather they have been ‘living from hand to mouth’. Again, the study found that the IDPs who eventually returned home fund it difficult to cope and set up a new business for alternative livelihood and survival. These findings are consistent with previous studies, which have reported that the experiences of refugees adversely affect their physical, emotional and social well-being (Alupo, Oginni, Opoku, &Torgbenu,2018). However, returning to their homelands in order to continue their farming activities appears to be the solution to food stability for the IDPs. The soaring food prices have had adverse impact on household budgets, and greater effect on the displaced persons (Eme, et al 2014).
CONCLUSION Nomadic terrorism, and its relationship with displacement and food insecurity, is a relatively understudied research topic. The study, therefore, examined the impact of nomadic terrorism on food insecurity of the displaced persons in the two IDPs camps in Guma and Makurdi areas of Benue state, popularly called “Food Basket of the Nation”. The study posit that, though food insecurity is a general problem for the poor farming households, it is more prevalent among the IDPs. However, more empirical studies would allow a better understanding of the experiences of other IDPs living with friends, families and relatives, who are not within the camps. Available evidences from data analyzed revealed the food insecurity experiences of displaced persons in the two IDPs camps . Conceptually, the three pillars of food security, as identified by the World Bank (2001), were confirmed in the study. Food 113
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availability, which is, having sufficient food through production or markets, seem to have been well established in the study. The study has demonstrated that the terrorist activities had a devastating impact on the participants . In the first place, the participants were found to have lost relatives and property, and even to have been displaced from their home. It was painful that almost all the participants in this study did not leave with any of their possession. The study established that some who went back to their villages in order to get some food on the farm were either killed or injured by the nomadic terrorists. The destruction of food production and food stocks have significantly led to insufficiency of food. More so, the government and some NGOs that were helping in food supply became unstable. The study revealed that the food consumption or feeding pattern of the IDPs were depending on food assistance. For instance, the IDPs may eat once whenever they get little food support from either the government or the NGOs. In terms of food access, the IDPs relied on financial assistance from NGOs and often borrow money from friends and relatives, as a short term survival strategy for subsistence. Some of the IDPs who still have some food crops in their farmlands tried to go back. The study found that some of them were either killed or injured. Due to limited food supply and food inflation, the IDPs have had to tell their woeful stories of the impact on their health, and the education of their children.
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATION To this end, future actions, therefore, must put into consideration the three pillars of food security mentioned in this study. The following recommendations can therefore be made: •
•
•
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The Nigerian government and other stakeholders including non-governmental organizations should resume the distribution of food assistance and other relief materials. This direct intervention will reduce the physical and economic hardship being experienced by the IDPs. The Nigerian government should develop a loan scheme for the IDPs. This loan can help in hiring piece of land for farming and starting small-scale business. Also, the government should develop a productive and employable programs for the unemployed women and youth. In doing so, the government is contributing to building the resilience and livelihood of the IDPs. The Nigerian government should develop security mechanism for the Middle Belt region to tackle the activities of the nomadic terrorists. In doing so, the nomadic terrorists occupying the region will be dislodge and disarmed. This will facilitate the voluntary return of the IDPs.
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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Generalization of the findings of this study is impossible due to some limitations. The study was limited to two IDPs camps, in Guma and Murkudi. The implication is that the views or experiences of participants may not be representative of all people who have been affected by the nomadic terrorism. In addition, other IDPs outside the camp, living with friends and relatives were not involved in the study, and it is recommended that future studies examine their perceptions. Despite these limitations, the study has made a substantial contribution to the literature, and it confirms the need for urgent attentions in food insecurity of the internally displaced persons outside their homelands.
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Bagu, C., & Smith, K. (2017). Past is Prologue: Criminality and Reprisal Attacks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Search for Common Ground. Dembele, Y. (2015). Ethnic Cleansing in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. World Watch Research. Eme, O. I., Onyishi, A. O., Uche, O. A., & Uche, I. B. (2014). Food Insecurity in Nigeria: A Thematic Exposition. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 4(1), 1–14. Fajonyomi, S. O., Fatile, J. O., Bello, O. W., Opusunju, M. I., & Adejuwon, D. K. (2018). Farmers-Herdsmen Conflict and Food Security in North Central GeoPolitical Zone of Nigeria. International Journal of Advanced Studies in Economics and Public Sector Management, 6(2), 43–62. International Crisis Group. (2017). Herders against Farmers: Nigeria’s Expanding Deadly Conflict. African Report No. 252. Johnson, I. A., & Okunola, B. T. (2017). Pastoralism as New Phase of Terrorism in Nigeria, Global Journal of Human-. Social Science, 17(4), 50–54. Kah, H. K. (2017). ‘Boko Haram is Losing, But so is Food Production’: Conflict and Food Insecurity in Nigeria and Cameroon. Africa Development. Afrique et Developpement, 52(3), 177–196. Kuku-Shittu, O., & Liver-Pool-Taise, L. S. O. (2010). Food Security, Family Structure and Agricultural Productivity: The Role of Social Capital in Nigeria. Agricultural and Applied Economics Association 2010 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. Kwaja, C. M. A., & Ademola-Adelehin, B. I. (2018). Responses to Conflicts Between Farmers and Herders in the Middle Belt of Nigeria: Mapping Past Efforts and Opportunities for Violence Prevention. Search for Common Ground. Lloyd’s. (2016). Feast or Farming: Business and Insurance Implications of Food Safety and Security. Society of Lloyd’s Report. MercyCorps. (2017). The Economic Costs of Conflict and the Benefits of Peace: Effects of Farmer-Pastoralist Conflict in Nigeria’s Middle Belt on State, Sector and National Economies. Author. SB Morgen. (2015). Terror in the Food Basket: A Look into the Violence in NorthCentral Nigeria. Report SBM Intelligence.
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Oginni, S.O., Opoku, M.P., & Alupo, B.A. (2018). Terrorism in the Lake Chad Region:Integration of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. Journal of Borderlands Studies. Doi:10.1080/08865655.2018.1457975 Okoli, A. C., & Atelhe, G. A. (2013). The Political Ecology of Herdsmen/ Farmers Conflict in Nassarawa State, Nigeria. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 5(1), 76–88. Omilusi, M. O. (2016). Roving Terrorists or Innocuous Cattle Grazers? Between Herdsmen’s Economic Survival and Community Annihilation in Nigeria. Cultural Relations Quarterly Review. Oti, O. G., Onyia, C. C., & Umoinyang, M. E. (2017). Effects of farmers herdsmen con_icts on the food security status of farming households in Enugu State, Nigeria. International Journal of Agricultural Research and Food Production, 2(3), 97–108. Smith, L. C. (2007). Measuring food security using household expenditure surveys. Food Security in Practice Technical Guide Series. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institutes. Suleiman, S. (2015). Nigerian History Machine and the Production of the Middle Belt Historiography. University of Cape Town. World Watch Research. (2015). Migration and Violent Conflict in Divided Societies. Working Paper No. 1. Author.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Food Access: The conditions needed to obtain sufficient food. Food Availability: The state of having sufficient food either from production or market. Food Insecurity: This is a state of inability to sufficient food at all times, either through purchase food in markets or produce food for oneself. Food Security: This is the ability of an individual or household to have physical and economic access to food at all times. Food Stability: The ability to access food at all times. Nomadic Terrorism: This is terrorist attacks by the nomads who are inspired by Islamic ideology and Boko Haram. Phenomenological Study: A study that endeavor to understand the nature of people’s experiences and interpretations of key events of their lives.
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Section 4
Rural Agriculture, Livelihood, Poverty, and Development Intervention
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Chapter 6
Healthcare Service, Food Security, and Sustainable Development: Main Reasons to Grow Opium Poppy in Myanmar
Hai Thanh Luong https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2421-9149 Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia
ABSTRACT This chapter aims to analyze discrimination and disadvantage of local farmers in the process of opium eradication in Myanmar based on their specific explanations. The author utilizes some data and information collected from official reports and statements of the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum (2013-2018). Some multiple sources from inside and outside Myanmar in terms of human rights of ethnic minorities’ opium farmers are also added. The current findings point out that there are a number of concerns and disadvantages with local opium farmers to look for survival livelihood, food security, and sustainable development in ethnic minorities’ communities in Myanmar, particularly at Shan and Kachin States. The chapter also calls for further researches with specific recommendations and effective solutions for local opium farmers in the next stages.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch006 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
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INTRODUCTION Lying at the heart of the Golden Triangle with a number of curious statistics about the real volume of opium cultivation, Myanmar1 has been a hot topic for assessing the process of supply reduction among of unlimited efforts of international and regional community. More than 20 years ago, Myanmar succeeded relatively in destroying poppy fields in the Golden Triangle on the eastern border of Laos and Thailand since 1996. But now it seems that the poppy-land area once again rises with poppy fields stretching from valley to valley in the southern plateau. Historically, until the 1980s, Myanmar remained the world’s largest supplier of illicit opium. During half of a decade, between 1981 and 1987, the total of opium size estimated around 700 tons annual production, which had continued to rise until 1996 when it topped annual production levels of about 1,600 tons (UNODC, 2017). Then the product of Afghanistan flourished, disrupting the position of Myanmar since 1991 with its higher opium yield per hectare that made Afghanistan outpace Myanmar as the world’s largest producer of opium (UNODC, 2018a). Efforts to squeeze opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle, however, have been unable to prevent poppy fields from re-exporting and blooming in the mountains of the south - territories of gunmen and ethnic minorities (Kramer, 2005; Kramer et al., 2014; Kramer, 2015a; Meehan, 2016b). According to UNODC surveys, poppy yields in Myanmar have so far increased nearly twofold since 2006, from 21,600 hectares to 37,100 hectares in 2018 (UNODC, 2019). Almost Myanmar’s opium is judged to be of exceptional quality and cheap, particularly in mainland China market and beyond in the Southeast Asia region as well.This led to the difficulties to control supply-and-demand scale so far. Since the first crop monitoring and its related publications cooperated by UNODC and the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) in 2003, after 16 times surveying, the fluctuation of opium size in Myanmar showed the complications and challenges to data collection and analysis, though combined between satellite imagery, field yield assessment and socio-economic survey. Particularly, the link between ethnic conflict, land rights, opium eradication and alternative development need to be emphasized as the main concerns for government and regional cooperation to drug control. In addition, although a new quasi-civilian government has started with the new hopes to change the political process, economic development and democratic society after the first non-military rule established through the 2015 National Election (Kramer, 2015b: 356), the sustainable achievement of the real reform based on a nationwide ceasefire between government and ethnic armed opposition groups has still been considered as doubtful question for international and regional concerns. To some extent, the story regarding opium cultivation and its related eradication
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in Myanmar should be assessed specifically based on the explanations of the local farmers. To do this, the chapter focuses only on local farmers’ voices based on their exclusive Forum experience sharing and statements to understand the main reasons farmers grow opium. An overall review of opium cultivation in Myanmar will provide the current picture of local opium farmers across the country, particularly at Shan and Kachin borderlands.
BACKGROUD: POPPY-LAND IN SHAN AND KACHIN STATES Known as the main contributory countries in the Golden Triangle’s opium volume in the world, there are a number of publications and researches which focus on history of poppy cultivation with different approaches to make clear the real story of poppy-land in Myanmar. In this regard, the largest size of opium cultivation, from the past to present, is recorded to grow across the Shan and Kachin States, which shared borderlands between Myanmar and its neighboured countries. While the Shan State is the largest state, the Kachin is the highest mountain region in Myanmar and both share close border with China in the north, Laos in the east and Thailand in the south. It is home to around 7.5 million people of more than 40 different ethnic groups. Historically, the main source of livelihood of the people of Shan and Kachin States is agriculture before opium which presently soared as the ideal crop in these hilly regions. During most of the 20th century, people relied heavily on poppy cultivation, especially in areas, where the geographic and meteorological conditions were not favourable for growing different food crops. Thus, opium had become the main source of income for the people. Following the Government’s comprehensive ban on poppy cultivation in 1997 for Mongla (controlled by the National Democratic Alliance Army), in 2002 for the Kokang region (controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army), and since mid-2005 no more poppy growing has been allowed in the Wa region (controlled by the United Wa State Army), the livelihood of the poppy farmers was severely affected including the quality of live and local farmer’s cultivation (Yawnghwe, 1993; Renard, 1996). Needless to say, banning opium in these Shan State regions where most of the Burmese opiates were produced, pushed another chapter to the long and dramatic history of drugs, conflict and human rights violation, although these bans have significantly contributed to the specific decrease in opium cultivation in nearly two decades from 1998 to 2006 (Kramer et al., 2014; Kramer, 2015a; Meehan, 2016a). Notwithstanding, both internal (ethnic conflict, land rights
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and peace negotiation) and external issues (regional and national demand for opiates and lucrative illicit commodities for trading) are pull-and-push factors to boost the rise of opium prices which in turn has created motivations for local farmers to regrow poppy in places with less strict control. Yet, the absence of alternative development options, the decline in farm gate profits of other cash crops such as maize, rice or cassava, the growth in prices of household needs; the ability of traders to bring money to opium farmers for their cash crop have certainly opened the door to “come back” to opium cultivation (Kramer, 2009; Lone, 2018; Kramer et al., 2014). Besides that, an environmental and topographical perspectives of south-western mountains in south Shan, the area north of Kyaing Tong city in east Shan, the areas at the boundary of east and south Shan, on both sides of the Than Lwin river provide a good condition for growing poppy (UNODC, 2017; UNODC, 2019). Therefore, although the total area of opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has decreased significantly in 2018 to 36,100 hectares, down 12% from the 41,000 recorded in 2017, the percentage of this reduction was still different levels among surveyed and non-surveyed areas and even, an estimated 1,200 hectares of opium poppy were also cultivated in Chin and Kayah States2 together that made up an estimated production in 2018 around 520 metric tons (UNODC, 2019: 11). In particular, the most significant decline was in north, east and south Shan with a drop of 7%, 8% and 17% respectively and 15% in Kachin States (UNODC, 2019: 12). Although law enforcement agencies have made efforts relentlessly to eradicate opium by reducing the size of poppy growing areas, with a reported total of 2,605 hectares in 2018.In ethnic conflict zones with limited access and under the control of non-state armed groups in both Shan and Kachin States, it is uneasy and even, impossible to approach (UNODC, 2019; International Crisis Group, 2019).
MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER The Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum With respect to political regime, as Taylor (2017) depicted and argued; ‘Myanmar has always encouraged conspiracy theories’. In recent years, many scholars and policymakers also recognized that focusing and researching on the symbiotic relationship between access to land or security of land rights and drug crop cultivation as well as ethnic conflicts in these opium poppy grown areas and its related crisis, particularly with ensuring human rights, illicit cultivation and alternative development in Myanmar
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are complicated concerns that require a number of long-term and multidimensional approaches (DPAG, 2017; Grimmelmann et al., 2018; UNODC, 2018b; Jelsma, 2018b). Policies and changes in drug reform are often focused on demand and supply reduction and undermine reduction in recent times. However, the voice of local opium farmers involved directly in poppy cultivation is yet to be heard in policymaking platforms. Thus, if any individual and/or representatives from the opium cultivation fields are gathered and organized, they are likely to provide international, regional and national readers more reliable and specific circumstances from their original voices. Under the unlimited efforts to redress this, the Transnational Institute (TNI) with their supported alliances organized the First World Forum of Producer of Illicit Crops where representatives from Latin America, Africa and to a lesser extent, Asia with three from Myanmar, raised their voices in Barcelona in January 2009 and produced a Political Declaration with recommendations to present at 2009 United Nations Commission on Narcotics Drugs and its High Level (political) Segment. Since then, a number of local cocoa farmers in Latin America have organized and shared official statements through their various forums. It was difficult to implement similar platforms in Southeast Asia due to government strict controls and the ongoing armed conflict. To some extent, as an excellent example, the specific contributions from those opium growers in the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum (MOFF), one of the most unique models of the Global Forum of Producers of Prohibited Plants (GFPPP), have proved their important roles to bridge the gap between local voices and drug policy discussers at the United Nations forum, including the UNGASS, 2016.(Full maning of UNGASS) Recently, one film – ‘Opium Farmer: The Lives of Producers of Prohibited Plants in Myanmar’ and a short video made by MOFF, sent a session of the Commission of Narcotics Drugs to contribute for more evidence-based drug control policies that impact on their lives (Lone, 2018). The MOFF was established in 2013 after the first Southeast Asia Opium Farmers’ Forum held in Yangon, supported and organized by TNI and Paung Ku, with more than 30 representatives of local communities involved directly in opium cultivation and local community workers from the major opium growing areas in the Southeast Asia. At the first meeting in July 2013, unfortunately, financial difficulty led to the absence of Laos and Thailand opium farmers. However, all other participants came from the largest opium cultivation of Myanmar such as Chin, Kachin, northern and southern Shan, and Kayah States and combined with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh regions in Northeast India. As the official declaration in establishment of the Forum and their relevant statement in each annual meeting, the most significant target of the MOFF was to open the objective floor for individuals and their ethnic minority representative communities involved, either directly or indirectly, in opium poppy cultivation in order 123
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to; 1). discuss, exchange and share their experiences, lessons and concerns related to supply reduction policies such as forced eradication; 2). to reflect on dilemma and real stories of corrupt activities from officials and challenged threats from insurgencies’ groups; 3). to raise issues regarding their land rights and current situation of ethnical conflicts; 4). to suggest alternative sustainable development formations for ensuring the balance among quality of live and their new cash crops; and 5). to propose that government and local authorities should permit them to be involved directly into the progress of drug policy constructions and its related approaches. Therefore, based on coordinating and collaborating a variety of ethnical representatives from Kayah, Kayan, Shan, Pa-O and Kachin opium farming communities, the MOFF has organized active annual meetings to discuss drug policy developments in the region from 2013 to 2018. As the subject is sensitive, both participants and contents of the annual meetings of MOFF applied the Chatham House rules, which provides a way for all speakers to openly exchange their views in private while permitting the topic and nature of the debate to be made public and contribute to a broader talking, in order to encourage openness of discussion and facilitate the share of information.
Research Methods Applying long-term fieldtrip under the crisis of armed conflicts and its related peaceful negotiation progress is really hard for naive-researchers in Myanmar. In addition, official data collection is also challenged and difficult issues without ‘reliably accurate’ as the government is limited to inform ‘economic and social data to independent research’ (Pick and Thein, 2010: 269). Instead, the main data sources used for this paper were official reports and statements of the MOFF members in six annual meetings from 2013 to 2018, which was collected by the author after attending the 10th Asian Drug Policy Informal Dialogue, organized by TNI and CCADC and funded by Germany government at Inle Lake, southern Shan State in November, 2018. Besides that, only news and media reports from inside and outside Myanmar in terms of local opium farmers and their MOFF members were also collected and analysed. In respect to practical wishes and shared voices of local farmers who were involved directly to cultivate and produce opium in Myanmar, this paper used the MOFF’s document with direct quotations as a specific formation to ensure original voices of members.
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Findings3 ‘We Have Been Growing Opium for Generations’ In all six annual meetings of the MOFF in the period of 2013-2018, more than 150 representatives of local communities involved in opium growth and local community workers from the major opium growing areas across borderland of Myanmar and its shared neighbours affirmed that as a traditional crop, the opium cultivation has occurred a long time ago in comparison to their current generations. Historically, the live of local farmers proves that opium is mainly grown as a cash crop to solve food security problems and improve livelihoods and also create a better living standard and assist local peoples’ basic survival. ‘Moreover, we are in armed conflict zone. Fighting between Myanmar government troops and ethnic armed groups often broke out near our village, and we have to flee so often losing our properties, crops, domestic and farm animals’ (quoted by Nang Khin Oo, member of MOFF, cited in Bridge, 2017). Some scholars argued that both the British and the East India Company have responded, directly and indirectly, to popularize and spread the cultivation of opium as a major cash crop in the Shan State areas of the northern Myanmar shared borderland with Yunna province, China since more than one century ago that might contribute to ‘lawlessness’ in the Golden Triangle among three countries Myanmar, Laos and Thailand and also China (Yawnghwe, 1993; Cowell, 2005; Yawnghwe, 2005; Buxton, 2006). In fact, under the development of nation-states during the nineteenth century in these countries surrounding the Triangle, many natural resources such as tea, teak, and jade have been traded. More attractive commodities than opium which led to all four countries seeking to control the traffic of these goods based on their own laws and borders (Renard, 1996; Cowell, 2005). However, when Chinese traders (often Chinese Muslim) carried opium out from Yunnan to Yung-Ch’ang-Fu (western Yunnan bordering Burma, nearby Kokang) in 1736, opium cultivation grew increasingly until 1830s, particularly in the northern Kachin regions in Burma of the Hukawang Walley and Mogaung (Renard, 1996: 14-15). Therefore, although there is no written record of how and when opium was introduced into the country, it is generally accepted that cultivation spread from the neighbouring Chinese provinces. The “Opium Wars” in China (1839 – 1842), to some extent, not only increased the opium demand in Chinese domestic markets, but also escalated its production in highland territories shared border with Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, including Shan and Kachin States’ regions. At least, since 1868 opium started to be cultivated in Yunna and quickly became one of the majority primary trade commodities in Yunnan’s main city, Kunming and ‘cultivation increased and the opium trade boomed’ in this time (Renard, 1996: 18125
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19). Since then, seemingly, the cultivation of opium has become the main livelihood of those ethnic minorities who live in the highland areas of eastern and northern Myanmar, particularly with Shan State and Kachin State. As smallholder opium poppy farmer’s voice explained that; ‘opium is also cultivated for…traditional use’ (MOFF, 2013) or ‘opium poppy is our traditional crop and we are familiar with the techniques to grow it’ (MOFF, 2015). Besides that, among traditional agricultural plants such as maize, manioc or rice, the inaccessibility of these mountainous regions, combined with extreme weather, made it difficult to grow other cash crops in these areas. Whereas, the geographical, topographical and climate conditions in these areas, particularly with the amount of scattered fertile spots of limestone soil are an ideal terrain for opium cultivation (Yawnghwe, 1993; Renard, 1996; Jelsma, et al., 2005). In particular, with most ethnic minority regions in Myanmar, where the elevation of sea level is around 1,500-4,000 meters with extreme weather, almost no food crop can be sowed or survive, and needless to say, there is limited options to cultivate other cash crops because of lack of adequate transportation and insufficient infrastructure and thus ‘some of us grow it for traditional uses’ (quoted by opium farmer, cited in MOFF, 2016). Yet, the absence of agricultural techniques combines with poor access to credit and access to market that hamper the ability of local farmers to reach up with modern agricultural crops. In these isolated and mountainous ethnic minority states, particularly Shan and Kachin on the borders with China and Thailand, growing opium is recognized as a quick way to get money for basic household needs and also ‘we have been growing opium for generations’ (quoted by opium farmer, cited in MOFF, 2018). Additionally, at almost isolated areas without access to modern world and its updated culture such as Shan and Kachin States, peasants grow opium poppy also to ‘cover the costs of health care, social rituals and religious donations’ (quoted by Nang Khin Oo, member of MOFF, cited in Bridge, 2017). To some extent, either directly or indirectly, these factors push farmers in mountainous villages to depend on income derived from opium-growing not only to support their families’ standard living but also to ensure health care and education for their children. As the local authority leader of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) in the Wa region, Shan State admitted that; It is hard to ban opium, because it has been grown here a hundred years. The people stay in high mountains with low temperature. Apart from opium, in that kind of climate it is not possible to grow many other crops. It is only suitable to grow millet, corn, and some beans. It is not suitable for rice (quoted by Zhao Wen Guang, UWSP Agricultural Minister, cited in Kramer, 2009: 2). ‘…to Solve Food Security Problems and Improve Livelihoods…’ 126
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After six times to organize the annual meetings from 2013 to 2018, no one in the Forum recognized and affirmed that growing and trading opium could be profited as one of the most beneficial incomes for entrepreneurs/tradesmen at their owned land. In contrast, there are many different reasons to explain why local farmers cultivate opium based on basic needs and vital elements of poor peasants. Among these answers, representatives of this Forum stated that opium is mainly grown as a cash crop to solve poverty such as ‘food security problems and livelihoods’ and also to provide ‘a better living standard and solve people’s basic needs’ and needless to say, ‘can help to address poverty and food shortages…[and] it also provides access to health and education for their children’ (MOFF, 2013). Apart from that, the cash income earned from opium is used to buy access to other necessary demands, as opium farmers from northern Shan State shared at the third meeting of MOFF (2015), that; “Opium supports our living…with the cash earned from opium, we use it for our health, social welfare, education, and developmental needs of our communities such as repair of roads, bridges, schools, water and electricity supply.” Even though, as a food source function (Buxton, 2006: 5), in many difficult situations to look for foods, local growers also eat it to pass the hunger before they can think, do and grow other crops. More than 25 years ago, Yawnghwe (1993: 311), who was one of the few Burmese to bridge the gap between the political activists of the 1950s and those of the 2000s and also assist the current scholars to understand deeply about the nature of opium cultivation in Myanmar, highlighted that ‘growing opium is something like growing cash, precisely because opium is the medium of exchange…it is, in essence, not a cash-based economy, but one based on opium.’ However, it is not similar to exaggerated assessments of the West media for the weight-valued ratio of opium production, of cause after trading to second middleman traders, the real incomes of local poppy farmers are not relatively beneficial. Nearly 30 years later, the United Nations’ team report in 1991 – ‘poppy growers do not derive fortunes from their illegal part-sustenance…[and] there is no evidence that farmers, even with their returns from poppy, are earning more than basic subsistence income… and [they] are trapped permanently in debt’ are still exactly correct situation with local ethnic minority growers (Yawnghwe, 1993: 311). Even, depending on soil, labour, transport and agricultural techniques, which lead to different quality of opium yield, the farmer’s incomes will also fluctuate from high to low productions before trading the middleman (Yawnghwe, 1993; Cowell, 2005). Yet, living ‘in isolated and underdeveloped areas, often affected by conflict where public services are absent and access to markets is very difficult’ also made opium farmers to earn a very small amount of money from their laborious work in the fields per year (MOFF, 2018). Additionally, some rapidly changing living environments and their related pressures
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to poor peasants in these inaccessible areas led them to either continue or come back to plant opium yields, even parallel with other cash crops such as maize and rice in order to maintain their livelihoods and current socio-economic situation. In 2013,the first report of MOFF noted that; There is also a growing gap between the rich and the poor resulting in more migration from the village to the city and to neighbouring countries…[and] resulting in growing demand for mobile phones and motor cycles among the youth, including children of opium growers…[therefore] this also contribute to the increasing number of opium growers as well as the land used for poppy cultivation (MOFF,2013:1). Furthermore, many isolated areas shared borderland with Yunna province (China), Laos and Thailand, almost Shan and Kachin States’ ethnic peasants claimed that without sufficient assistance and alternative sustainability programs to support them, growing and cultivating opium yields are the main income to solve almost living standards. A Ta-ang opium farmer in the third MOFF’s meeting emphasized that; ‘We grow opium to make income to support our living…Opium supports 90% of our household income and also showed an example that; ‘a labourer could get 10,000 kyats per day [around US$6] to work in an opium field which is more than double the income of a normal labourer’ (MOFF, 2015). To some extent, as ‘currency is indispensable for their daily lives,’ opium has become the ‘medium of exchange, no cash’ and local people can use it to exchange for the essential needs for their simple daily activities such as shelter, food, clothes, and education for their kids (Yawnghwe, 1993; Kramer, 2005; Kramer, et al., 2014; Lone, 2018). As MOFF’s participant explained about symbiotic relationship between opium (A) and money (B) that ‘A doesn’t go looking for B and conversely, B comes looking for B’ (Lone, 2018). It is clear that opium also at least plays important roles as a general currency in the remote hills to help them look for question about poverty reduction.
‘Opium is Also Used as a Traditional Medicine’ Since the third century BC, alongside cannabis and coca plants, opium poppy was recorded as one of the helpful natural-occurring drugs to use for survival purposes with at least five major effects (Austin, 1979). One of the most important roles of drug, particularly with opium, is medicinal purposes for pain relief. In fact, with around forty-six alkaloids, it was used for the treatment of a wide range of illnesses, sickness and diseases such as gout, cholera, tetanus, neuralgia, depression and for pain relief in childbirth (Buxton, 2006: 4). Although no official reports or specific information confirms with local minorities areas in Myanmar about the effective
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approaches to use opium as a scientific medicine in the health field, those poppy growers from ancient generations to the present used it as traditional health formations for dealing and maintaining their daily health concerns. It is important to share personal thoughts of Shan State and Kachin States’ participants that attended the annual meetings of MOFF from 2013 to 2018; …It is used as a traditional medicine to cure minor ailments such as diarrhoea, cough, aches and pains, cuts and wounds. It is also used for curing sick animals… …Opium is used for … protection of sickness in buffalo, cows, pigs and chickens. Hunters use it for protection against dangerous animals. It is also used as an antidote for insect bites and some snake bites……We eat grilled garlic with opium to relieve minor ailments. It can also be used to treat sick animals… …Opium can reduce the ‘heat’ (fever) of humans, buffalo and cows. It also reduces blood pressure… …Opium can relieve minor health problems. Wild animals could be tamed with opium… …Opium is also used to tame animals, such as elephants, and has veterinary functions to treat animal diseases …(MOFF, 2013;2018). It is clear that there is a great variety of what opium is applied to for a healthy living. Opium is used as a traditional medicine especially in remote areas, and as healthcare for a variety of sick people, from baby to elderly persons more generally (MOFF, 2013). In particular, one of the common ways to utilize it as legend and magic form is by putting a small piece of opium into a garlic glove which is then grilled over a fire and subsequently eaten. Even, many participants believed that opium was used ‘to live a long life’ (MOFF, 2013) and ‘for some of us, opium is part of our culture’ (MOFF, 2018). Moreover, the opium bans and the forced eradication in many years did not result in a reduction of opium cultivation. Instead, it created a humanitarian crisis and changed the patterns of cultivation for local farmers which also through unforeseen influences, directly or indirectly, on their health when faced with aerial spraying activities with its related toxic herbicides (Jelsma, 2018b; Jelsma, 2018a). Alongside insufficient foods, the ban also caused further limited access to healthcare for child care and aging. Yet, there is a very few services to support healthcare issues at mountainous
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areas by the government and local authorities that led to limited access to healthy examinations for people. Therefore, at the official statement in the latest meeting of MOFF (2018), they informed that; ‘where the government cannot provide basic services, including health…opium is also used as a traditional medicine to protect them in many indigenous communities.’
‘Lack of Access to Land…’ The independence from Great Britain in 1948 led to the emergence of a state that is a home to more than twenty distinct minority ethnic groups in Myanmar. However, under signing of the Burmese Constitution in 1948, unintentionally, those ethnic minorities have been denied constitutional rights and access to lands that were traditionally managed by their peoples and participation in the government. Yet, although the largely majority of people who own land cultivate opium, they are impoverished small-scale peasants from diverse ethnic groups living in the isolated mountains of Shan and Kachin States, these ancestral lands have often faced threats and control by the dominant Burman majority and have also suffered at the hands of warlords and regional ethnic rebellion alliances. In some cases in the Kogang and Wa regions, the opium banning since 2003 and 2005 had also contributed to migration of people to other potential areas with new hopes to maintain their livelihoods and seek chances ‘still to cultivate poppy’ (quoted by Kogang and Wa authorities, cited in Kramer, 2009: 5) Year by year, land rights have often pushed up to ‘the top of the national political agenda’, particularly since the late 2000s when nearly two million land acres were confiscated for agribusiness and allocated to the private sector by the military government of the State Peace and Development Council (Franco, et al., 2015). Although on the one hand, the reform of new government had proclaimed a number of new legislations on land and its related investment that ‘change the legal basis for land use rights, especially in the uplands’; on the other hand, these adjustments had also located the majority population in Myanmar’s ethnic groups to face food insecurity and land tenure when the government encouraged domestic and international investment in land (Kramer, 2015b: 363). Even though, the new laws did not acknowledge traditional customary and communal land rights of those ethnic minorities which push hundreds of thousands of local villagers out of their ancestral lands during the progress of (un)sustainable development (Franco et al., 2015). As a small-scale opium farmer shared at the newest meeting of MOFF (2018) that; ‘We have lived on and managed our lands for generations with our customary systems. However, the current land laws do not recognise our ethnic customary and
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communal rights to land’. Accordingly, under the scope of two new land laws in 2012 passed, namely the Farmland Law and the Law on Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management (VFV Law), land is now a commodity, and any land not registered with government authorities can be sold to foreigners, mostly to Chinese counterparts across the borderland with Yunnan province in the northern Shan State, to invest with long-term contracts. A few number of relatively successful stories of Chinese companies and others to implement alternative development to substitute opium plants by rubber and coffee are still doubtful question for long-term impacts. The land confiscation and its related rights to access to land have been a serious threat to local farmers who are also faced with new conflicts and the peace process, alongside ethnic conflict and armed struggle concerns (Woods, 2018; Jelsma, 2018a). Accordingly, these Chinesefinanced land rents have been connected to ‘a panoply of armed groups’, combining both narco-militia organizations that have been aligned with the government’s military and ex-rebel groups that have singed ceasefire agreement, which also create a paradox that ‘motivation for land concession is to curb the production of opium… [however] opium production is actually increasing’ (Woods, 2018: 1). In essence, under the humble thoughts of peasants shared in MOFF’s reports and statements, possessing the ancestral lands and its related properties, including growing opium on these lands, are still as normal as their daily breathing. From history to present, in fact, most opium is being grown in rural communities – especially in indigenous territories – based on their customary ownership or management of ancestral land, however, in many cases, these lands used by peasants for opium cultivation is not officially registered to authorities. It made them really difficulty to claim credit or other form of properties when the Government adopted the amendment’s version of the 2012 VFV Law since October 2018. Consequently, one of the most serious concerns and unfairnesses to those customary and communal land owners is that these new laws did not admit their land rights at all without ‘land use certificates’ (LUCs) or ‘official land tittle’ (OLTs) and instead, they want to categorize these lands as ‘state-sponsored and corporate’ classifications and thus, the land grab will push local peasants ‘more vulnerable to human rights violations, and less able to access government support or benefit from development interventions’ (Jelsma, 2018a: 31). Needless to say, in most cases, after farmland is grabbed and confiscated, ‘as a survival mechanism…the community had no other option but to start poppy cultivation in remote uplands to be able to feed our families’ (cited in the sixth statement of MOFF, 2018).
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‘…[Meanwhile] Very Few of Us Have Benefitted from Development Projects…’ After the standard achievements of Doi Tung project, Chiang Rai, Thailand – moving from opium destitution to sustainable development - since the late 1970s, there has been a search for best options to help the rest of countries in the Golden Triangle, particularly Myanmar, to obtain thriving sustainability approach in the process of supply reduction. For a long time ago, with local opium farmers in Shan and Kachin States, poppy cultivation is as normal as their daily life on their own lands. Banning opium by the government plus international and regional pressures in recent years, the farmers have been faced with the challenge of insecurity of food and lack of alternative development (AD) model and inability to cope with the current dilemma of subsistence and a bright future for their kids. After nearly five years since the Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy won in the general election with a number of new visions to move Myanmar forward as a democratic society, there have been unlimited efforts to reduce opium cultivation with initiatives such as AD approaches. However members of MOFF are still committed to their latest statement; ‘don’t eradicate our [opium] fields and provide development, instead…[and] development programmes and alternative crops should be in line with local conditions’ (MOFF, 2018). Though many participants attend MOFF’s annual meetings, and embraced basic changes from AD, either through government or international aid projects, they assumed that the AD will play an important role to respond to their final decisions not to stop opium cultivation. They also considered that formulating AD options will provide sustainable and long-term policy where ‘the rights of producer communities and their involvements in decision making processes should be respected (cited in MOFF, 2013). Additionally, the specific lessons and clear failures of the 15-year plan to eradicate illicit opium production, between 1999-2014,4 by replacing it with licit crop by Myanmar government in collaboration with a number of international aids is a reminder to the peasants that AD programs are ‘doomed to fail’ (Menguzzato, 2015). Some witnesses of this failure are members of MOFF who confirmed that; ‘until now farmers growing opium poppy have not had a voice in any of the debate and decision-making process’ (cited in MOFF, 2013). Particularly, when banning of opium was effected in the whole of Myanmar, implementing it straightaway forced planning to kick farmers out of poppy cultivation before guaranteeing beneficial chances from other crops. This was ‘a grave mistake’ that led to ‘the reduction in opium cultivation which was unlikely to be sustainable’ and even, ‘opium production is expanding’ (Jelsma and Kramer, 2005: 2; Kramer, 2009: 12; Woods, 2018: 2).
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Since the first annual meeting in 2013, MOFF’s representatives shared that; ‘until now…we have had little or no influence on the design of these policies’. Two years later, they were quite happy to say that; ‘only few AD programmes were offered to opium-growing communities to address these problems’ (MOFF, 2013; MOFF, 2015). However, after half decade in the latest minute in 2018, the MOFF still emphasized ‘development first’ as their first highlight-heading voice in the official statement due to; As we have no other option to sustain our livelihoods, this is driving us further into poverty. Every year the government eradicates poppy fields, and the community has to pay the price. We grow opium and we live in fear. We grow opium and the government comes and eradicate our fields. As we have no alternatives, we grow opium again, and eradication also comes again. It is a never-ending cycle (MOFF,2018).
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS To reiterate, although the government and international agencies have implemented a number of flexible solutions and programs to fight the scourge, Myanmar is still recorded as the second biggest opium poppy producer in the world after Afghanistan in recent years. Among other solutions, the author considers that the authorities should be more open and listen carefully to local opium farmer’s voices who are involved directly in the process of opium cultivation and eradication. Firstly, a clear drug policy with its specific solutions in the long-term approach needs to be confirmed and established in the current campaign. In which a balance between eradicating opium poppy’s process, if still applicable, and promoting development projects in the poppy growing areas should be objectively assessed and analysed. This should be detailed and effective as possible to ensure livelihoods, food security, healthcare services and sustainable development for local peasants. Most participants who attended once or several times at all six annual meetings of the MOFF highlighted that the government should come up with a comprehensive solution to resolve the drug problem in the country and to put an end to poppy cultivation. In which, the right of Myanmar poppy farmers should be considered in drafting the country’s drug policy and should be prioritized as one of the most initial supports by the government. The second recommendation for the government and international donors should focus on poverty reduction through designing and implementing long-term, sustainable alternative development at the local opium farms. Most poppy growers are small farmers living on hand-to-mouth like other farmers and struggle to meet their families’ needs for food, shelter and education. Yet, all participants come 133
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from local minority areas, they do not own properties, they lack access to market with no choice for growing other crops, except to cultivate poppies because of their location and the weather. In fact, they have been growing opium for generations and impossible to stop opium cultivation immediately in the country. Instead, they need a gradual reduction of opium cultivation and sufficient support from government while finding alternative means of survival and thus, both development programs and alternative crops should be in line with local conditions. In other words, Myanmar’s drug policies should shift focus and prioritize alternative livelihoods in opium growing communities and the provision of services for drug users. The government should build and design a strategic plan for coverage, and sequence and prioritize interventions in close cooperation with local communities, civil society organizations (CSOs), and other stakeholders. Once again, eradication of poppy farms should not apply straightaway unless those local farmers have sufficient access to alternative livelihoods and assured of food security. Thirdly, to some extent, the traditional and medicinal use of opium should be re-assessed and researched officially to permit local farmers to use in some specific circumstances. Many ethnic minorities are still living in areas where the government cannot provide basic services, particularly with healthcare and its related facilitates. In such locations, opium is also used as a traditional medicine. In fact, opium is used as a painkiller not only to treat dysentery, malaria and persons suffering from fever, but also used to tame animals, such as elephants, and has veterinary functions to treat animal diseases as well as used as protection against bad spirits in many indigenous communities. Therefore, in some minority communities which lack medical supports, the government should research and recognize medicinal and traditional use of opium. In this regard, cooperation with the government, scientists and scholars should be a model that could allow licensed opium cultivation for medicinal and pharmaceutical use, for local and international markets. In addition, the government should also call for more harm reduction projects and improve the notion regarding drug use and importantly, decriminalize drug use in the current drug control laws, and open space for exchange programs, particularly at the mountainous areas. Fourthly, regarding land rights and access to land by local opium farmers, it is proper to restate that the current land concerns are linked directly or indirectly to ethnic conflict in Myanmar. Thus, a number of land laws and its adjustment in 2012 and 2018 have caused a number of barriers and difficulties to land use rights, particularly in the ethnic minority communities in the uplands. This has disempowered local opium farmers without alternative choices. While they have lived on and managed their lands for generations with customary systems, these two current land laws did not recognize their ethnic customary and communal rights to land. They are prone to face land confiscation policies of the government if they do not register or possess land use certificates (LUCs). In other word, lack of land tenure security is one of the 134
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reasons why some of the local farmers in the communities have resorted to opium cultivation, as a survival mechanism. Therefore, the current land laws should be readjusted or revoked, and a new national land law should be made, which recognizes, protects and promotes the traditional customary and communal systems.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Researching land rights, healthcare services, food security and sustainable development in Myanmar-one of the most controversial debates with its potential risks, is really a challenge to scholars and policy-makers in the Southeast Asian region. Within the scope of this chapter, the author calls for further research pathways to continue and concentrate on four key concerns. Firstly, for land rights issue, future papers should examine the frameworks, principles, provisions, and policies of the government in terms of applying the 2012 Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (VFV Law). Accordingly, there is need to assess the barriers, limits, and obstacles of these laws in practical applications, particularly with permissions of trading land with land use certificates (LUCs) which can lead to land grabbing under the foreign investment’s pressure at the local minority communities. This should be subjected to further research. Secondly, concerns and challenges of access to healthcare rights of local citizen should be strengthened through further research. Lack of basic healthcare services such as hospital, nurses group, related medical facilitates need to be surveyed and analysed in specific research contexts in order to assist the government and international donors have fundamental understanding of provisions in the course of building a comprehensive strategy to improve the quality of health concerns. Thirdly, poverty reduction has to be considered as key driver to grow opium in Myanmar and thus, further research direction should be specific on the possible root causes and impacts of poverty on local opium farmers and what influences led them to continue to cultivate poppy. Finally, with respect to sustainable development, future researches should call for international and regional recognition by identifying alternative development as one of the most vital elements that could contribute and improve drug control strategy in Myanmar. Focus should be on re-thinking alternative development with its long-term approaches which should apply to opium fields. This should be further invested and encouraged. Furthermore, a comparative design analysis among good evidences and effective lessons in other countries which applied alternative development to substitute growing opium will stimulate scholars and policy-makers.
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CONCLUSION Despite resilience by the local famers and the inability of the government authorities to provide extant laws that could recognize the rights of the local communities and provide a more inclusive and sustainable opium eradication strategy, the question of opium free zone in Myanmar in general and Shan and Kachin States in particular will still be needed. There is need for more time for the government authorities to look for the best sustainable alternatives. To some extent, the amended version of the 1993 Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law and the first National Drug Control Policy have been released in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to reflect a more comprehensive and evidence-based approach of Myanmar to improve their drug control policies. However, developing public health interventions for drug users and rural development programmes in opium growing areas and combining respect for human rights and access to land are urgently needed. The current findings of this paper point out a number of basic reasons why local farmers grow opium and even, cultivate under fears and worries within the scale of ethnic conflicts and peaceful negotiation process. In this context, land rights, food security, healthcare issues, and sustainable development have become the basis to support local peasants to ensure their standard living, respect for human rights and build up to a sustainable development. Particularly, rethinking guidelines and implementation of sustainable development projects in opium cultivation areas such as Shan and Kachin States are needed. This is based on multiple factors, including geographical, topographical, social and economic conditions and importantly to hear local opium farmers’ voices and proposals. To do this, at the bottom level of this matrix, perhaps, the original voices of those poor peasants should be prioritized to listen carefully and assess objectively.
REFERENCES Austin, G. (1979). Perspectives on the History of Psychoactive Substance Use. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Bridge, J. (2017). Nang Khin Oo from the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. In P. Moitinho (Ed.), Alternative Development,Development-Oriented Drug Policy. New York: UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Buxton, J. (2006). The Political Economy of Narcotics: Production, Consumption and Global Markets. New York: Zed Books Ltd.
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Cowell, A. (2005). Opium Anarchy in the Shan State of Burma. In M. Jelsma, T. Kramer, & P. Vervest (Eds.), Trouble in the Triangle: Opium an Conflict in Burma. Chiang Mai (pp. 1–22). Silkworm Books. DPAG. (2017). Addressing Drug Problems in Myanmar: 5 Key Interventions that Can Make a Difference. Yangon, Myanmar: Drug Policy Advocay Group (DPAG). Franco, J., Twomey, H., & Ju, K. (2015). The Meaning of Land in Myanmar: A Primer. Amsterdam: Transnational Institute (TNI). Grimmelmann, K., Espinoza, J., & Arnold, J. (2018). The Land-Drugs Nexus: How Illicit Drug Crop Cultivation is Related to Access to Land. UNODC Bulletin on Narcotics, LXI, 75–104. International Crisis Group. (2019). Fire and Ice: Conflict and Drugs in Myanmar’s Shan State. Brussels, Belgium: International Crisis Group. Jelsma, M. (2018a). Connecting the Dots…Human Rights, Illicit Cultivation and Alternative Development. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Transnational Institute (TNI). Jelsma, M. (2018b). Human Rights, Illicit Cultivation and Alternative Development: Connecting the Dots…. Discussion Paper. Chiang Rai, Thailand: Transnational Institute (TNI). Jelsma, M., & Kramer, T. (2005). Downward Spiral: Banning Opium in Afghanistan and Burma. TNI Briefing Series. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Transnational Institute (TNI). Jelsma, M., Kramer, T., & Vervest, P. (2005). Trouble in the Triangle: Opium and Conflict in Burma. Silkworm Books. Kramer, T. (2005). Ethnic Conflict and Dilemmas for International Engagement. In M. Jelsma, T. Kramer, & P. Vervest (Eds.), Trouble in the Triangle: Opium and Conflict in Burma (pp. 33–60). Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. Kramer, T. (2009). From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt? The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions. Drug Policy Briefing. Transnational Institute (TNI). Kramer, T. (2015a). The Current State of Counternarcotics Policy and Drug Reform Debates in Myanmar. Journal of Drug Policy Analysis, (10): 1–19. Kramer, T. (2015b). Ethnic Conflict and Lands Rights in Myanmar. Social Research, (82): 355–374.
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Kramer, T., Jensema, E., & Jelsma, M. (2014). Bouncing Back - Relapse in the Golden Triangle. Transnational Institute. Lone, S. (2018). Opium Farmers in Myanmar: The Lives of Producers of Prohibited Plants. In A Myanmar Commentary. Yangon, Myanmar: Transnational Institute (TNI). Meehan, P. (2016a). How the Military Benefits from Myanmar’s Growing Opium Economy. Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific. Meehan, P. (2016b). The Political Economy of the Opium/Heroin Trade in Shan State, Myanmar, 1988-2012. London: University of London. Menguzzato, C. (2015). Alternative Crop Programs for Myanmar Opium Farmers: Doomed to Fail? Available at: https://www.talkingdrugs.org/alternativecropprograms-in-myanmar-opium-doomed-to-fail MOFF. (2013). The First Southeast Asia Opium Farmers Forum. Yangon, Myanmar: Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum (MOFF). MOFF. (2015). The Statement of Third Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar: Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. MOFF. (2016). Statement of the 4th Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. Kayah State, Myanmar: Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. MOFF. (2018). Statement from the 6th Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum. Shan State, Myanmar: Myanmar Opium Farmer’ Forum. Pick, D., & Thein, H. (2010). Development Failure and the Resource Curse: The Case of Myanmar. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 30(5/6), 267–279. doi:10.1108/01443331011054235 Renard, R. (1996). The Burmese Connection: Illegal Drugs and the Making of the Golden Triangle. In L. Tullis (Ed.), Studies on the Impact of the Illegal Drug Trade. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Taylor, R. (2017). Myanmar’s Military Preserves its Autonomy, For Now. Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Robert-Taylor-Myanmar-s-military-preservesitsautonomy-for-now UNODC. (2017). Myanmar Opium Survey 2017. Bangkok, Thailand: UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. UNODC. (2018a).A fghanistan Opium Survey 2018: Cultivation and Production. Vienna, Austria: United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
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UNODC. (2018b). Alternative Development: Practices and Reflections. Bulletin on Narcotics. UNODC. (2019). Myanmar Opium Survey 2018: Cultivation Production and Implications. Bangkok, Thailand: UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Woods, K. (2018). Opium, Rubber, and a Land Grab on Myanmar’s Border with China. In D. Ferrar & S. Westley (Eds.), East-West Wire. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center. Yawnghwe, C. (1993). The Political Economy of the Opium Trade: Implications for Shan State. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 23(3), 306–316. doi:10.1080/00472339380000181 Yawnghwe, C. (2005). Shan State Politics: The Opium-Heroin Factor. In M. Jelsma, T. Kramer, & P. Vervest (Eds.), Trouble in the Triangle: Opium and Conflict in Burma (pp. 23–32). Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books.
ADDITIONAL READING Buchanan, J. (2016). Militias in Myanmar. Bangkok, Thailand: The Asia Foundation. Buxton, J. (2006). The Political Economy of Narcotics: Production, Consumption and Global Markets. New York: Zed Books Ltd. Buxton, J. (2015) Drugs and Development: The Great Disconnect. In: GDPO (ed) Policy Report. Swansee, U.K.: Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO), Swansea University. Jelsma, M., Kramer, T., & Vervest, P. (2005). Trouble in the Triangle: Opium and Conflict in Burma. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. Kramer, T. (2015b). Ethnic Conflict and Lands Rights in Myanmar. Social Research, 82, 355–374. Renard, R. (1996). The Burmese Connection: Illegal Drugs and the Making of the Golden Triangle. In L. Tullis (Ed.), Studies on the Impact of the Illegal Drug Trade. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Selth, A. (2018). All Going According to Plan? The Armed Forces and Government in Myanmar. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 40, 1–26.
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Woods, K. (2018). Opium, Rubber, and a Land Grab on Myanmar’s Border with China. In D. Ferrar & S. Westley (Eds.), East-West Wire. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Alternative Development: AD is an approach aimed at reducing the vulnerabilities arising from involvement in opium cultivation in Myanmar and provides alternative livelihood. As a long-term strategy, AD can attract investment and assist to develop the basic infrastructure, healthcare services and food security of ethnic minorities in Shan and Kachin States. Ethnic Minorities: In Myanmar, at least more than 135 ethnic minority groups exist, though the exact data are still not released by the authorities. It is also confirmed that Myanmar has one of the most diverse backgrounds and various ethnicities in the world. Food Security: A basic measure of the availability of food and access to provide by government in order to ensure and maintain vital needs such as foods, vegetable and poultry. Healthcare Service: Although health care and its related facilitates are considered as the basic elements to improve the quality for local people, lack of these services in most ethnic minorities in Shan and Kachin States have also led the local people to use opium as traditional medicine to treat themselves. Kachin State: The Kachin State is the highest mountain region in Myanmar and shares close border with China, in the north, Laos in the east and Thailand in the south. Kachin is one of the states with continuous approval to maintain anti-narcotics civil organizations which involves drug control policies, funded by churches such as Pat Ja San, set up in 2014 by the Christian community. Land Conflict: Conflict between local minority communities and the government over their customary and traditional land with the current land laws, which still continues to pose a number of serious concerns and far-reaching implications for millions of rural working people in Myanmar, especially in ethnic nationality regions. Opium Cultivation: As the second largest opium poppy producer in the world, Myanmar is still the most contributor of opiates in the Asian region in recent decades. Shan State: The Shan State is the largest state in Myanmar and recorded as the heart of the Golden Triangle which covers nearly 90 percent of all the opium in the region. Yet, a number of militias and armed groups are still challenging the government in the process of peaceful negotiation.
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ENDNOTES
1
2
3
4
After nationwide ceasefire agreement, in 1989 the then military government changed the official name from Burma to Myanmar. They are alternative forms in the Burmese language, but their use has become a politicized issue. Although Myanmar is not commonly used in the English language, this name will be used cross the whole of this paper as international recognition of the United Nations. According to the latest report of UNODC on opium cultivation in 2018 expanded to Chin and Kayah States, which was not recorded in 2017 and thus the estimates are not directly comparable among these four states and therefore, comparison between the years should only consider the Shan and Kachin State. To respect all original voices of local opium farmers, the section of the findings was stated as direct quotations and sub-heading tittle. Ultimately, the initiative failed, instead the complete opposite took place; after early years of decrease, opium poppy cultivation began to surge again in 2007 and the dream of a poppy-free nation by 2014 drifted away. By the last estimate, poppy cultivation had tripled in eight years standing at 57,600 hectares in 2014.
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Chapter 7
Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications for Sustainable Consumption: A Case Study of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Huynh Viet Khai https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8969-5387 Can Tho University, Vietnam Tran Thi Thu Duyen Can Tho University, Vietnam Huynh Thi Dan Xuan Can Tho University, Vietnam
ABSTRACT This chapter applied the approach of contingent valuation method to analyze consumers’ willingness to pay for proposed safe pork. The data was collected by face-to-face interview with 884 urban households in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The results revealed that the majority of consumers (about 64%) paid attention to the proposed safe pork. Their willingness to pay was about VND 176,000 ($ 7.65) per kg, nearly double compared to the market price of conventional pork. Consumers who had higher household income, the elderly and children in family, paid higher price of a conventional pork, and more knowledge on the safe pork tended to buy, while those who have more family members are less likely to pay for the proposed safe pork. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch007 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
INTRODUCTION In recent years, the living standard of Vietnamese has gradually improved. Average income per capita in 2014 was $ 2,028 per year, risen by 6.31% compared to 2013 (Nghia, 2015). Since then the demand for food has also increased. The International Business Monitor forecasts that Vietnamese’s food consumption in 2011–2016 grew at 5.1% per year, estimated at VND 538.4 million ($ 29.5 billion). Beside vegetables, meat is a major food in the meal of Vietnamese families, so consumption of pork products accounts for 75% of the annual demand of meat. Therefore, the domestic pig breeding industry has constantly improved and developed in order to meet the needs of domestic consumers. In the first six months of 2015, total amount of pork supplied to the market reached 2.51 million tons, approximately 3.66% increase compared to the same period in 2014 (Hieu, 2015).Although the quantity of pork supplied increases gradually, the quality of pork seriously declines because slaughtering process does not meet veterinary hygiene standards, the process of transportation and storage of the meat does not guarantee food safety (Dinh, 2015). Thus, pork is infected with bacteria and nutrition in pork is degraded. In addition, injecting water into pork to increase the weight has also occurred in recent years. Hence consumers not only buy underweight pork but also face the risk of unsafe food (Ngan & Chien, 2015; Bach, 2015). Moreover, many slaughterhouses also inject sedative (Prozil, Combitress) on pigs prior to slaughter for the purpose of easier slaughter and keeping pork softer and nicer (Ngan & Chien, 2015; Thai & Minh, 2015). Because of the extremely serious consequences of using contaminated pork, safe pork should be necessary for all consumers and in particular to meet the challenges of sustainable consumption. However, safe pork concept is still relatively new for consumers in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. To provide a larger picture or more information on safe products, this study applied the approach of contingent valuation method (CVM) to determine consumer demand for the proposed safe pork by analyzing the interview data of urban residents in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The results of the study might be useful information to suggest some implications for sustainable consumption of safe pork in the region. The chapter is designed as follows; the subsequent section reviews some relevant studies applying the CVM to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for safe products; the empirical approach of CVM and the way to collect primary data are described; after that, the results and some discussion on urban consumer demand for safe pork are reported; finally, some conclusions and recommendations are withdrawn from the results of the study.
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LITERATURE REVIEW The contingent valuation method (CVM) as an approach to estimate consumers’ demand for safe products is widely used in the world. A study by Miller & Unnevehr (2001) on consumers’ demand and their WTP for safe pork showed that most consumers in US were interested in the issue of safe pork and their trust on safe pork products certified by the US Department of Agriculture more than the products certified by other organizations. Therefore, up to 81.4% of consumers accepted to pay more for pork products with this safe certification. Another study in Georgia done by Wong (2009) showed that 53% of consumers agreed to pay higher for the environmentally friendly beef. He found that respondents with higher education, previous history of purchasing branded goods and how more concerned they were about the environment were more likely to buy beef commodities produced with environmentally sound techniques. Many previous studies on the Vietname case, previous studies used the CVM to estimate WTP for biodiversity conservation or the economic value of recreation. Dan & Duyen (2010) in their study estimated households’ willingness to pay in Can Tho city for Sarus Crane conservation. They agreed to contribute about VND 12,222 per household a month for the proposed conservation program. In addition, the study revealed those bid levels, respondent’s education, household income, knowledge of respondent about the current status of Sarus Crane and respondent belief in the success of conservation program are factors affecting the probability of willingness to pay. Khoi & Ngan (2014) in their study showed that Mekong Delta residents were willing to contribute about VND 9.5 million annually for the biodiversity conservation program in Bac Lieu bird garden. There are few previous studies related to safe products in Vietnam. Simmons and Scott (2008) determined the agro-food system sustainability by summarizing the trends and prospects for organic agriculture in Vietnam. The results showed that organic production in Vietnam was mainly demanded by exporters, not due to the environmental concerns of domestic consumers. Vietnamese consumers paid high attention to food safety and food quality, but the development of organic products in the country was not so much. Dam, Canh, Ha et al. (2012) showed the unimportant role of the organic farming in the Vietnamese agriculture sector and a lack of government policies to encourage the development of organic farming. Hai, Moritaka, & Fukuda, (2013) recognized that fifteen percent of the consumers used to consume organic vegetables in Hanoi and they were willing to pay a premium of 70% higher for organic vegetables. A recent study of Khai (2015) showed that
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urban residents in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta were willing to pay VND 12,733 for 1kg of safe vegetables, which was 59% higher than conventional vegetables in the market. The study also pointed out that those who cared about health issues and food safety, those who had high income and high education would be willing to pay more for safe vegetables.
MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER Methodology The CVM is applied to estimate WTP for proposed safe pork in this study. Robert (1963) firstly applied the CVM to identify the benefits of outdoor recreation in Maine backwoods. Ridker (1971) used the CVM to examine the problems of air pollution. After that, many economists applied the CVM to determine the benefits of many goods and services such as recreation, hunting, water quality, decreased mortality risk from a nuclear power plant accident and toxic waste dumps (Wattage, 2002). Despite some arguments on the correction of CVM results, most economists accepted that the results of the CVM were valuable and reliable if this method was carefully designed or constructed (e.g., Yao & Kaval, 2008; Venkatachalam, 2004; Carson, et al., 2001). Hanemann & Kanninen (1998) assumed that a respondent was requested to choose a change from Q0 to Q1 (Q1 presents the value of non-existent goods, such as a safe pork, and assume Q1 is preferred to Q0). A utility function is described as follows, V = V(P, Q, I, Z, ε), where P is the price vectors of all available market goods, I is respondent’s income, Z is the vectors of responedent’s social economic characteristics, and ε is the error term of utility function. Then, the respondent is requested if he or she is willing to pay t amount to obtain 1 , Q the respondent will say “yes” if: Pr(Yes) = Pr{V(P, Q1, I – t, Z) + ε1 ≥ V(P, Q0, I – 0, Z) + ε0}
(1)
= Pr{V(P, Q1, I – t, Z) - V(P, Q0, I – 0, Z) + ε1 - ε0 ≥0} where, εo and ε1 are undeterministic components of utility function, with the expected value is zero and independent and identically distributed (i.i.d). If we consider ΔV = V(P, Q1, M – t, Z) - V(P, Q0, M – 0, Z) and γ = ε1 - ε0, equation (1) becomes: Pr(Yes) = Pr(γ ≥ -ΔV) = 1 – Fγ(-ΔV) = Fγ(ΔV)
(2)
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where Fγ(ΔV) is Cumulative distribution function (cdf) of maximum willingness to pay. The mean and median of willingness to pay in the CVM are estimated based on the constant of regression, the coefficient of BID and the coefficients of other variables such as awareness, attitude and socioeconomic characteristics. To identify factors influencing the WTP in CVM, the approach of Probit and Logit model are popularly applied. This study applies Logit model with the estimated formula as follows, 1
1 + exp (−∆V )
=
1
1 + exp − (α +β1BID +β2X )
Pr(Yes) = Pr(Rk = 1) = Pr(γk ≤ ΔVk) = Fγ(ΔVk)
(3)
(4)
Pr(No) = Pr(Rk = 0) =1- Pr(γk ≤ ΔVk) = 1 - Fγ(ΔVk) Hence, log – likelihood function is constructed as follows, N
∑{R ln(F (∆V ) + (1 − ³
k
k
(5)
k =1
With the assumption of linear correlation, the mean and median WTP are equal and identified by following equation:
(αˆ +β X ) 2
β1
(6)
Data Collection Face-to-face interviews with urban residents in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta was conducted in 2016 and divided into two phases. The first phase was a pilot survey to check the appropriateness of the questionnaire as well as train interviewers. In the second phase, a survey with 884 urban respondents was done in the seven provinces of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (Can Tho, Vinh Long, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, 146
Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu) with random sampling method. In the questionnaire, the benefits of the proposed safe pork were introduced before CVM question was asked. It was assumed that the proposed safe pork that meets the standards of food safety and certified by a prestigious Veterinary Department were produced and sold in the market and its quality is similar to a conventional one. Respondents were asked to accept to pay a higher price for the proposed safe pork compared to the price of conventional one supposed to be VND 90,000 ($3.91) per kg1. Each respondent was asked if he/she would be willing to buy the proposed safe pork at a given bid value and the answer was ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Five different bid values2 were proposed as VND 110,000, VND 130,000, VND 150,000, VND 170,000 and VND 190,000 per kg, which are equal to the values in US dollars3 of $ 4.78, $ 5.65, $ 6.52, $ 7.39 and $ 8.26, respectively.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS To assess respondents’ knowledge about the production process as well as the current consumption of pork, a series of statements about the unsafe food in the production and consumption of pork were presented. The awareness of respondents about this issue are presented in Table 1. The results in Table 1 reveal that most consumers now regularly updated information on the issues of food safety in general and the troubles in the production and consumption of pork in particular. Therefore, consumers lose confidence in the quality of pork in the market, even some of them reduced the amount of pork consumed and switched to the consumption of alternative products. Hence, if safe pork products that ensures all the criteria as above assumptions appears in the market, then the products will get more support from consumers. After answering questions related to the knowledge of the safe pork, a scenario was shown to respondents that the safe pork would appear in the market and the product meets the criteria of food safety and would be good for consumer’s health. Then, the CVM question was asked whether the respondents were willing to buy the proposed safe pork at higher price than conventional pork in the current market or not. The number of respondents that agree to pay for the safe pork at given prices are shown in Table 2. The results from Table 2 show that 64% of respondents agree to pay for the safe pork, while the remaining 36% of respondents did not agree to pay for this product. The rate of respondents not willing to pay is a relative high and majority distributed to the price of VND 170,000 and VND 190,000. In particular, at the lowest price of VND 110,000, there are 83% of respondents who agreed to pay. There are 77%
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Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
Table 1. Respondents’ Knowledge About Safe Pork Issues Statements
Unknow
Know a little
Know a lot
The current processes of pig slaughter in most slaughterhouses do not meet the hygiene standards set by the Veterinary Department, quarantine stages before and after slaughtering are loose (Dinh, 2015).
194 (21.95%)
366 (41.4%)
324 (36.65%)
Current pork quality is not guaranteed because farmers use special food to gain weight during the breeding process; sedative and water injection into the pigs before slaughtering (Ngan & Chien, 2015).
81 (9.16%)
349 (39.48%)
454 (51.36%)
Pork origin is unclear because the poor quality of pork smuggled across borders occurs regularly
275 (31.11%)
360 (40.72%)
249 (28.17%)
The poor quality of pork is also used for producing a variety of other products such as sausages, rolls which negatively affect the consumer health (Anh, 2015).
188 (21.27%)
386 (43.67%)
310 (35.06%)
In the preservation of meat during sale time, the meat is often salted by saltpeter and borax to keep fresh and beautiful color, which does not guarantee food safety standard (Nguyen, 2014).
112 (12.67%)
346 (39.14%)
426 (48.19%)
Source: Surveyed data, 2016
Table 2. Consumers Willing to Pay or Unwilling to Pay for the Proposed Safe Pork Bid levels
No. Observations
Willing to pay Frequency
Percent (%)
Unwilling to pay Number
Percent (%)
110,000
177
147
83
30
17
130,000
177
137
77
40
23
150,000
177
118
67
59
33
170,000
176
95
54
81
46
190,000
177
73
41
104
59
Total
884
570
64
314
36
Source: surveyed data, 2016
and 67% of respondents who agreed to pay at the price of VND 130,000 and VND 150,000 respectively. The rate of respondents willing to pay continued to decrease to 54% and 41% when the price increased to VND 170,000 and VND 190,000 respectively. Generally, the number of respondents who agree to pay decreased when the prices increased. This result is entirely consistent with the economic theory. 148
Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
Table 3 presents the reasons why respondents disagree to pay for the safe pork. Most of all respondents (82.17%) are not willing to pay for the safe pork because they could not afford to pay for the given price, which was too higher than the price of conventional pork in the market. More than 50% of respondents do not want to pay for the following reasons: they declared that the standard of safe meat was just an excuse to raise the price; they could not distinguish whether it was a safe meat or not; they did not need to pay more for the safe pork because they thought almost foods in the market were contaminated or poor quality food. Moreover, 30.57% of respondents did not accept to pay because they did not believe that the safe pork would be of better quality than other conventional pork. Most previous studies suggest that the WPT are influenced by some social and economic factors such as income, age, gender and occupation. This study proposed some variables affecting the willingness to pay for the safe pork and the descriptive statistics of these variables are introduced in Table 4. Descriptive statistics in Table 4 shows that the average household income of respondents is at VND 10 million per person a month. On average, each household consumes 1.8 kg pork per week. Nearly 73% of respondents have dependents and 22% of respondents are housewives. The average age of the household head is 45 and 49% of respondents have education level of college or higher. Their knowledge score (3 points) is rather high, revealing that most households know clearly the information on unsafe pork issues. Currently, the respondents purchased an average price of conventional pork in the market around VND 78,500 per kg. About 6% of respondents decided not to pay for other reasons such as production of safe food is an obligation of the producer, the government should subsidize this product, this is a task of the authorities. Table 5 shows Logit results of consumer’s willingness to pay for the safe pork. Model 1 is a Logit regression with only one independent variable (BID), while the
Table 3. Reasons for Consumer’s Unwillingness to Pay Reasons
Number
Percent (%)
Do not distinguish whether it is a safe product
166
52.87
Cannot afford to pay for this price
258
82.17
Meat safety standards is just an excuse to raise price
170
54.14
No need to pay more for this product
162
51.59
Do not believe the safe pork products will have better quality than other common pork products
96
30.57
Others
19
6.05
Source: Surveyed data, 2016
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Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
Table 4. Descriptive Statistics of Variables in the Logit Model Variables
Description
Mean
Standard deviation
0.644
0.479
Y
Agree to pay for the proposed safe pork (1= yes, 0= no)
BID
Price of the proposed safe pork (thousand VND/kg)
149.977
28.208
INCOME
Household income (million VND/month)
10.081
6.365
PORK VOLUME
The average volume of consumed pork (kg/week)
1.784
1.243
DEPENDENT
Dummy variable, 1 = the existence of the elderly and children in the family, 0 = otherwise
0.726
0.446
AGE
The age of the household head (years)
44.414
12.684
HIGH EDUCATION
Dummy variable, 1= if the head completed college or higher, 0 = otherwise
0.490
0.500
HOUSEWIFE
Dummy variable, 1= if the head is a housewife, 0 = otherwise
0.219
0.414
PRICE_CO_PORK
Price of conventional pork (thousand VND/kg)
78.551
11.088
KNOWLEDGE ψ
Total score of the knowledge question about a safe pork (points)
3.016
1.317
FAMILY NUMBERS
Numbers of family member (persons)
4.581
2.199
Note: Each respondent was asked 5 questions about the status of current production and consumption of pork presented in Table 1. The respondent would be scored 1 point if said “Yes, I know a lot” or “Yes, I know a litte”, and 0 if said “I do not know” Source: surveyed data, 2016 ψ
Logistic regression in Model 2 including the variables of respondent’s characteristics and other important factors influencing the probability of WTP for the safe pork. The results show that the correct prediction of the first model is 67.99% and the second model is 70.81%. These numbers suggest that all two models are adequate and acceptable. The study also shows the absence of multi-colinearity among the independent variables in these models because the correlations among independent variables are less than 70 percent (Khai and Yabe, 2015). The results show that the average willingness of consumers in Model 1 is VND 177,000 per kg, and Model 2 is VND 176,000 per kg. Two Logit regressions indicate that the BID variables are negative and significant at the 1% level, which means that the higher the VND amount the respondents are asked to pay, the lower the probability that the respondents accept to pay for the safe pork.
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Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
Table 5. Logit results of consumer’s willingness to pay for the safe pork
Variables
Model 2
Model 1
Probit function
Marginal effect
Coef.
S.E.
Coef.
S.E.
DY/dx
S. E.
-0.0251***
0.0028
-0.0269***
0.0029
-0.0052***
0.0005
0.0458***
0.0137
0.0090***
0.0026
PORK VOLUME
-0.0710
0.0638
-0.0139
0.0124
DEPENDENT
0.3101*
0.1829
0.0610*
0.0356
AGE
-0.0089
0.0062
-0.0017
0.0012
HIGH EDUCATION
-0.1552
0.1626
-0.0303
0.0317
BID INCOME
0.1435
0.1889
0.0280
0.0368
PRICE_CO_PORK
HOUSEWIFE
0.0199***
0.0074
0.0039***
0.0014
KNOWLEDGE
0.1996***
0.0594
0.0390***
0.0113
FAMILY NUMBERS
-0.1540***
0.0413
-0.0301***
0.0078
3.1523***
0.7794
Constant Log likelihood value
4.4250***
0.4356
-529.3551
-507.4911
Pseudo R-squared
0.0796
0.1176
Correct prediction (%)
67.99
70.81
Mean/Median WTP (VND/kg)
176,620 (170,040-185,170)
176,180 (169,810-184,180)
Notes: Values in parentheses are standard deviations 95% CI: 95% confident interval is estimated by Krinsky and Robb method (1986); ***, ** and * significant at 1%, 5% and 10%. Source: Surveyed data, 2016
The results show the values of Pseudo R-squared and log-likelihood in Model 2 higher than those in Model 1, revealing the parametric fit level of Model 2 higher than that of Model 1. The value of Swait-Louviere log-likelihood ratio1 is LR = -2(LL1-LL2) = -2(-529,3551 – (-507,4911)) = 43,73 which is more than the critical value of Chi-square distribution of 21.67 at the 1% significance level on 9 degrees of freedom2 (Khai, 2015), showing that the data estimation in Model 2 is better fit than Model 2. Thus, the results of Model 2 will be used as final interpretations. Consistently with the results of previous studies (e.g. Khai, 2015; Khai & Yabe, 2014; 2015; Yin et al., 2010; Tsakiridou et al, 2008; Loureiro & Hine, 2002;), the sign of INCOME parameter is positive and statistically significant at 1% level, suggesting the respondents who have higher household income are more likely to purchase the proposed safe pork. Similar to other studies (Khai & Yabe, 2015; Dan & Duyen, 2010), the study reveals that respondents who have more knowledge score on the safe pork prefer the proposed safe pork and who consume higher price 151
Willingness to Pay for Certified Safer Pork and Implications
of a traditional pork are more likely to buy the safe pork. The respondents who have more number of family members are less likely to pay for the safe pork at the significant level of 1%. The possible explanations could be that families with more members spend more on food and foodstuffs, so their expenditures could increase significantly if they agree to pay more for the safe pork. The study also shows the respondents with the existence of the elderly and children are more likely to accept to buy the safe pork at the significant level of 10%.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This study used the CVM to estimate urban consumer’s demand for the proposed safe pork in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The results showed that most of the respondents were knowledgeable about pork safety, which is reflected in their understanding of the problem of food safety in the process of pork production and consumption. In general, over 70% of respondents had knowledge about the situation. In addition, the study also found that 64% of respondents agreed to pay for the safe pork and they were willing to pay 176,000 VND per kg, which was nearly double compared to the average price of conventional pork in the current market. Regression results showed that the acceptability of willingness to pay for the proposed pork was positively influenced by total household income, the price of conventional pork, knowledge of pork safety and the existence of dependents in the family. We suggest some following implications for sustainable consumption of safe pork in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. First, the authorities should raise consumer’s awareness on the important role of safe food for their health via mass media channels or conferences. Second, to protect the health of consumers, it is necessary to encourage the development of reputable companies specializing in the safe pork production with closed feeding and slaughtering chain. This chain meets the requirements such as clear origin, clean label; the processes of slaughter, transportation and sale ensure food safety standard of the Ministry of Agriculture and Veterinary Department. The proposed safe pork could be sale at the price up to double compared with the price of conventional pork. Moreover, food companies should focus on the target group of families with children and the elderly as they are very concerned about health issues. Finally, the authorities should inspect or check the quality and origin of food to protect the rights of consumers and strengthen their confidence.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study was funded in part by the MOET project (B2017-TCT-29ĐT) and the Can Tho University Improvement Project VN14-P6, supported by a Japanese ODA loan. This chapter is based on an article originally published in Journal of Social and Development Sciences (JSDS) in 2018. This material is reprinted with permission of JSDS.
REFERENCES Anh, N. (2015). Processing of rotten pork in Vietnam. Retrieved from http://vietnamnet. vn/vn/kinh-te/122381/chieu-che-bien-thit-lon-thoi-o-viet-nam.html Bach, G. (2015). An increase in pumping water into pigs before slaughtering. Retrieved from http://www.thanhnien.com.vn/doi-song/nhip-song-dia-phuong/tinhtrang-bom-nuoc-vao-heo-truoc-khi-giet-mo-tang-cao-595605.html Carson, R. T., Flores, N. E., & Meade, N. F. (2001). Contingent valuation: Controversies and evidence. Environmental and Resource Economics, 19(2), 173–210. doi:10.1023/A:1011128332243 Dam, N. D., Canh, D. X., Ha, N. T. T., Tan, N. V., & Thieu, N. D. (2012). Vietnam Organic Agiculture: An overview on current statusand some success activities. Paper presented at the the 4th ANSOFT Workshop, Gwangju, Jeonam, Korea. Dan, T. Y., & Duyen, T. T. T. (2010). Evaluating the awareness of community about the conservation of the Vietnamese Sarus crane. Can Tho Journal of Science, 16b, 32–41. Dinh, Q. (2015). Serious violations of food safety in slaughterhouses. Retrieved from http://hoithuyvietnam.org.vn/vn/3376n/diem-giet-mo-gia-suc-gia-cam-nhole-vi-pham-nghiem-trong-an-toan-thuc-pham.html Hai, N. M., Moritaka, M., & Fukuda, S. (2013). Willingness to Pay for Organic Vegetables in Vietnam: An Empirical in Hanoi capital. Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 58(2), 449–458. Hanemann, W. M., & Kanninen, B. (1998). The Statistical analysis of discreteresponse data. Working paper No.798, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Policy, University of California, Berkeley.
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Hieu, D. (2015). Development of livestock herd in the first 6 months of 2015. Retrieved from http://hoichannuoi.mard.gov.vn/News/ContentView.aspx?qIDD=556&qType =22&&qCode=75687243658238532&qEND=TRUE Khai, H. V. (2015). Assessing Consumer Preferences for Organic Vegetables: A Case Study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Information Management and Business Review, 7(1), 41–47. Khai, H. V., & Yabe, M. (2014). The demand of urban residents for the biodiversity conservation in U Minh Thuong National Park, Vietnam. Agricultural and Food Economics, 2(1), 10. doi:10.118640100-014-0010-5 Khai, H. V., & Yabe, M. (2015). Consumer preferences for agricultural products considering the value of biodiversity conservation in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Journal for Nature Conservation, 25, 62–71. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2015.02.004 Khoi, P. D., & Ngan, T. T. (2014). Willingness to pay of the Mekong households for a biodiversity conservation program at Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary. Journal of Economic Development, 208, 17–26. Krinsky, I., & Robb, A. (1986). On Approximating the Statistical Properties of Elasticities. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 68(4), 715–719. doi:10.2307/1924536 Loureiro, M. L., & Hine, S. (2002). Discovering niche markets: A comparison of consumer willingness to pay for local (Colorado grown), organic, and GMOfree products. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 34(3), 477–488. doi:10.1017/S1074070800009251 Miller, G. Y., & Unnevehr, L. J. (2001). Characteristics of consumers demanding and their willingness to pay for certified safer pork. Journal of Agribusiness, 19(2), 101–120. Ngan, L., & Chien, H. A. (2015). Horrifying about injection with sleeping pills and pumping water into pigs. Retrieved from http://laodong.com.vn/suc-khoe/ronnguoi-voi-lo-mo-tiem-thuoc-ngu-bom-nuoc-vao-heo-373027.bld Nghia, T. (2015). Vietnam’s GDP per capita in 2014 exceeds USD 2,000. Retrieved from http://ndh.vn/gdp-binh-quan-dau-nguoi-nam-2014-cua-viet-nam-vuot-2-000usd-20150102104924226p145c152.news Ngoan, T. (2015). Dirty food causes 2.2 million people die each year. Retrieved from http://suckhoe.vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/suc-khoe/thuc-pham-ban-khien-2-2-trieunguoi-chet-moi-nam-3235974.html 154
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Nguyen, H. (2014). The soaked pork still like fresh after the three days. Retrieved from http://www.tienphong.vn/xa-hoi/thit-lon-tam-han-the-ba-ngay-van-tuoi-nhumoi-775523.tpo Ridker, R. G. (1971). Economic Costs of Air Pollution Studies. Praeger Publishers. Robert, K. D. (1963). The Value of Outdoor Recreation: An Economic Study of the Maine Woods (PhD dissertation). Harvard University. Simmons, L., & Scott, S. (2008). Organic Agriculture and “Safe” Vegetables in Vietnam: Implications for Agro-Food System Sustainability. Department of Geography, University of Waterloo. Thai, V., & Minh, H. (2015). Rearing injection of sedative to pigs before slaughtering. Retrieved from http://www.doisongphapluat.com/tin-tuc/tin-trong-nuoc/rung-minhcach-tiem-thuoc-an-than-vao-heo-truoc-khi-giet-mo-a101639.html Tsakiridou, E., Zotos, Y., & Mattas, K. (2006). Employing a Dichotomous Choice Model to Assess Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Organically Produced Products. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 12(3), 59–69. doi:10.1300/J038v12n03_05 Venkatachalam, L. (2004). The contingent valuation method: A review. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 24(1), 89–124. doi:10.1016/S0195-9255(03)00138-0 Wattage, P. (2002). Effective Management Biodiversity Conservation in Sri Lankan Coastal Wetlands: CVM1 - Literature Review. Wong, J. (2009). Willingness to pay for environmentally friendly beef in Georgia (Doctoral dissertation). University of Georgia. Yao, R., & Kaval, P. (2008). Valuing Biodiversity Enhancement in New Zealand. Working Paper in Economics 08/07, Economics Department, University of Waikato. Yin, S. J., Wu, L. H., Du, L., & Chen, M. (2010). Consumers’ purchase intention of organic food in China. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 90(8), 1361–1367. doi:10.1002/jsfa.3936 PMID:20474056
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ENDNOTES 1
4 2 3
5
156
The price is identified by averaging the prices of all conventional pork products at the time of study. These are mean prices for all kinds of safe pork products 1 USD = 23,000 VND Calculated by the formula LR = -2(LL1 – LL2), where LLx is the log-likelihood statistics for the different models. The degrees of freedom are given by the difference in the numbers of parameters estimated in the two models.
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Chapter 8
Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, Sustainable Food Production, and Consumption in Kebbi State, Nigeria, 1991-2018 Atiku Abubakar Udulu Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria
ABSTRACT Agriculture has been the mainstay of Nigeria’s rural economy. Food production and consumption started as a routine human activity. At a later stage, government got involved through provision of new agricultural inputs, collection, and redistribution of agricultural outputs, especially the staple foods such as grains, mainly millet, corn, and rice. The chapter explores various interventions in the areas of cultivation, processing, and distribution of food in the state. Historical method of enquiry is applied in the process of collection of materials and documenting this chapter. The findings of the chapter show that the state government has some degree of control on the production and distribution of food in the state. Technology boosts output and creates employment. Food products from Kebbi State are transported to many states in Nigeria, including a collaboration with a particular state in the southern part of the country. Thus, food production and distribution in the state is contributing to the national economy.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch008 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, Sustainable Food Production
INTRODUCTION Kebbi State was created on the 27th of August 1991. It was carved out of the former Sokoto State. Kebbi State lies between Latitude 10oN, Longitude 30oN, covering the south western part of the former Sokoto State. The state shares common borders with Niger and Benin Republics, both French speaking West African countries on its north-west boundary. The land mass covered by the state is about 36, 229 square kilometres representing 3.92% of Nigeria’s total landmass of mainly tropical Savannah. The vegetation which comprises few trees of medium height dotted here and there provides good habitat for a variety of wild life and other animals (Official Dairy, 1999, pp. 1). Agriculture has been the mainstay of rural economies in Nigeria, Kebbi State inclusive. The history of agriculture in Nigerian area is as old as the period when man settled after the period of collection of wild fruits and vegetables. Food production started as routine human activity but government involvement in agriculture led to its provision of farm inputs to farmers in form of loans. In the process of repayment, government also got involved in the collection and redistribution of agricultural outputs especially grains such as sorghum and rice. The agricultural produce available in commercial quantities in Kebbi State are; groundnut-arachis hypogaea, gum arabic-acacia polycantha, fruits like mango-modifera indica, guava-psidium guajava, pawpaw, banana, cashew-grahamii, sugarcane-saccharum officinarum, vegetables (tomatoes, onions, garlic, spinach), rice-oryza glaberrima, wheat-triticum oestivum, beans-labalab niger, etc. Other available produce in the state are soya beans-lablab niger/cajanus cajan and ginger-alramom melegu. There is cotton-gossypium which has a high demand within and outside the state. A lot of tree crops are also available in the state, they are sheanut-vetellaria paradoxo, thorn tree called bagaruwa in Hausa language-acacia nitotica, (its seeds are used for tanning), baobab, locust bean tree-adansonia digitata for preparation of soup seasoning called daddawa in Hausa, as well as many other economic trees. This chapter focused more on rice production and processing. According to the 2006 census, Kebbi State has a population of three million and two hundred thousand (3,200,000) persons, consisting of diverse ethnic and tribal groups. In 2006, the state had a population of 3,238,626. The last known population is 3,802,500 (year 2011). This was 2.322% of total Nigeria population. Kebbi population density was 103.3 p/km2. If population growth rate would be same as in period 2006-2011 (+3.15%/year), the population of Kebbi in 2019 is estimated to be 4 872,698 (City Population, n.d). The population is distributed across four Emirates namely; Gwandu, Argungu, Yauri, and Zuru. The state is made up of twenty-one Local Government Areas. The major ethnic cum tribal groups are; Hausa, Fulani, 158
Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, Sustainable Food Production
Table 1.Kebbi State Population by Gender (1991 Census) S/NO
L.G.A.
TOTAL
FEMALE
MALE
1.
Aliero
49,441
24,226
25,215
2.
Arewa
181,759
89,062
92,697
3.
Argungu
163,853
80,288
83,565
4.
Augie
106,112
51,995
54,117
5.
Bagudo
203,427
99,679
103,748
6.
Birnin Kebbi
198,914
97,468
101,446
7.
Bunza
104,211
51,063
53,148
8.
Dandi
186,191
97,113
94,943
9.
Danko/Wasagu
198,191
97,113
101,078
10.
Fakai
48,489
23,760
24,404
11.
Jega
163,450
80,090
83,360
12.
Gwandu
141,969
69,565
72,404
13.
Kalgo
64,432
31,572
32,860
14.
Koko/Besse
141,627
69,397
72,230
15.
Maiyama
149,426
73,219
76,207
16.
Ngaski
90,920
44,551
46,369
17.
Sakaba
63,456
31,095
32,361
18.
Shanga
105,307
51,600
53,707
19.
Suru
154,578
75,773
78,805
20.
Yauri
74,916
36,709
38,207
21.
Zuru
175,864
86,173
89,691
Total
2,766,504
1,355,617
1,410,887
Source: National Population Commission, (1991 Census).
and Kabawa who are found all over the state especially in Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Gwandu, Koko, Aliero, Argungu and Augi Local Government Areas. Other ethnic groups apart from the aforementioned include; Dakarkari found in Zuru Emirate, Kambari, Gungawa and Dandawa found in Shanga, and Ngaski Local Government Areas respectively. There are of course other tribal groups worthy of mention, they are Arawa and Gubawa of Arewa area as well as Barebari (Kanuri) immigrants from Borno, they have for long settled in places like Aliero, Jega and Birnin Kebbi, etc. There are members of other ethnic groups in Nigeria in Kebbi State, namely, Igbo, Yoruba, Igala, Nupe, Itsekiri and Ijaw.
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Rural Agriculture, Technological Innovation, Sustainable Food Production
Kebbi State is one of the leading states in rice production in Nigeria. This is due to the availability of vast Fadama land along rivers Kebbi ad Niger. Fadama land is a mash land suitable for rice and other crop production due to availability of surface water almost throughout the year. There is transformation in the area of rice cultivation and processing. In the area of cultivation there is the introduction of herbicides and pesticides against weeds and insects. The transformation in processing is the improvement from the use of crude implements like mortar and pestle to the use of smaller grinding machines and to the use of large-scale processing plants/mills. The present study discusses the process of transformation from traditional farming to modern rice processing through Fadama and IFAD projects and the processing mills established by Randco Foods (Nigeria) Limited, Birnin Kebbi Labana Rice Mill Birnin Kebbi and WAFCOT Rice Limited Argungu. These brought the changing nature of rice production in the State.
BACKGROUND Nigeria is a signatory to United Nations programmes including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among the objectives of SDGs is elimination of hunger and poverty. Elimination of hunger (and indeed poverty) could be achieved through sufficient production and consumption of healthy food. The aim of this chapter is to study the level of engagement of state and non-state actors in Kebbi State in agriculture and see how this collaboration serves as a means of employment and income generation and as a poverty reduction endeavor (in relation to attainment of SDGs). The significance of this chapter is that it highlights the contribution of Kebbi State to the development of rural agriculture, technological innovation and sustainable food production, and consumption. The chapter is also significant in the sense that it projects the level of agricultural activities taking place in the state that could be used as reference material for researchers and could attract investors interested in agriculture to the state.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study adopted historical and descriptive methods to explain both the qualitative and quantitative approaches in the chapter. This mainly involves use of qualitative data and personal interviews, reviewing and analyzing relevant records of some organizations such as FADAMA documents, IFAD, Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), personal observations of the researcher as well as use of available government publications, research projects, and relevant published materials. 160
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CONCEPTUAL ISSUES The concept and practice of rural agriculture in Kebbi State has been a long historical endeavour. Rural agriculture is the practice of agriculture within the non-formal household or community levels. It involves a traditional method of farming, keeping animals, fishing and related practices performed in the rural areas where some basic amenities such as good roads, electricity supply, et ceter, are lacking. Farming has been an age old occupation among the Kabawa people of Kebbi. It has been the major occupation. It is referred to as “naduke tsohon chiniki, kowa yazo duniya kai ya tarar” meaning farming is an old occupation that any person who comes to the world met its existence. Such was the situation in the early days when peasant agriculture thrived, almost every person was a farmer and farming is the primary occupation of the people. The term sustainable food production is another key concept in this study. It implies the production that meets the needs of the present generation without tainting the natural environment for the future generation to meet theirs. It is a production system that is resource friendly and maintains ecological balance. It entails a continuous production of food in a manner that the food is usually produced annually during the wet and dry seasons. Sustainable production in several ways as it guarantees equality and efficiency in food resource production. It is important to note that over 80% of people of Kebbi State are farmers. The people living along River Kebbi called Kabawa in Hausa are naturally rice farmers and fishermen too. This makes it possible for continuous cultivation of rice along River Kebbi and River Niger that traverse the state. The continuous production of food in both traditional and modern ways is what makes food production sustainable. The concept of sustainable consumption suggests fairness, justice and equality in resource use. Sustainable consumption examines the patterns and dynamics of use of resources and its impact on humanity and the ecosystem.. It has to do with continuance and capacity to meet both present and future human generational consumption needs. Study of sustainable consumption involves an analysis of efficiency, infrastructure and waste as well as access to basic services, green and decent jobs and better quality of life for all. Sustainable consumption is a world-wide struggle against sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, famine or environmental pollution. It involves the use of services and related products which respond to basic need and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emission of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or products so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations.
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Technological innovations explore various changes and inventions arising from the use of technological tools. The application of modern simple technology in the cultivation and processing of agricultural resources is an aspect of technological innovation. This is made possible in Kebbi State through the effort of the federal, state, local governments, communities, multilateral organisations and interested investors. Technological innovation in agriculture in this chapter means the identification of problems by all stakeholders associated with a product/line and generating solutions to them. This has to do with innovation systems approach which has been effectively used in the industrial development of the West. Achievement of technological innovation requires assemblage of partners in what is called innovative partnerships of those partners that have the potential ability and willingness to work on identified problems. Among some of the identified stakeholders are the farmers, researchers, extension workers, transporters and marketers of agricultural produce. Therefore, the ability to provide solutions to the prevailing problems of declining productivity, of small holder farming system, due to use of crude implements, traditional cultivation and cropping methods, lack of external inputs, poor market prices for commodities are some of the technological innovations required. This chapter provides some solutions achieved in this perspective in Kebbi State. Through technological innovations some hand tools and modern machines have been used in cultivation, and processing of crops in the State.
MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER This chapter looks at various interventions by the state government, the World Bank, private and corporate investors in the area of encouraging food production (more particularly rice), distribution and consumption as well as resultant effects of job and wealth creation.
ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES, PROBLEMS This discussion on food production and consumption in Kebbi State highlights the issues linked to sustainable development including the various projects, programmes and related activities of the government, the investments by private and corporate entities as well as some of the problems (where applicable) faced in the process of implementation and administration of the businesses.
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The chapter examines rural agriculture in Kebbi State, some of the modern projects that are gradually transforming agriculture to a modern one, namely; the Fadama project, Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) / International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the modern agricultural processing mills namely; Randco Foods (Nigeria) Limited, Labana Rice Mill and WAFCOT Mill Limited. This is aimed at providing possible linkage between the projects and food production, distribution and sustainable consumption. These are studied below:
RURAL AGRICULTURE IN KEBBI STATE BEFORE 1991 Farming has been practiced using crude traditional implements like hoe, sickle, cutlass, etc. Manure obtained from domestic animals like cows, sheep, goats, donkeys and horses helped to enrich the soil for agriculture. Pesticides and herbicides were unknown. Donkeys and human efforts were used to convey farm produce to homes and markets. The situation changed in the colonial times and in the early period of independence with colonial and post-colonial economy. Other jobs were created such as colonial service and commerce on imported goods. This gradually reduced a significant amount of labour from agriculture to other occupations. In Kebbi over eighty per cent (80%) of the population are farmers. The farmers mostly reside in rural settlements, along riverbanks and vast Fadama flood plains. The people live on tilling fragments of land that are acquired through inheritance, direct purchase or through lease for a specified period of time (Abubakar, 2000, pp. 27) for about three to five years. The tilling of the soil has been done with traditional or local implements like hoes, cutlasses, then through the use of work bulls with ox-driven ploughs and through the use of farm tractors by the farmers who had financial capacity to purchase or hire the tractors. Farming however, generally continued to be practiced at subsistence level among the majority of the peasantry. The crops produced include; millet-pennisetum glaucum, guinea corn-sorgumbicolor, sorghum, maize-zeemays and red pepper as the major food crops, while cotton, rice-oryza, groundnut-semaoccidental onionsallium cepa, as well as other vegetables and fruits were mainly crops that could be sold (Abubakar, 2000, pp. 27). Millet, guinea corn, rice, beans-glaberrima, cow pea- o. sativa, and maize are grown all over the state due to sufficient rain during the rainy season and suitable soil for growing these crops (Okpo, 2001: xi). During the colonial period, cotton and groundnut production were emphasized for export to the metro pole as raw materials.
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Farmers are gradually adapting to the use of modern methods of farming due to encouragement from the State Ministry of Agriculture, Fadama Project and IFAD. The institutions provide information on new and modern methods of farming, new equipment and farm chemicals like herbicides and pesticides. Modern methods of preservation and storage facilities are also being introduced to the farmers. The knowledge of sale and marketing of the products is being introduced to the farmers by government in order to enhance the farmer’s economic status (Umar, Personal Communication, 2013). By this, a significant population of farmers and corporate entities like Labana Global Ventures Limited that has a large rice farm in Bagudo along the River Niger, introduced modern planters and combine harvesters (Adamu, Personal Communication, 2019) and is partly feeding its Labana Rice Mills, playing dual role as farmers and also processors of agricultural products. This gradual transformation helps to boost food production and processing.
Food Production, Distribution and Sustainable Consumption: Experience from the Fadama Projects Brief on the Fadama Projects These are programmes established in order to improve food production, preservation and distribution. It is already noted by Adekunle and Fatunbi (2014) that African agriculture still remains the lowest in productivity in the world. The yield of crop is generally low due to a number of reasons. Notable among them are lack of high yield, disease resistant and hardy varieties, lack of access to required eternal inputs viz; fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, agricultural lending, machineries, etc. and outputs market, poor knowledge of appropriate agronomic practices and incidence of pest and diseases (Adekunle, & Fatunbi, 2014:1083). Some of the listed problems above are directly related to yield of commodities, while several other constrains hinder the productivity of the entire system. In an attempt to characterize these problems, it was discovered that some of them are technological in nature, while others are institutional and some others infrastructural in nature (Adekunle & Fatunbi, 2014:1083). It was this chain of problems that the Fadama programme was established to address. Fadama Development Office in Kebbi State at inception was an office under the Programme Manager in Kebbi Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KARDA) (Udulu, Personal Communication, 2012). The programmes were established and jointly funded by the Kebbi State Government, Federal Government and World Bank. The project was scheduled in three batches from 1995 to 2012(and
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extended to 2015) in order to increase food production and ensure food security in the country, it is a poverty reduction strategy. The aim of the programme was to boost food production in the country. The programme was aimed at educating and granting financial assistance to fadama farmers. It started in a fully bureaucratic manner from 1995 to 1999 as such, lapses were noticed in the first phase of the programme. The programme however paved way for the subsequent Fadama programmes. The lapses identified in the first phase of the programme (1995-1999) necessitated the creation of an agency called Fadama II in 2003 (Kebbi State Fadama Development Office, n. d).
Fadama II Project This is the second phase of the project, it commenced operations in May 2004 and had enjoyed financial contributions from the World Bank, the Federal Government (through the National Fadama Development Office of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Abuja), Kebbi State Government (through the State Ministry of Agriculture) and the eleven participating local governments. The second project required the benefitting communities’ co-operatives or user groups and organizations to contribute 30% of the value of their agricultural projects and 10% of the value of the amount required for rural infrastructure, while the project sponsor, that is Fadama II, would contribute 70% of project cost for agricultural projects and 90% of project cost for rural infrastructures respectively (Kebbi State Fadama Development Office, n. d). Through the above arrangement, Fadama II programme assisted communities to construct infrastructure that served as capital for economic development. This was in addition to working materials it distributed to National Directorate for Employment (NDE) trainee graduates through International Food and Agricultural Development (IFAD), for the establishment of their various enterprises. In Kebbi State, the eleven participating local governments were Aliero, Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Danko/Wasagu, Gwandu, Jega, Koko-Besse, Maiyama, Shanga, Suru and Yauri. Five communities were selected to participate in the programme from each of the eleven local government areas (Kebbi State Fadama Development Office, n. d). The World Bank contributed US$7 million for the project through the National Fadama II Project of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Kebbi State Government contributed twenty-one million Naira (N21.0m), while each of the eleven participating local governments contributed one million Naira (N1.0m) annually (Udulu, Personal Communication, 2012). It was from the above sources that Fadama II was contributing to the economic progress of Kebbi State through encouragement of agricultural processing, development of enterprises and provision of economic infrastructure and social amenities. 165
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The programme was established in line with the National Policy on Agriculture 2001, as adopted by Kebbi State. Some features of the agricultural policy were; promotion of agro-allied industries for strengthening the linkage between agriculture and the economy, provision of facilities and agricultural incentives such as rural infrastructure, rural banking, primary health care, cottage industries, etc., encouragement of agriculture and rural development and to attract youths to go back to the land. An assessment of Fadama II project in Kebbi State did not only show an increased farmers’ output but it also showed increase in income and yield to farmers through provision of farm inputs, such as water pumps, work bulls and animal driven ridgers (Kebbi State Fadama Development Office, n. d). Furthermore, Fadama II project provided processing machines and equipment in order to ensure optimum utilization of farm products harvested. Such machines are grain threshing machines, tomato blending implements and freezers for preservation of meat, fresh fish and fresh farm products by the farmers. This ensured reduction in wastages of crops after harvest in addition to traditional meat and fish preservation. The project assisted in the construction of some roads and culvets to ensure quick and timely delivery of crops to markets especially perishable crops. In specific terms, the project provided small scale threshing machines to farmers in 2006. Some beneficiaries of these laudable programme included the Kofar Sauna Farmers Association of Marafa Ward in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area, Giro Women Processors of Giro in Suru Local Government Area, and Karama Women of Wasagu 1 Ward of Danko Wasagu Local Government Area (Kebbi State Fadama II Project n. d.). Also in 2006, thirty grinding machines were given to Ni’ima Women Fadama Users in Aliero town and thirty rice milling machines were given to Hadinkan Mata Fadama Users Association Allah Bada Sa’a, Aliero (Kebbi State Fadama II Project n. d). All these were done to ensure increase in productivity and enterprise among the women groups. In specific terms, the project in 2006 encouraged enterprise among its beneficiaries through the provision of deep freezers for preservation of perishable fruits and vegetables and also for other commercial uses. Some of the beneficiaries of deep freezers in Aliero from Fadama II project, were; Albarka Fadama Women (12 deep freezers), Himma Mata Fadama Users (18 deep freezers) and Nagarta Mata Fadama Users (18 deep freezers). Other beneficiaries were Rafin Bara’u Fadama Users, Malala II, (36 deep freezers), and Annuri Fadama Malala I, (26 deep freezers). Sixty fishing gears were also given to Karu-Karu Kuta fishermen of Barbarejo in Suru Local Government Area in order to increase their fishing and fish processing enterprise that was a very strong economic activity in the area (Kebbi State Fadama II Project n. d).
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In an effort to find out the effect of the contributions of Fadama II project in Kebbi State from 2004 when the programme started, a survey of the financial viability and utilization of sub-projects under the project was carried out by an independent assessor E.I. Adole. The study was carried out in the eleven participating local government areas, namely; Aliero, Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Danko-Wasagu, Gwandu, Jega, Koko-Besse, Maiyama, Shanga, Suru and Yauri (Adole, 2009, pp. 1). The study reveals that people of these local government areas benefitted from some agro-processing machines such as rice hullers, sorghum/maize grinding machines, vegetable grinders, groundnut oil extractors, two inch size water pumps with PVC pipes for watering, work bulls and ridgers, poultry houses, fish ponds, fishery equipment, deep freezers, market stores, access roads, etc. The study conducted by Adole further reveals that 95% of the people interviewed affirmed that the acquired assets have contributed to the expansion of their operations. The assistance enabled them to employ more hands. The study likewise reveals that 92% of the people confirmed that the acquired assets have resulted in an increase in their income (Adole, 2009: 1). It concludes that the Fadama II project had undoubtedly contributed to the economic development and empowerment of some people in the participating local government areas of Kebbi State.
Fadama III Programme The programme was jointly sponsored by the World Bank that contributed $4.1 million US Dollars, state government N55million annually and all local governments in the state collectively contributed N42 million annually (Udulu, Personal Communication, 2012). The programme was scheduled to last for seven years from 2008 to 2015. The Fadama programme contributed to changing the economic fortunes of the people for the better, especially in the area of reducing wastages hitherto experienced by farmers due to lack of storage facilities, access roads to markets, market stalls and most importantly the processing of ice, other perishable agricultural products like tomatoes, etc.
Food, Production, Distribution and Consumption The organizations included the Federal Government of Nigeria, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), State Governments, participating Local Government Areas and some Local Communities raised capital for economic and developmental activities known as the Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP). It was more popularly known as IFAD by benefitting communities. The programme became effective in 2002, Kebbi State was one of the eight beneficiary states in Nigeria. 167
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In 2002, the programme was built on a contributory amount where by the state government and the participating communities contributed 40% and IFAD 60%. IFAD’s activities were made in line with National Agricultural Policy of Nigeria of 2001. The policy aims at promoting increased application of modern technology in agricultural production and processing of agricultural products. The Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme / IFAD undertook the economic task of empowering poor rural communities in Kebbi State to manage their own development through sustainable agricultural development, rural enterprise development and financial support services (Gari, Personal Communication, 2007). The achievements of IFAD in Kebbi State included the formation of three hundred and twenty-one income generating small rural enterprises with a total of N5, 691,790.00 raised as capital. A total of two hundred and six enterprises in Kebbi State were linked by IFAD to credit institutions, mainly Nigerian Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) and has started receiving loans from the main pool of N75.0 million credit line secured for the CBARDP from NACRDB. The components continued to maintain linkage with other related organizations such as NACRDB in which a loan release of five million six hundred and thirty-five thousand Naira (N5,635,000.00) was made in 2007 for three local government areas in Kebbi State namely; Danko-Wasagu, Fakai and Gwandu, to improve agricultural activities (IFAD-CBARDP, 2007). Moreover, through the efforts of IFAD, in 2007 the National Fadama Development Project II (NFDP II), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) provided loans in form of working materials worth N107,810.20 to trainees that graduated with different skills for the establishment of their various enterprises such as tailoring, groundnut oil processing, etc. According to IFAD, these efforts have assisted in self-employment for both the barely literate and graduate youths, thus reducing rural-urban drift during the period under review (IFAD-CBARDP, 2007: 4). IFAD facilitated sourcing of loan to different individuals for the establishment of enterprises in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors in Koko Besse and Arewa LGAs costing ten million Naira (N10, 000,000.00) from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc in 2007. This sum was disbursed as loans through All Farmers Association of Nigeria {AFAN}, (IFAD-CBARDP, 2007:4.). IFAD’s contribution to poverty reduction and growth of enterprises through sourcing of capital and working tools to NDE graduates was a significant factor in the economic development of Kebbi State. In 2007, the sum of one million, three hundred and thirty-three thousand, six hundred Naira (N1,333,600.00), out of the ten million given, was collected from both female and male beneficiaries as loan recovery in response to IFAD’s call for repayment (IFAD-CBARDP, 2007:5). IFAD programme in Kebbi State ended in 2010. A two year extension was given to the programme by its sponsors due to success it achieved, it ended in 2012. 168
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The second phase of IFAD programme is titled; Climate Change Adaptation and Agri-Business Support Pogramme. It is a value chain programme for rice, maize and cowpea. The contribution ratio for funding the programme is as follows; IFAD 70% and Kebbi State Government 30%. This is a six years programme that started in May 2016 and is expected to last up to May 2021. As the name implies, it`s concern has a lot to do with agricultural business support. The participating local governments are; Aliero, Augie, Arewa, Dandi, Fakai, Gwandu, Koko-Besse, Ngaski, Sakaba and Wasagu. The development objective of the programme is to promote productivity and enhance climate resilience in the participating Local Government Areas, while the goals of the programme is to reduce poverty and increase wealth and economic growth in a sustainable basis. The programme components are, productivity enhancement and enterprise development for women and youth.
Food Production, Distribution and Sustainable Consumption: Experience from Randco Foods (Nigeria) Limited, Birnin Kebbi Randco Foods is a rice processing industry located in Birnin Kebbi. The industry was established by Usman Randali in 2002 at the cost of about five million Naira. Machinery for the mill was procured from Haniger Industry in Kaduna (Randali, Personal Communication, 2008). The rice mill has a manual rice boiler, a forced air dryer and a thresher. The process of production is semibatch processing. The installed capacity of the industry is ten bags of 50 killogram per hour, therefore it has the capacity to produce up to 240 bags in 24 hours (Randali, Personal Communication, 2008). Rice, the major raw material, is procured from Randali, Gulumbe and Birnin Kebbi towns. The rice packaging bags were sourced from Kano. The product (rice) was mainly packaged in 2 killogram, 5 killogram and 10 killogram bags. The number of staff of the company was thirty (Randali, Personal Communication, 2008). The company’s output was 8,000 bags of processed rice per annum. Randco Foods (Nigeria) Limited had the problem of power outage, and had no stand-by generator. The problem of the company was therefore lack of constant supply of electricity because the machines used to thresh rice in the company were electrically propelled. There was also no automatic rice boiler, because the investor had no financial capacity to buy it. Boiling was done manually in drums through the use of fire wood. Lack of automatic boiler greatly reduced the performance of the rice mill (Randali, Personal Communication, 2008). In terms of competition, a factor that affected Randco Foods was the availability of cheap manual labour in the competing rice producing areas. Women threshes rice manually at cheap cost and sold it to the public. The product of the Randco 169
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Foods, that is the threshed rice, was not distinct from the manually processed rice. As such, there was no clear distinction between the company’s product and what was already obtained in the local markets in the environment where the food processing firm was located. It therefore did not attract any special patronage from any class of people in the locality. In terms of financial control, Randco Foods Company, suffered management problem. The manager of the firm was at once the purchasing officer, the production manager, as well as the sales manager. There was no internal or external financial control mechanism to ensure prudence and accountability. This made it impossible for the proprietor to see in clear terms the profitability of the firm or otherwise. Workers in the company were not properly remunerated, electricity and water bills were not promptly paid by the company. Although no rent was paid by the firm, because it was located in the private property of the proprietor, monetary equivalent of rent dues and other benefits were not given to the proprietor. Despite the short comings, the company contribute to the processing and marketing of rice in Kebbi State.
Food Production, Distribution and Sustainable Consumption: Experience from the Labana Rice Mills Limited The mill stands as a symbol of transformation in food production in Kebbi State. It was established in 2011 by Mohammed Adamu Aliero in Birnin Kebbi. The mill was established as a result of Federal Government of Nigeria’s effort to increase rice production and towards achieving self-sufficiency in the country. A loan of N1, 120,000,000.00 through Bank of Industry Limited was obtained to import machinery for the Rice Mill. The first set of machinery cost the sum of $2,370,200.00. The exchange rate used to convert the dollar amount was N148.601 to 1 US Dollar. This translates to N352, 214,090.20 (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2010). It has two lines of production and each has capacity for production of eight tones- of rice per hour (Zuru, Personal Communication, 2012) and employs over one hundred people. A twenty metric tons capacity rice processing machine was added to the mill in 2019. A rice boiling plant with a dryer was also purchased at the sum of $40,207.00 equivalent to N3, 974,800.41 (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2010) and added to the plant. Some of the raw material is grown in the farm and some obtained from the villages surrounding it, mainly Ambursa, Gwadangwaji, Tarasa and Kola. There are large sale rice farms in Kebbi State along the River Niger (including Labana farm) in Bagudo (Bagudo, Personal Communication, 2019), Kaoje, etc. Paddy rice is also purchased from Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger and Katsina states. Raw rice is being imported from the Republic of Benin, Togo Burkina Faso and Niger Republic (Sanda, Personal Communication, 2019). Some of the suppliers of raw material to the mill are: Umaru Udulu, Hashim Ado Jega, Mussadique Adamu, 170
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Table 2. List of Sales Agents for Labana Rice and their Locations Name
Location
Nasiru Saidu
Niger State
Saidu Tsoho
Sokoto State
Mr. Joventus
Aba
Madam Augustina
Onitsha
Hamisu Sani
Onitsha, Port Harcourt and Lagos
Adamu Saidu Marmaro
Kano and Kaduna
Mustapa Adamu
Abuja
Madam Ester
Lagos
Source: Field Research, 2019
Musbahu Yusuf, Bello Charni, Abubakar Bunza and IADR Investment Kaduna. Labana Rice Mills Limited sells its products widely in Nigeria more particularly in the following towns; Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto, Minna, Akure and Yenagoa, Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Jos and Abuja. Below is the list of some sells agents and their locations. In 2016 Labana Rice Mills Limited entered into partnership agreement with the Lagos State Government in the south western part of Nigeria and later with the Federal Government on LAKE RICE (Zuru, Personal Communication, 2012). Through the agreement Labana Rice Mills sells its products to Lagos State Government (through Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture), the state government in turn sells to its members of staff at subsidized rete especially during festive periods like Christmas and Muslim festival Sallah. In December 2018, one hundred and four truck load of rice from Labana Rice Mills was purchased by the Lagos State Government. In a similar manner the Federal Government also purchased one hundred and twenty eight truck load of rice (through Federal Ministry of Agriculture). Labana Rice Mills has patronage from state and federal government as well as businessmen and women. Broken rice from the mill was sold by the company to women at subsidized rate for further retail. Some of the beneficiaries are Rukayya Mohammaed, Fadimatu Ambursa (Ambursa, Personal Communication, 2019) and Hawau Adamu Aliero (Abdullahi, Personal Communication, 2019). In recognition of its numerous contribution to growing and processing of rice in Nigeria Labana Rice Mills has won the Leadership Newspaper Product of the Year Award in 2019 (Mtsem, 2018). The recognition came following the companies` active participation in the Federal Government Economic Diversification Programme through its largest milling capacity for processing of high quality parboiled rice and support it gives to paddy rice farmers. Establishing the rice mill encouraged local production and 171
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consumption of rice in the state more particularly in Birnin Kebbi and the villages around it. This is possible because of its availability and affordability to the people. Skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour is employed to handle the threshing and packaging of rice thereby increasing the number of employed people, reducing unemployment and decreasing poverty in the area. The problems faced by the company are lack of proper accounting system, high cost of raw materials and spare parts. Most of the problems were addressed in 2018 when spare parts were imported, an accountant and farm manager were employed (Adamu, Personal Communication, 2019).
Rice Production The rice mill was established by Tropical Group Investment (TGI) in 2017. TGI is a subsidiary of WAFCOT a multinational corporation trading in agricultural produce across the globe. It is also an effort towards self-sufficiency in food production and consumption in addition to profit making. The company has milling capacity of 16 tones per hour (Danjuma, 2019) it produces Big Bull brand of rice (Atiku, 2019). It has its water treatment plant and independent source of power. The company requires 1.2 mega-watt. It has a turbine that produces 1.05 mega-watt and an electric generator 650 kva/520 kw to make up the 1.2 mega-watt requirement at a time. It also has two other standby generators of 1500 kva each to supplement the turbine. The major towns supplying the company with raw materials are: Zuru, Kamba, Bagudo, Yauri, Tsamiya in Kebbi State and from some towns in Katsina, Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states. The company sells its products in Kebbi, Kaduna, Lagos states, some eastern states (Danjuma, 2019) and Abuja. The company is estimated to have more-than fifty members of staff. The production manager of the company is Mutakka while the mill operator is Ibrahim Kano. Problems of the company includes its inability to produce up to the installed 16 tones capacity due to the 12 tones size of its boiler, as such, the company is producing 12 -tones per hour. Secondly, the company does not use the public electricity as such it is over burdened with costly self-power generation.
FUTURE RSEARCH DIRECTIONS This chapter discussed the various interventions by the state government, the World Bank, private and corporate investors in the area of food production, distribution and consumption in relation to job creation up to 2018. Future researches could concentrate on any of the sub-topics and provide an in-depth research, explore the area from a different perspective or extend the period of research beyond 2018. 172
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CONCLUSION This chapter highlights rural agriculture being practiced in the rural areas where some basic amenities such as good roads, electricity supply, et cetera are lacking but where bulk of food is produced. Farming has been re-affirmed as an age old occupation among the Kabawa people of Kebbi, it is the major occupation. The study discovered some degree of technological innovation through application of modern farm inputs such as insecticides, cool storage, use of farm tractors in the process of cultivation, for sustainable food production. This study reveals that individuals, state government, the World Bank, corporate and multinational organizations are collectively contributing to improving food production and consumption in and outside the state. This is made possible through linkage and synergy that involves the state government giving assistance to rural farmers in form of farm inputs, rural infrastructure such as roads, building of market stalls in order to facilitate production and marketing of produce. The corporate and multinational organizations buy the raw material from the farmers and through improved technology, process it to finished products for distribution to consumers. Rice production in Kebbi State is gradually achieving self-sufficiency. It provides food to the people on sustainable basis as well as job and income to the rice farmers. It reduces the volume of foreign exchange spent by the government on importation of rice.
RECOMMENDATIONS • • • • • •
There is need for sustenance and sustainability of the Kebbi State/World Bank collaboration in the area of provision of farm inputs, educating farmers on modern methods of farming. There is need to further expand rural infrastructure such as roads, market stalls and provide more storage facilities that could minimize post-harvest lost to farmers. Wealthy individuals and corporate organizations should invest more into the areas of food production and distribution. Farmers should not sell their produce at inflated prices in order to ensure accessibility to food by all. The State Government should buy excess food at harvest season and sell it at subsidized rate to the less privileged people. People should invest in buying and consuming healthy and nutritious foods this way, sustainable consumption could be promoted.
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REFERENCES A Brief on Kebbi State Community Based Poverty Reduction Project Birnin Kebbi. (2007). presented to the (National) transition committee, Kebbi State Fadama Development Office. Abubakar, A. (2000). The Making of an Administrator: A Review of the Administrative Style of Alhaji Muhammed Adamu Aliero. MPA project. LASU. Adekunle, A. (2014). “A Theory of change in African Agriculture”. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 21(7), 108–1096. Adole. (2009). Financial Viability and Utilization of Sub-projects under Fadama II. Available at National Fadama Development office Birnin Kebbi. Africa. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.citypopulation.de/php/nigeria-admin. php?adm1id=NGA022 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). (2010a). Form ‘M’ N0.MF2601098 BA40420100010031. Author. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). (2010b). Form ‘M’ N0.MF0260197 BA40420100010020. Author. IFA CBARDP. (n.d.). Progress Report on IFAD. Author. IFAD CBARDP. (2007). Progress Report on IFAD Implementation in Kebbi State (January to July 2007). Author. Kebbi State Fadama Development Office. (n.d.). A Booklet on Fadama 11 Project. Author. Ministry of Information. (1999). Youths, Sports and Culture. Kebbi State Official Diary. Okpo. (2001). Democracy Twilight of Hope. Umuahia: Pax African Foundation. Kebbi State. (n.d.). Fadama II Project Comprehensive List of Assets acquired by FUG’s. Author.
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ADDITIONAL READING Chimeziri, U., & Mfong-Obong, U. (2008). The Life and the People of Aliero, Birnin Kebbi. Government Press. Emagwali, G. (1992). The Historical Development of Science and Technology in Nigeria. New York: Edwin Mallens. Hatch John. (1971). Nigeria: A History. London: Secker & Warburg. Hopkins, T. (1973). An Economic History of West Africa. Essex: Longman. Maimuna, M. B. (1999). Lessons in Professionalism and Loyalty. Ibadan: Spectrum. Mamman, A. B., Oyebanji, J. O., & Peters, S. W. (Eds.). (2000). A People United, A Future Assured 2 – Survey of States Abuja. Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Information. Oyejide, T. A. (1975). Tariff Policy and Industrialization in Nigeria. Ibadan: OUP.
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Section 5
Religion, Food Politics, and Sustainable Consumption
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Chapter 9
Politics of Food Distribution: Role of the Church in Africa Charles Anozie Anyanwu Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Nigeria
ABSTRACT The chapter discusses politics of food distribution (Acts 6: 1-6) and the role of the church in Africa. The work contends that the church in Africa has not done enough in ameliorating or solving the food crisis resulting from inadequate food production and distribution systems. The purpose of the work is to explicate the politics of food distribution as represented in Acts 6:1-6 and make recommendations to the church in Africa. The methods of investigation are exegesis of the Acts of the Apostles 6: 1-6 and review of existing works. Major findings from the study suggest that politics of food distribution was caused by many factors namely: population growth, racism, ethnocentrism, and discrimination. The chapter recommends that the church should mobilize her human and material resources to enhance food production and distribution for her members and nonmembers. Policies and mechanisms to improve food distribution were suggested.
INTRODUCTION Food is essential for human survival. This chapter examines politics of food distribution and the role of the church in Africa. It demonstrates that the issue of food distribution systems in Africa is far from being efficient and effective. The chapter is structured as follows; Background, Theoretical framework and methodology, conceptual issues and review of the literature, food distribution and accessibility, food distribution and health problem, food distribution and food sovereignty. Other items that received DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch009 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
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attention in the study include Issues and problems of politics of food distribution in Acts of the Apostles 6:1-6, explication of the text of from Acts 6:1-6 in relation to contemporary food distribution, handling politics of food distribution in Acts of the Apostles 6, food distribution and African Church, lessons for the church in Africa, solutions and recommendations, further research directions and conclusion.
Background Food is one of the most essential needs of human beings from the creation till now. God knows that human beings will need food, the scripture says: “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed (Genesis 2:8). And God said, see, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food, and it was so (Genesis 1:29,30). Food is humans’ sustaining source and succor. The importance of food to human beings lies in the fact that without food, human race will go into extinction. That is the reason God from the time He created mankind provided adequate food . The food God provided for mankind at creation was adequate in terms of variety and nutrients. The Genesis account informs that God gave mankind every herb that yields seed and every tree whose fruit yields seed for food (v.29). Mankind was provided and given healthy and nutritious vegetables, fruits and seeds for food. In this regard, Andrew and Wise (2016:2) concurred to the afore mentioned fact and posit that; “ one of the most important ways that God shows His love for creatures is by feeding them. Food is God’s love made nutritious and delicious.” The importance of food and feeding is so crucial in the scripture that we observe God providing food for mankind He created. Jesus in the Gospel also fed the multitude; Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled… Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children (Mathew 15: 32, 35, 36, 37 38). 178
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In the earthly ministry and mission of Jesus Christ, the savior, He operated holistic ministry of meeting the “felt needs” and the “real needs” of persons that came in contact with Him. It is worthy of note that He met the needs of persons physically and spiritually without discrimination. In the feeding of the multitude, four thousand were men, but women and children who were not usually counted in social setting in the Jewish community equally were fed. Jesus did not neglect the women and children in Matthew’s account, neither did He, Jesus discriminate against them in His programmes and policies. The chapter focuses on the politics of food distribution as mirrored in the book of Acts chapter 6: 1-6 to examine the role of the church in Africa. The chapter contends that the church in Africa should rise to the challenges posed by hunger, poverty and discrimination in the continent. This should be done by being involved in the food system, particularly in ensuring just and fair food distribution among the numerous peoples of Africa and since food is a basic need of everybody, every person must be involved in its production, regulation, and distribution so that it will reach the targeted population which include the needy, hungry and poor in the African society. The chapter posits that sustainable food consumption entails fair and equitable food system. In this regard, Drakakis-smith (1991) asserts that food is the most basic of the needs of the urban poor in developing countries such as Africa and yet little is known and done about the supply and distribution mechanism through which such needs are met. Consequently, the church in Africa as God’s agent of transformation and change must contribute its quota in making sure that there is adequate supply of food in the African community.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY The work is anchored on the theory of entitlement and deprivation (Sen,1981). According to Sen (1981),the theory of entitlement and deprivation states that starvation is a function of entitlement and not food availability per head as such. The theory adds that starvation depends ‘not merely’ on food supply but also on its distribution. In as much as food supply itself has influence on the prevalence of starvation, that influence is seen as working through the entitlement relation so that starvation is the result of inability to establish entitlement to enough food. The theory further explains that indeed, for most areas in the world with the exception of parts of Africa, the increase in food supply has been comparable to, or faster than, the expansion of population. But this does not indicate that starvation could be systematically eliminated, since starvation as discussed – is a function
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of entitlement and not food availability. Indeed some of the worst famines have taken place with no significant decline in availability of food per head (Sen,1981). This theory is appropriate to the study as it stresses the issues of availability and accessibility of food which are the functions of food distribution systems. In terms of methodology, the study adopted content review to explore, review and analyze the text in Acts of the Apostles chapter 6 verse one to six in order to explicate and relate the content of the text to the entire discourse. Additionally, review of existing literature relevant to the study was carried out to strengthen the chapter.
Conceptual Issues and Review of the Literature The key terms and concepts which form the building blocks for the topic of the chapter are briefly explicated for better understanding of the chapter, thereafter a review of the literature follows. The term “politics” is the first on the list and according to Hornby (2001:899) politics means “the activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or society.” In the same manner, the American Heritage College Dictionary (2004:1078) sees politics as “the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs”. “Food” is another term in the title of the present chapter that should receive clarification. The American Heritage College Dictionary (2004:539) defines foods as “material, usually of plant or animal origin that contains or consists of essential body nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth and maintain life”. Similarly, The American Heritage College Dictionary (2004:412) explicates distribution as “the act of distributing or the condition of being distributed; apportionment”. In the same vein, the term “role” is expounded by Hornby (2001:678) as “ the function or position that somebody has or is expected to have in an organization, in society, or in a relationship”. While O’Brien (1993:123f) uses the Greek word Ekklesia meaning “assembly” of the “called out” to elucidate the term church. Lastly, “Africa” according to the American Heritage College Dictionary (2004:24) is “the second largest continent, South of Europe between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It is the continent with the largest number of indigenous black people in the world”. The linkages between these concepts and the overall objective of the study is important. The Church in Africa is an entity that has its own government and administrative mechanisms that could garner and galvanize human and material resources for the enhancement of food sovereignty in Africa.
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From the review of relevant literature, a study by Debes Mukhopadhayay (2011), observed that right to food is a human right and denial means restriction to freedom. So as a human right food needs to be protected. In most developing societies food distribution mechanism is a problem. In India, a study found that public distribution system has jeopardized the food security of many target groups for a long time. The level of hunger and starvation is linked to poor commitment to food security in the country (Mukhopadhayay,2011). Livelihood security and right to food have to be the policy focus of any government in power in India and elsewhere in the world. Another study by Ratan Lal Basu (2011) on “public distribution system in India and food security” indicated that the basic causes of food security in India lie not in supply failure but in declining income and employment in the unorganized sector and failure of the public distribution system that excludes a large segment of the poor because of definitions and methods of implementation. In as much as policy of introducing the public distribution system is not bad, the real problem lies in the way it is implemented. These studies support the argument put forth in the work that starvation is not the function of unavailability of food supply but inefficient distribution systems. Yet it is worrisome that the church in Africa has to the author’s knowledge done little or nothing to get involved in the food system of production and distribution but very active in consumption. This is the crux of the chapter, as it argues that the church in Africa should learn from the episode in the early church in Acts of the Apostles and assist in feeding her teeming membership which is poor and hungry. In this vein, Johnstone (1993:36) remarks that “of the world’s 40 poorest nations, 32 are in Africa, of these, about 13 are in almost complete collapse. Only 1.2% of the world’s earnings are generated in Africa”. It is obvious that these poor Africans are also members of the Church in Africa. This calls for urgency in re-directing the leadership of the church to take new perspective in order to address the reality of poverty and hunger that is confronting the church, this constitutes the central objective of this study.
The Literature on Politics of Food Distribution Points to Several Directions The very fact that poverty and hunger are ravaging many countries of the world, Africa inclusive is not an over statement. According to Smith (2016) urban food systems which include production and distribution have increasingly been recognized as topical issues on the front burner that is affecting urban and rural food security, and poverty. Furthermore, Smith (2016) states that this is particularly so in Africa, which has high rate of urban population growth and high level of urban and rural
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food insecurity. It is worthy to note that the governance of food systems in Africa is difficult and complex, encompassing the influence of governance actors which has impact on food production, distribution including retail traders and the impact on safety of foods (Smith, 2016). Similarly, Atkinson (1995) in Maxwell (1999:26) avers that given current trends, the question of urban and rural food security may become the greatest humanitarian challenge of our time. As a result, this study contents that food sovereignty and food sufficiency in Africa seem to remain no serious issues to policymakers, politicians and particularly the church. Both the urban and rural poor in Africa spend large proportion of their income on food which suggests that the poverty concern largely seems to be a food – insecurity issue (Maxwell, 1999). This point makes food distribution in Africa a very serious matter. This is also important because accessibility to food which arises from effective food production and distribution will enhance human capacity development and empowerment. Food is necessary for survival of everybody and also crucial for overall well-being of individuals and society. “Food distribution is a process in which a general population is supplied with food” (Wikipedia,2018). The earliest documentation of history of food distribution comes from the Roman Republic. Roman rulers sought best ways of food distribution throughout the empire. This culture of food distribution which ensures that groups and individuals have access to food existed in the New Testament era (Wikipedia, 2018). It is possible that the early church in Acts of the Apostles borrowed the idea of Annona, originally meaning “Yearly return” in organizing and collecting of food that was to be distributed (Wikipedia, 2018). This point will receive adequate treatment as the chapter progresses. Food distribution provides a bridge between the people who produce food and those who consume it. Distribution of food is essentially necessary in the food system chain so that the consumers can have access to food. Food distribution is the reason food is transported long distances to reach the final consumer (Hopkins, 2014). In the same dimension, Garcia- Flores and Juliano (2015) assert that “food distribution is just as important as its production and processing and is becoming more important by the day. They further add that motivating reasons are growing population, scarce resources, increasing attention to food security, and changing dietary habits. As a result, the authors advocate food logistics as method that can be used in food chain management as encompassing sustainability, safety, and perishablity of food (Garcia-Flores and Juliano 2015). Similarly, Lvova (2016) opines that food distribution and its safety are very actual problems of the modern society as it was in the church in Acts of Apostles which is the text of study. Leathers and Foster (2009) posit that; “enough food is produced worldwide to feed all the
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people in the world.” They added that despite this position, nearly 1 billion people are suffering from chronic hunger today. There are many factors which contribute to this challenge and perhaps the most significant one is poor or inefficient food distribution (Mission, 2014). The document asserts that the goal of food distribution is not only to connect the producers, such as farmers and fishermen to consumers, but also to allocate or apportion the food available accordingly. Difficulties arise in deciding how the food should be distributed among the people, who have the power of distribution, and what methods should be used for distribution (Mission, 2014). The Mission (2014) contends that the main problems with the current distribution system are the lack of markets, the inadequate and inefficient transportation, and the inability to afford the cost of production and consumption. In as much as the early church may not have experienced the challenges of distribution the same way modern man is experiencing it today, there was vivid food distribution challenges in the church in Acts that calls for attention, hence the study.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND ACCESSIBILITY Food distribution is crucial in the entire food system as it ensures accessibility of food to the target population or group. Similarly, inaccessibility of the needed food by the people leads to food insecurity. In 1974 World Food Summit was concerned with the volume and stability of food supplies. As a result; World Food Summit defined food security as “availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices” (FAO,2006). This definition by World Food Summit implicates the very fact that accessibility is major reason for food distribution. If the targeted population, group or individual or household has no access to adequate nutritious food that will enhance their wellbeing and capacity building, food distribution has not be effective and efficient. Furthermore, the concepts of food security continues to change in order to accommodate the term accessibility which is a cardinal aspect of food distribution which is the focus of this chapter. Thus, between 1996 and 2001, the definition of food security was elaborated to include other essential issues as follows: “Food security (is) a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO,2006). Causes of food insecurity according to Ashley (2016) include poverty and insufficient awareness, environmental degradation and climate, food price hikes and prices instability, conflict, sub-optimal enabling environment for food security,
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pre-dispositions of the community to disease, etc. In the same vein, Ashley (2016) mentions ways to mitigate current food insecurity, which include; coping strategies at homestead level, humanitarian aid, multi-and bilateral donor-assisted schemes like food-for-work, cash-for-work, food facility programme, interventions to combat nutrition insecurity etc.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND HEALTH PROBLEMS The relevance of effective and efficient food distribution to entire well-being of human kind cannot be overstated. Maxwell (2016) writes that definition of food security used in African Policy debates revolves around that of the World Bank 1986 which emphasizes: “access by all people at all the times to sufficient food for an active healthy life” An important trajectory of the above definition is the phrase “food for an active healthy life” .This includes many urban and rural poor who cannot afford quality and nutritious food items, rather buy low and small quality of foodstuffs. This is as a result of low income per head among the poor in Africa. This is followed by inefficient distribution systems and mechanisms whereby quality and nutrient rich foods seem to be made available to the rich. In another perspective, Garrett (2000) observes that urban dwellers often face time constraints and have greater exposure to advertising and easier access to supermarket and fast-food vendors, they often consume more processed and prepared foods which could be harmful to active and healthy life. No wonder many dietary health challenges, such diabetes, hypertension, cancer etc are becoming rampant among city dwellers. However, this does not negate another point made by Garrett (2000) that challenges to child and adult nutrition come from unhealthy physical environment and from inadequate feeding practices. Food distribution and its safety are very serious problems of the modern society (Lvova, 2016). The author further states that the security in food sector is required to ensure the availability of food, fair distribution quality, and safety (Lvova, 2016). In this vein, Kang and Dobinson (2004) remark that “food production and distribution must increase concurrently in order to meet the demands of the World’s rapidly expanding population”. It is not only enough to produce and distribute quality of food that is sufficient for the growing world population, but the food produced and distributed must enhance the quality active life and well-being of the consumers. Scholars like Duchim (2005) continue to aver that every day, huge qualities of food are produced, processed, distributed, and consumed, and these activities have direct impacts on human health and the environment.
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Report from Climate and Health Assessment (2016) on food safety, nutrition, and distribution says “a safe and nutritious food supply is a vital component of food security. Food security in a public health context can be summarized as permanent access to a sufficient safe, and nutritious food supply needed to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.” Health and well-being of consumers should be primary concern in food distribution. Consequently, Duchim (2005) informs that “nutritionists are less interested in individual agricultural products than in the mixes of food that compose different actual diets and in recommending dietary changes in the interest of improved health. Keys (1980) in Duchim (2005) set out to; Understand why there were differences in the incidence of chronic diseases even among the genetically relatively homogeneous populations of different European Countries. He observed a systematic relationship between good health and longevity and the dietary characteristics common to the Countries around the Mediterranean Sea. World Economic Forum (2017) in support of what has been said herein, posits that “food system are integral to the health of people aid sustainability of the environment. This means that process of food distribution must take serious cognizance of the health and well-being implication of food items and foodstuffs that are being supplied to any group of people at any given time. It is believed by Food Research and Action Centre (2017) that maintaining good health, consuming a nutritious diet, managing chronic sickness and the like can be challenging for those faced with poverty of food insecurity for many reasons including limited finances and available resources and stress. The centre reveals the harmful impact of poverty, food insecurity, and poor nutrition on the health and well-being of children and Adult in Africa. This is followed by the fact that poverty and food insecurity could causes stress that could have long-term impact on human health. In the same regard, it has been observed that the persons living in informal settlements have difficulty to obtain a nutritious diet. Scholars such as Roos, Ruthren, Lombard & McLachlan (2013) assert that effective and efficient food distribution system is crucial in achieving food justice among Africans. According to the authors, the marginalized communities consume mainly energy dense, nutritionally inferior foods, and eat very little fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, they inform that previous studies have shown that the availability and accessibility of food in an environment can influence dietary choices and thereby the food security quality of a community (Roos, et al,2013). They maintain that this is particularly the case in urban and semiurban communities, where access to retail outlets where variety of affordable and nutritious food are sold can motivate persons to adapt to eating balanced diet. That 185
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is why efficient food distribution is very crucial in the food system. Distribution of essential and nutritious food items should be done justly so as to make nutritious food available to all concerned. The church must not be involved in the distribution of foods that are counter to healthy living both for its members or the general populace.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY For individuals and households to have access to food that would enhance their active and healthy lifestyle, food should be available and locally produced and distributed. U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance (2007) explains food Sovereignty as the right of people to health and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agricultural systems. This definition puts once more the need of the consumer at the center of the food systems of production, distribution and consumption. Consumers should be able to make food choices when there is sustainable food supply and efficient distribution of same. To ensure food sovereignty in African community, the church must be involved. This is why the chapter is very pertinent at a time like this in Africa when there is poverty, economic recession, terrorism, and food insecurity and hunger crises.
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS Politics of Food Distribution in Acts of The Apostles 6:1-6 Acts 6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. RSV Acts 6:2 And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. RSV Acts 6:3 Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. RSV Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” RSV Acts 6:5 And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. RSV Acts 6:6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. RSV
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Explication of the Text of Study in Relation to Contemporary Food Distribution From the text of Acts 6:1, it is obvious that the cause of the politics of food distribution in the early church was population expansion and growth. “Now in those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.” The disciples increased while food supply perhaps did not increase concurrently. Population growth is a major concern in the politics of food distribution. The growing urban and rural population places huge demand for African Agriculture and food systems (Romanik, n.d.). Increasing population in Africa calls for increase in the production of food and improved food distribution mechanism in order to cater for varied categories of the African populace. Again, this is the more reason why the church in Africa must not continue to stand aloof as regards food production and distribution in Africa. The challenges of growing population on the food systems is a concern for scholars like Peters, Herens, and Gonzalez, (2016: 1) as they report that “urban population heavily rely on a multitude of food systems for their daily food needs, varying from industrial agro-logistical networks to local engagement of consumers with producers.” As observed by Reardon, Bereuter, & Glickman (2016) in Peters, Herens & Gonzalez (2016), the projected population growth in Africa puts these food systems at peril. The authors further opined that the urban poor, including vulnerable groups such as the widows, women, unemployed and underemployed are worst hit by food scarcity and food insecurity (Reardon,etal;2016). In the same vein, Dezeeuw and Dubbeting (2009) in Peters, Herens and Gonzalez (2016) inform that the food and nutrition security situation of the indigent and vulnerable groups mentioned above can be severely affected, due to inefficient food systems and rise in food prices. The widows mentioned in Acts 6:1 is particularly mind catching and deserves some attention as far as food system is concerned, especially in Africa. The African widow especially those dwelling in the rural areas could face serious problems of hunger and food insecurity. Many of them do not have access to quality and nutritious foodstuffs. Many of them have very little amount of food with many mouths to feed. The widows often struggle to even find foods of high carbohydrate contents in order to fill the stomach with little nutrients to enhance active, balanced and healthy lives. Widows in many African communities are vulnerable to hunger, poverty and food distribution crisis. That is why the church in Acts had to take the responsibility in feeding them. This is in agreement with the scripture in James 1:27 which states: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”. 187
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Another cause of food distribution difficulty in Acts 6 was ethnicity. Walwoord and Zuck (1983) describe the Hellenists as the Grecian Jews who were probably reared outside Palestine and were bilingual, speaking both Greek and their native tongues. In the same manner, the Hebrews were the native Jews who were also bilingual in that they spoke Aramaic and Greek. Furthermore, Walwoord and Zuck (1983) argue that in the Jewish world, tensions existed between the Grecian Jews and the Aramaic-speaking Jews; unfortunately these strains entered into the early church. Ethnic sentiment and racism were challenges that the early church had to grapple with. In line with what is afore said, Sanou (2015) documents that ethnic, tribal, and racial identities are challenges not only to society in general but to the Christian church in Africa in particular, as cultural, ethnic and racial differences are often seen as a challenge to overcome rather than God’s design to be treasured. During the genocide in Rwanda, Christians participated in the terrible killing that ran through ethnic and tribal lines. Sanou (2015: 3) discusses the involvement of a clergy Rev Elizaphan Nta in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. “This was another sad period of history when church members became involved politically and sided (racially) with their tribes rather than following biblical principles.” He further cited an example as follows: A Protestant clergyman and his son, a physician, were convicted yesterday of genocide and sentenced to prison by the United Nations tribunal dealing with the Rwandan killing frenzy of 1994, in which members of hutu gangs killed an estimated 800,000 minority tutsi and moderate hutu over three months. the Rev. Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, 78, the former head of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in western Rwanda, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for aiding and abetting genocide. His son, Dr. Gérard Ntakirutimana, 45, who worked at the church’s hospital, received a total sentence of 25 years for the same charges and for shooting two people to death. With the verdict, Mr. Ntakirutimana became the first clergyman to be convicted of genocide by an international tribunal (Sanou, 2015:4) The problem of ethnicity and racism existed in America and Europe in the 19th century. According to Anyanwu (2004:27), “by 1900 the racial lines were thickly drawn in America’s religious life. With the end of the civil war and the freeing of the slaves a grand division of Pentecostalism along racial lines occurred. The result was schism leading to all white and all Negro (black) dominations.” The author further remarks that “if racial lines were vividly drawn among churches and Christians, what would one be expected to see in the secular society?” (Anyanwu, 2004:28).
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It was because of ethnicity and racism that perhaps influenced author of Acts 6 to employ the term “neglected” or “overlooked” in referring to the treatment of widows in the scriptural passage. The term “neglect” in scriptural context here denotes “to pay little or no attention to; disregard. To fail to care for or attend to properly” (The American Heritage College Dictionary, 2004). Spirit of Ethnicity and racism will tend to treat the other person or group with neglect. Ethnicity is defined by Sanders (2007: 21) in Sanou (2015: 1) “as a social or category of the population set apart and bound together by common ties of race, language, nationality or culture”. Ethnocentrism is the demonstration of group consciousness. It stands as a boundary marker separating one group from another. On the other hand, tribalism is explicated by Northwelur (2008:5) in Sanou (2015:2) as the “attitude and practice of harboring such a strong feeling of loyalty or bonds to one’s tribe that one excludes or even demonizes “others” who do not belong to that group.” Similarly, tribalism tends to make one according to Nwaigbo (2005) in Sanou (2015) have a positive attitude or filial preference towards those who are connected to him or her through kinship, family and clan, and directly or indirectly estranges and separates one from people of other tribes who are not related to him or her by blood, kinship, family or clan. The Hellenistic widows were estranged in the daily distribution in “Acts 6” based on tribal sentiments. Racism is yet another canker worm that is traceable to the early church in Acts 6. According to the American Heritage College dictionary (2004:11 47), “racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Racism leads to discrimination which was the bone of contention between the Hellenists and the Hebrews in Acts 6. It is the belief that the seemingly superior race should dominate others in social and political settings and similar positions. According to Acts Chapter 6: A shift to Lay Ministry (2015:2), the Jews were characteristically racist, prejudice, elitist in attitude towards others from other sociocultural backgrounds. This is observable throughout the New Testament and it is true both of both Christian and non-Christian Jews. The document, Acts Chapter 6: A Shift to Lay Ministry (2015:2) reports that the Hellenists were Greekish Jews born in foreign lands and speaking Greek as their native language. Stating further, the Palestinian Jews saw themselves as more pure Jews and were somewhat xenophobic of Greek influences which is a serious threat to their unique culture. Thus, in Acts, the Palestinian Jews resented the Hellenistic Jews by neglecting them in the daily distribution which gave rise to the complaint by the Hellenists. Racism is still found in Christian church in Africa and elsewhere in the world today. A study by Williams (1997:24) cited in Sanou (2015: 3) on the relationship between racial prejudice and religion, found that:
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Decades of research on racial attitudes in the U.S. confirms the fact that there is more racial prejudice in the christian church than outside it, that church members are more prejudiced than nonmembers, that churchgoers are more biased than those who do not attend, and that regular attenders are more prejudiced than those who attend less often. The racial tendencies run through the church in Africa as mentioned earlier. And it is a hindrance to the spiritual, material and numerical growth of the church in Africa. Ethnocentrism, tribalism and racism have not been properly labeled by the church and Christians in Africa, hence its nurture and persistence. For Sanou (2015:4), “racism is more than a social problem. It is a sin, a moral and spiritual issue. Racism is a sin because it prevents Christians who harbor it in their attitudes and actions from obeying Christ’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves”. Effects of ethnicity, tribalism and racism is evident in the church in Acts 6 which include “discord among members of the congregation” discrimination and treating fellow Christians with contempt and neglect. Ethnicity, tribalism and racism is a bottleneck against food justice, food accessibility and efficient food distribution as the neglected region or group will be denied fair access to quality and nutritious food items. The text of Acts 6:2 reads; “and the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. The term tables according to Walvoord and Zuck (1983:367) refers to tables used for serving food or to money tables, that is, banks. They add that tables here are used to refer to the place where funds and supplies were administered for the widows.
HANDLING POLITICS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN ACTS 6 Having established the fact that there exist politics of food distribution in Acts 6, the chapter turns to explore how the early church grappled with this challenge. Steps were taken in order to resolve the challenge and conflict namely: Church summoned for dialogue v2. “And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables (v2). Here the church adopted people oriented approach to problem and conflict resolution. The individuals concerned were involved in the dialogue on how to solve the food distribution crisis in the church.
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Everybody in the church must be involved in solving the challenge of food insecurity in the African community. Food sovereignty should be the concern of all. It should be our problem and not their problem. The church must be holistically involved in the production, distribution and even processing of food in Africa. The church cannot remain consumers and not producers and distributors of food. Committee Appointed: The summoning of the church members resulted in a committee being formed for the effective and efficient food distribution. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. The apostle listed three qualifications for those that will serve in the food distribution system and mechanism. Each of these is essential to achieving food justice and sovereignty in Africa. In the first place, the deacons chosen to serve must be full of the spirit of God which means that they should be led and guided by the spirit as they make decisions concerning the distribution of food and well-being of the membership of the church. Their service will not be influenced by human sentiments and carnality as was the case before in the early church. In the second place, the deacons must be men of wisdom, which implicates men of sound judgment and discretion. They must do the right things concerning the welfare of the community at the right time. They should understand the physical and material needs of their community and seek ways to solve it. In the wider African context new food leadership is needed for sustainable consumption. This is followed by the third qualification which actually comes first in the New King James Version of the Bible. This qualification is that those chosen to handle the food and well-fair business of the church community must of necessity be men of “good reputation” this denotes men of integrity, honesty, and just men who will not be partial, ethnocentric, racial and tribalistic. This qualification ranks high among the rest of the qualifications because it appears that those who were handling the food and welfare business before this time seem not to be men of good reputation. This is evidenced by the complaint of the Hellenistic widows who were neglected and discriminated in the daily food portioning. It is significant to note that all the seven men had Greek names inferring that they were Greekish Jews. In this vein, Walvoord and Zuch (1983:367) note that the early church in Acts obviously thought the problem of neglecting the Hellenists would be 191
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better handled by Greekish Jews in as much as they would not neglect the Palestinian Jewish widows in the community. This idea of employing the Greecians to solve their own problem teaches the reader that individuals or groups are the appropriate people to tackle their own food problems. In this regard, the church in Africa must be the one to solve the challenges of poverty, hunger, unemployment among her teaming members and non- members. The case of food security and food sovereignty is a call for all hands on the deck as far as the church in Africa is concerned. Committee commissioned - The committee that was appointed by the entire church was commissioned by the leadership of the church, the apostles. The text reads as follows: These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. For Cuthrie and Motyer (1992:980), “the seven were selected by the rank and file; the laying of apostolic hands confirmed this selection, commissioned the seven for their special work, and expressed the apostles’ fellowship with them in the matter.” From the text of Acts of the Apostles, the reader will understand that the politics of food distribution has a lot to do with leadership. For the food crisis, poverty, hunger and the related issues like un(der) employment to be solved, the secular and sacred leadership in Africa must be men and women who have the spirit of God, guided by God; be men and women of good reputation, not corrupt in their private and public lives; and of necessity be men and women of wisdom and good judgment and discretion. Quality leadership that will be people oriented is dearly needed in the African community both in secular and sacred spheres. The leaders and populace must come together to chart the way forward out of food crisis and poverty in Africa. The church must arise to the huge challenge of feeding her members sustainably for active and healthy living .
FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND AFRICAN CHURCH Africa is facing serious economic and food crisis. According to World Relief (2018:1), “Africa is currently facing the worst food crisis since 1945. Millions could die in the coming months. The challenges of climate change, population growth and regional conflict have created massive food shortages across many countries in Africa.” Although the cause varies from one country to another, the need for supply remains the same. Thus urgent provision of food and long-term solutions are needed to address the ugly situation.
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Similarly, church of the Nazarene (2017) reports that extreme hunger crisis continues to ravage East Africa. Millions of people are in need of urgent food supply. The causes of this severe food crisis include drought and violent conflict. As a result, many have fled to neighboring countries to seek food and protection. Church leaders in East Africa are asking for food assistance in order to salvage many persons from the danger of starvation and death. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (2017) posits that extreme drought, violent conflict and scarcity have created food crisis that is nearly impossible for persons in East Africa to find food they need to survive and live active and healthy lives. The report further notes that more than 20million people in this region are in need of immediate food assistance(NCM,2017). The Guardian News (2011:1) reports that “Africa’s latest food crisis needs a longterm strategy.” It further notes that the causes of unfortunate situation are drought, failed harvests and rising food prices which have brought severe food shortages to people in east and Horn of Africa. The Guardian(2011) argues that the short-term emergency relief work must be backed up with long-term strategies to enable the people in the region and in Africa generally have lasting remedy to the crushing food problems. FAO (2017:4) posits that “the food security situation has worsened particularly in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, South-Eastern Asia and Western Asia, and deteriorations have been observed most notably in situations of conflict and conflict combined with droughts or floods.” The food problem is very serious and needs urgent attention and collaboration. Information from Caritas Internationalism (2018) concerning the state of food distribution and accessibility in Africa is lamentable. It reports that urgent assistance is needed to help millions of people affected by food crisis in West Africa. Caritas International(2011)reports that nearly 6million in West African countries are finding it difficult to meet their daily food demands. As a result, severe malnutrition threatens the lives of numerous children in the area. Consequently, long-lasting strategies must be adopted in order to achieve adequate food availability, accessibility through inclusive politics of food distribution in Africa.
LESSONS FOR THE CHURCH IN AFRICA A lot has been discussed in this chapter on politics of food distribution and the role of the church in Africa. Pertinent lessons for the church in Africa is important . The church must be re-awakened to the very fact that serious food insecurity looms in Africa much so that if nothing is urgently done many live will be lost through hunger and starvation. The church must learn that to solve the food distribution
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challenge, every member of the church must be involved. The Acts 6 pattern where everyone was summoned to participate should be adopted by the church in Africa. Ethnocentrism, tribalism and racism must be dismantled in the church in Africa. The spirit of discrimination and or neglecting one group or region of the church when it comes to welfare must be abolished. The church must see its role as community of transformative justice (World Council of Churches, 2002) with multi-cultural diversity as strength and not weakness. Accommodation rather than discrimination and separation is recommended as a strategy for building United Church and society (Anyanwu, 2018). Together the church can achieve economic development food sufficiency and sustainability through equitable and inclusive food production and distribution.
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The chapter discussed the politics of food distribution and role of the church in Africa. It builds on experience of the early church exemplified in Acts 6,1-6.Several issues concerning politics of food distribution have been discussed. The African context where hunger, poverty and malnutrition have become major problem was highlighted. Based on our findings the study recommends the following for the church in Africa; First, for the challenge of politics of food distribution to be effective and efficient, the church in Africa has as a matter of necessity and urgency the responsibility to engage in massive food production. Food must be available before it can be distributed. Second, the church in Africa can no longer depend on aids from international organizations to feed the hunger stricken African Christians. Long-lasting interventions to ameliorate problem of food scarcity and food insecurity must be put in place by the church such as operating farm diary, crop plantations, and food preservation firms. Third, attention should be given to climate change issues by Christians in Africa. Christians must try to maintain the environment to avoid drought and related climate change hazards which accounts for poor crop yield and famine. Fourth, policies and mechanisms to improve food distribution to the targeted areas and regions where food accessibility and availability are lacking should be enhanced by the church. The church in Africa “must rise to the responsibility of feeding its teeming membership with both material and spiritual food (Anyanwu, 2018). The members of the church in Africa must observe a paradigm shift from unsustainable consumption patterns to sustainable production and equitable distribution .
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Fifth, Christians in the church in Africa should increase commitment to foster resilient food system including production, processing and distribution in both rural and urban centers. This will ensure accessibility to healthy food to all. Sixth, church in Africa in addition should adopt convergence approach to solving the politics of distribution as the church in Acts 6 did so as to achieve food distribution justice. It has been noted by Brent, Schiavoni, and Alonso-Fradejas (2015) that many food justice initiatives focus on creating alternative forms of food provision that urban agriculture, collective purchasing programs and community-based markets serve the marginalized ones. In this vein, food justice as Brent, Schiavoni and Alonso-Fradejas (2015) argue, entails communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat food that is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the people concerned. For the church to enjoy food justice as argued, all hands must be on deck. The church must dismantle racism and advocate unity in diversity which is needed to drive the food justice and sustainable consumption where distributive justice could be institutionalized in the food system among the church in Africa. Seventh, church leaders in Africa should understand that food production and distribution are their responsibilities and must get involved so that there will be enough food for their members and nonmembers alike. Eight, the church must promote private investments and get involved in all forms of agro-business to curb poverty, food scarcity and food insecurity in Africa. This includes cooperative societies where members can access soft loans either from the church or the Government for agro-business, food production and distribution. Finally, the church in Africa should engage in holistic transformative justice which will impact on the total needs of man, felt needs of physical and material issues and real needs of salvation and repentance. This is the duty of the church in Africa in order to give food politics a human face and in particular institutionalize equitable distribution and sustainable consumption.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The chapter recommends some areas of further research, this includes areas related to the present chapter such as politics of food distribution, role of the government in food governance in African, religion and food politics in Africa.
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CONCLUSION The chapter examined politics of food distribution and role of the Church in Africa. It discussed issues and problems related to food distribution in Africa. The emphasis is that equality in food production and distribution as exemplified in the scriptural text of the study is necessary for sustainable consumption in the wider Africa society. This has implications for food politics and overall sustainable development. The chapter creates a new role for both the government and the Church to strengthen efficient food distribution system so as to alleviate hunger, food insecurity and starvation in Africa. Food distribution as the chapter suggests, remains a major challenge for the African communities in other to attain sustainable consumption.
REFERENCES Andrieux, V., & Wise, O. (2016). “Intimacy with Creation” in Food Justice as God’s Justice. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https://www.likkun.org/nextgen/ food-justice-as-gods-justice Anyanwu, C. A. (2004). The Relevance of Pentecostalism to the African society: A solid-religious Analysis. Owerri, Greenleaf Global Enterprises. Anyanwu, C. A. (2018). Pauling Concept of Grafting Economy (Rom. 11:17-24): Strategies to curb ethnic conflicts in Nigerian. Nigeria Journal of Research in Education, 1(1). Anyanwu, C. A., & Anyanwu, L. U. (2018). Gender Responsiveness in Entrepreneurship in Nigeria (Acts 16: 14-15) Role of the church. Interdisciplinary Journal of Gender and Woman Development Studies, 1(1). Ashley, I. M. (2016a). Causes of food insecurity in food security in the Developing World. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.comscience/article/ pii/B978012801594000004X Ashley, I. M. (2016b). Mitigation of Current Food Insecurity in Food Security in the Developing World. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https://www.sciencedirect. com/science/ article/pii/B978012801594000004X Brent, Z. W., Schiavonic, C. M., & Alonso-Fradejas, A. (2015). Contextualizing Food Sovereignty: the politics of convergence among movement in the US. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from http://foodfirst.org/puplication/contextualizing-food-sovereigntythe-politics-of-convergence-among-move
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Caritas Internationlis. (2018). West Africa Food Crisis Threatened 6 Million people. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from http://www.caritas.org/2018/06/west-africa-foodcrisiso-threatens-6-million-people Chapter II – Theoretical Framework and Review of Literature. (n.d.). Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/49958/6/chapter%202. pdf Climate and Health Assessment. (2016). Food safety, Nutrition, and Distribution. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://health2016.globalchange.gov/food-safetynutrition-and-dist Drakakis-Smith, D. (1991). Urban Food Distribution in Asia and Africa. The Geographical Journal, 157(1), 51-61. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https://www. jstor.org/stable/635144 Duchin, F. (2005). Sustainable Consumption of food: A framework for Analyzing scenarios about changes in Diets. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from http://mitpress.mit.edu//jie FAO. (2006). Food Security: concept and measurement. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from http://www.foo.org/docrep/005/y467ie/y467ie06.htm FAO. (2017). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source= web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwidxPvJ577hAhVE6uAKHWn4B TMQFjACegQIAhAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fao.org%2F3%2Fa-i7695e.pd f&usg=AOvVaw1QAMoICJxYnzhnNAZLcsP_ Food Research and Action center. (2017). The impact of poverty, Food insecurity, and poor Nutrition on Health and well-being. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www. frac.org Garcia-Flores, R., & Juliano, P. (2015). Using logistic modules to optimize the food supply chain. Retrieved 20/11/2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/ agricultural-and-biological-sciences/food Garret, I. L. (2000). Focus 3. Brief 1 of 10 August, 2000. In IFPRI is part of a global Agricultural research network, the consultative group on International Agricultural Research. Retried from: ww.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ags/docs/ MUFN/DOCUMENTS/IFPRI_focus03.pdf Guthrie, D., & Motyer, J. A. (Eds.). (1992). New Bible commentary (3rd ed.). Leicester, UK: Inter-varsity press. 197
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Hopkins, I. (2014). Food Distribution. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www. foodsystemprimer.org/food-distribution/index.html Hornby, A. S. (2001). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary Great Clarendon Street (6th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Johnstone, P. (1993). Operation World. Harrisonburg, VA: R.R. Donnelley & Sons. Kaug, S., & Dobinson, K. F. (2004). “Fungal Genomics” in Food Distribution. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agriculturaland-biological Lvova, L. (2016). “Electronic Tongue Principles and Applications in the food Industry” in Food Distribution. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://www. sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological Maxwell, D. (1999). “Urban Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa” in Mustafa Koc. Rod MacRae. Mission 2014: Feeding the World. (2014). Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from 12, 000 scripts. Mit.edu/mission2014/problems/inadequate-food-distribution-system Mustafa, K., MacRae, R., Mougeot, L. J. A., & Welsh, J. (1999). For Hunger-proof cities. Retrieved on 9/11/2018 from https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/ handle/10625/25386/IDL-25386.pdf? Sequence =I Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. (2017). Extreme hunger crisis continues in East Africa. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www.nazarene.org/article/extreme-hungercrisis-continues-east-Africa Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. (2017). Church respond to food crisis in East Africa. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www.nazarene.org/article/churches-respondfood-crisis-east-Africa O’ Brien, P. T. (1993). church. In G. F. Hawthorne, R. P. Martin, & D. G. Reid (Eds.), Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. OSV News Weekly. (2018). Church aids people hit by Africa’s famine. Retrieved on 20/111/2018 from http://www.osv.com/osvnewsweekly/story/Tabid/2672/ ArtMID/1356/Article Peters, B., Herens, M., & Gonzalez, Y. S. (2016). How to ensure food security in a rapidly urbanizing world? Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://www. africancentreforcities.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SMT-urban-governmentand-urban-food-systems-in-Africa.pdf 198
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Remanik, C. T. (n.d.). An Urban-Rural Focus on Food Markets in Africa. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from: http://www.ictsd.org/brides-news/brides-africa/news/foodcrisis-worsens-across-several-african-countries-un-agencies Roos, J. A., Ruthven, G. A., & Lombard, M. J. (2013). Food availability and accessibility in the local food distribution system of a low-income, urban community in Worcester, in the Western Cape Province. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https:// www.ajoc.info/index.php/ sajcn/article/viewfile/98939/88267 Sanou, B. (2015). Ethnicity, Tribalism and Racism: A Global challenge for the Christian church and its mission. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https://www. andrews.edu/services/jacl/ articlearchive/a/spring2015/06dialouge/dialogu1.pdf Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Retrieve on 20/11/2018 from https://scholar.harvard. edu/sen/publications/poverty-and-famines-essay-entitlement-and-deprivation Smith, W. (2016). Urban governance and Urban food systems in Agrica: Examining the linkages. Retrieved on 9/11/2018 from https://www.africancentreforcities.net/ urban-governance-urban-food-systems-africa-examining-linkages The Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 6. (2015). A Shift to Lay Ministry. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www.bibsr.com/books/acts6.html The American Heritage College Dictionary. (2004). 4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Walwoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B. (Eds.). (1983). The Bible Knowledge commentary: New Testament edition. Victor Books. World Council of Churches. (2002). Being church and overcoming racism: it’s time for transformative justice. Retrieved on 10/11/2018 from https://www.oikoumen.org/en / resources/documents/central-committee/2002/being-church-and-overcoming-racism World Economic Forum. (2017). Shaping the future of Global Food systems: A scenarios Analysis. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from www.weforum.org World Relief (2018). Millions are going hungry in Africa. Retrieved on 20/11/2018 from https:/worldrelief.org/Africa-food-crisis/
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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Africa: The continent South of Europe with the largest number of black people. Church: The assembly of persons who are called out from the world to serve God. Distribution: The manner of sharing something among group of people in a particular area. Food: Something that persons or animals eat for survival. Hellenist: A person who has imbibed Greek culture and language. A person who is born by Greek parents. Neglect: Failure to take care of somebody or something properly and promptly. Politics: Something done to get and use power in public life. Ability to influence decision that affect group of people. Racism: The unfair dealing with who belong to a different race. Role: Function or duty that someone is supposed to perform.
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Islam, Sustainable Consumption, and Consumers’ Motivations in Nigeria AbdulGafar Olawale Fahm https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4904-793X University of Ilorin, Nigeria
ABSTRACT The chapter considers the views of Islam, consumer, and consumption researchers on the compatibility and incompatibility of Islam with sustainable consumption. To this end, the author examine the consumers’ motivations for consumption and critically evaluate their parallels within Islamic norms. Then, the notions of Islam and consumption are analyzed and evaluated in depth. The study also attempts to show the Muslims’ perception of consumption and motivation. The findings suggest that Muslim consumers in Nigeria are motivated to practice sustainable consumption and are driven primarily by their Islamic understandings. This study, therefore, recommends the concept of moderation as a major Islamic motivation to consumption sustainability and if put in place could result in a compatible motivation to sustainable consumption.
INTRODUCTION Sustainable consumption is one of the main objectives of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations Environment Program characterizes sustainable consumption and production as an all-encompassing approach in limiting the negative natural effects from consumption and production DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0125-2.ch010 Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
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systems, while advancing quality of life for all (Sustainable Development Goals Fund, 2016). However, resource can only be utilized efficiently if consumed sustainably. Furthermore, either from the demand or consumer perspective, the main goal of sustainable consumption is to meet the consumption needs of poor people and low income earners, and to redress unsustainable consumption issues among higher income societies. For over a decade now, research on the influence of values on sustainable consumption shows the need for a systemic approach in order to maintain a sustainable economy in our contemporary world (Thøgersen & Ölander, 2002; Alkon, 2008; Vermeir & Verbeke, 2008; Young, Hwang, McDonald, & Oates, 2010; Phipps et al., 2013). In other words, this can be regarded as a change of values from narcissistic to generosity; from material to spiritual; and from social to sustainable consumption culture. A consumption culture seen as embodying self-sacrifice, spiritual and ecological values can be said to be in line with Islamo-spiritual and cultural values (Samsudi, 2017).
Background Contrary to current reasoning in addressing environmental consumption and crisis as an ecological emergency, some Muslim researchers and activists (e.g. Nasr, 1997) have observed the situation and concluded that the problem is more of a spiritual crisis (Nasr, 1997). Perceiving that the environmental crisis is not an emergency independent from anyone else, but rather a reflection of a spiritual crisis, the methodologies in managing the ecological circumstance will be unique. Therefore, this article aims to contribute to the literature on sustainable consumption from the perspective of Muslim consumers in a developing country, specifically, by identifying their motivations for sustainable consumption and how it is driven by the need to fulfil certain needs. The rest of this article proceeds as follows: First the relevant literature on sustainable consumption and consumers’ motivations for consumption is presented and the current gaps are highlighted and discussed. Next, Islam and consumption is introduced and discussed. Here the different types of motivations are identified and examined. Following that, consumption motivation in Nigeria is presented. Subsequently, the consumption motivation among Muslims are presented and discussed in Nigerian context. This is followed by a discussion of the findings and its practical implications within a wider regional context. This is followed by conclusion and future research direction.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study used qualitative data from in-depth interviews conducted on Muslim consumers in Nigeria. It adopted historical and descriptive approaches within the Islamo-spiritual contexts as its theoretical framework. This helps in elaboration and articulation of abstract concepts such as sustainable consumption or consumers’ motivation (Spiggle, 1994). The respondents were drawn from an urban settlement because they are more inclined to social and environmental issues (Carroll & Shabana., 2010). The respondents were educated consumers living in central northern Nigeria. These leaders were identified and selected based on a purposive approach in consumer research (Brunk, 2010). Data were collected through structured interviews as this facilitates assessment of their motivations. Getting hold of this people as well as their responses to the questions was quite challenging given their busy schedules. The researcher had to leverage on research assistants to overcome this barrier. In all 17 interviews were recorded. The instruments for the structured interviews were designed and developed strictly to elicit responses in relation to sustainable consumption and Muslim consumption motivation in Nigeria. The researcher recognised that one of the drawbacks of reporting on Muslim consumption motivation is lack of awareness of the range of consumption activities that could be considered sustainable, as such, questions were tailored along the objectives of the paper. In addition, the questions were phrased to give respondents the opportunity to talk about examples of their sustainable consumption practices in the past. The questions were also brief and straight to the point in order for respondents to discuss the meaning they can glean from their consumption patterns in sustainability contexts in relation to Islam and their identity as Muslims.
SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION One of the major focuses of sustainable consumption is how to improve on the consumption of a commodity. Although quite a number of business corporations are progressively assuming liability for diminishing the ecological effects of their operations, not many see the lifetime effects of the items that they create and market to purchasers. This is why there have been call for corporations to meet customer needs and to market their products in a way that results in fewer, not more, carbon emissions and natural resource demands (Sustainable Consumption Roundtable,
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2006). In discussing sustainable consumption, consumer behaviour is also key to the impact that consumption has on the environment. This is because the moves that individuals make and decisions they take to consume certain items or even services or to live in certain manners as opposed to others all have immediate and not-immediate effects on the environment and more importantly on personal as well as collective well-being (Jackson, 2004). Sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the world today, this is why the topic of sustainable consumption has become a central focus for national and international policy, and yet many consumers are confused about what the term means. The question of how to create and maintain a sustainable lifestyle as well as how can we live in a way that is sustainable is a complicated one. In order to address some of these issues, Goal 12 of the sustainable development goals (SDGs)identify the need for responsible consumption and production. To achieve this, the idea of changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources was suggested. In addition, since agriculture is one of the biggest user of water worldwide, and irrigation now claims close to 70 percent of all freshwater for human use, the efficient management of shared natural resources as well as the way toxic waste and pollutants are disposed are important areas of target (Sustainable Development Goals Fund, 2016). Furthermore, a huge number of the world population consume while very few societies consume so much. This disparity is a problem to achieving inclusive and sustainable consumption. Dividing the per capita of worldwide food waste at the retailer and consumer levels is likewise vital for making progressive production and supply chains. This can help understand subsistence security, and move the world towards a more resource proficient economy. Moreover, empowering enterprises, organizations and customers to reuse and reduce waste is similarly imperative, as this could help developing nations to move towards increasingly manageable examples of consumption. Also, sustainable consumption requires a multi and interdisciplinary research outlook that seeks to address the transformation of society toward environmental and social sustainability. It is seen as encompassing various fields and requiring diverse theoretical approaches based on the commitment to more or less systemic socioeconomic change. Among the major development in fields related to sustainable consumption (e.g. the social and behavioral sciences) include conceptual frameworks for production-consumption systems and re-conceptualizations of consumption that help to contextualize sustainable consumption (Welch, 2015). However, according to Maniates (2014) “sustainable consumption is a field in transition, with limited agreement around organizing questions, key definitions, overarching frameworks and fundamental disciplinary traditions. The resulting dissonance complicates the collaboration and cumulative generation of knowledge typical of effective research 204
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communities”. Therefore, three paradoxes have been suggested as characterizing the field. They are: the primacy of the individual consumer; the counterproductive search for definitions; and limited theorizing about social change and a consequent retreat from power (Maniates, 2014). Furthermore, in a survey conducted by Vringer, van der Heijden, van Soest, Vollebergh, & Dietz (2017) that examined whether people tend to view sustainable consumption as a social dilemma or as a moral dilemma. It was discovered that the main drivers of sustainable consumption behavior is the moral dilemma. Respondents to the survey did not only weigh their individual financial costs with the sustainable benefits but they also consider the consequences of restricting other people’s freedom of choice. In addition, households were asked to vote on whether the budgets they receive should only be spent on purchasing the sustainable product variety, or whether every household in a group is free to spend their budget on any product variety. In the end it was discovered that many people are reluctant to impose restrictions on others (Vringer et al., 2017). In promoting sustainable consumption there has been substantial support for the government and businesses to regulate the availability of unsustainable product varieties. Moreover policies could be put in place to promote sustainable consumption patterns through various media outlets, celebrities, and other institutions (Khalili, Melaragno, & Haddadian, 2011). It has been noted that the hindrances to customers choosing sustainable items is lack of awareness, the negative view of their effectiveness, doubt of green claims, and more expensive prices. Customers have to know that an item exists before they get it. Be that as it may, because of the absence of right advertising or insufficient correspondence, many do not think about the green options in numerous item classifications. Consumers likewise should trust that a product will take care of the job so as to get it. Once more, because of poor utilization of innovation or correspondence, many trust that green items are of lower quality than their customary partners. Cost is additionally a critical driver. Consumers must choose whether an item merits the expense and exertion required to buy it. Organizations could fundamentally affect customer conduct by making them mindful of eco-friendly products and their advantages (Khalili et al., 2011). This later led to the “6-Step Solution” to promoting sustainable consumption. They are: Educate customers via effective green advertising; build better products; be honest; offer more and show environmental and financial benefits; bring products to people; and make sustainable purchasing easy. All these show that transition towards sustainability requires radical changes in the way we produce and consume and, most importantly, in the way we live. The prospect of sustainability requires a model of development and the need to move from a society in which well-being and affluence are measured by the production and consumption of goods, to one in which people live better consuming through 205
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lesser consumption. In other words, live better and, at the same time, reduce our ecological footprint (Park, 2004). Sustainable food consumption incorporates various global issues related to poverty, human rights, fair trade, environment, conservation, development and peace. However, at the level of consumer, it can be achieved if consumers are highly motivated. In addition, if there are multi-stakeholder approaches in terms of public policy, government regulations, non-governmental organizations, food industry, marketing innovation, consumer groups and voluntary initiatives from individual consumers (Mahadevan, 2013). It has also been mentioned by researchers on sustainable consumption that promoting it gives rise to greater happiness for a greater number, at least in the long run. Although, there is the evidence to support that a shift to sustainable consumption involve a minor reduction in happiness, at least temporarily, yet, that we can live joyfully with less extravagance. Moreover, the fact that sustainable consumption can add to the happiness of future generations if it averts major environmental debacles (Veenhoven, 2008). The effectiveness of community‐based initiatives at achieving sustainable consumption objectives has also been examined. Through indicators such as localisation, reducing ecological footprints, community building, collective action and creating new socio‐economic institutions, it was discovered that community-based initiative was effective at achieving sustainable consumption because it improve the quality of life for all. Furthermore, there were interactions and conversations that educate and enrich lives within the community (Seyfang, 2007). The promotion of sustainable consumption through market constructionist paradigm has been suggested. Through the case of an American market for bottled water, it was demonstrated that the unsustainable consumption is an unintended consequence of the construction of a consumption ideology that is specific to the bottled water market, which was termed ideological lock-in. This explains the need for reallocation of the government, NGO, and foundation sustainability investments from promoting consumer value transformations toward a federation of market-focused social movements aimed at leapfrogging the ideological lock-in in key unsustainable markets (Holt, 2012). This goes further to show that analytical perspectives and practical initiatives, which treat production and consumption jointly, are needed to address the issue of sustainable consumption. Also, all the issues raised above indicate the growing body of scholarship exploring a diverse range of initiatives and experiments aimed at enabling sustainable consumption systems. Through the implementation of different approaches and the consideration of market institutions, government regulation, sociotechnical innovation, and actor partnerships useful insights can be gained on sustainable consumption especially taking into consideration relationships on services and products between third world producers and first world consumers in trade initiatives (Lebel & Lorek, 2008).
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CONSUMERS’ MOTIVATIONS FOR CONSUMPTION Consumers’ motivations to purchase have led to the identification of consumer typology of translators, exceptors, selectors, and indulgers. The understanding of consumer types and underlying motivations help managers capitalise on the intended market (Henninger, Alevizou, Tan, Huang, & Ryding, 2017). However, of interest to this present study is the identification of consumers underlying motivations to consumption. It is important to note that in exploring motivations for consumption researchers have also identified how consumers absorb ethical habits into their daily consumption, despite having little interest or understanding of the ethics they are buying into, by looking at the motivation behind mainstream ethical consumption (Davies & Gutsche, 2016). The growth in ethical consumption behaviour has attracted much attention from marketing researchers recently. Several studies have been conducted to understand what motivates consumers to buy certain ethical products such as fair trade, eco-friendly or animal-friendly (Karsaklian & Fee, 2016). Findings indicate strong support for convergence between ethical consumers and consumers who believe they are acting collectively. Many ethical consumers believe they are part of community of citizen-consumers who through their joint purchasing decisions are critiquing and hopefully changing traditional productionconsumption commodity networks (Long & Murray, 2014). Moreover, in our contemporary world, consumers’ food consumption decisions are changing as they attempt to balance egoistic and altruistic motivations. By examining ethical self-identity, environmental consciousness, health consciousness and food safety one can see the relative importance of these types of motivations in influencing consumers’ attitudes towards and purchase frequency of food. In addition, it was discovered that egoistic motivations may influence food consumption decisions more strongly than altruistic motivations (Birch, Memery, & De Silva Kanakaratne, 2018). This has led to the studies on consumption motivations of luxury goods as well as an investigation into consumers’ intrinsic motivations for purchasing luxury goods. It was shown that those consumers who are primarily intrinsically motivated tend to purchase luxury products for superior quality and self-directed pleasure indicating that self-esteem relates strongly to self-directed pleasure (Salmela, 2010; Truong & McColl, 2011). Similarly, examining consumers’ motivations for luxury also led to the discovery of motivation difference according to different income levels and different ages of consumers. It was noted that difference in income levels and ages can lead to different orientations in social and personal motivation (Wang & Han, 2011). The issue of social and personal motivation can also be seen in the studies investigating the antecedents of status consumption pertaining to the weddings. It reveals the interrelationship between the dimensions of lifestyle and brand consciousness, and the constructs related to conspicuous consumption, status 207
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consumption and self-expression. For example, materialism and social dominance values were seen as a strong driver for different motivations for luxury consumption in Mainland China and United States (Yu, 2014). Researchers have noted consumers impetuously purchase of branded products with an intention to flaunt their possessions in their social circle, to signal wealth and status. Moreover, consumers purchase ostentatious products to gain affirmation from their social groups and hierarchy (Shobeiri, Rajaobelina, Durif, & Boivin, 2016). Although, research on consumers’ moral emotions and self-orientation is limited, consumers’ satisfaction with their consumption has been emphasized in consumer studies and marketing, little substantive empirical research has addressed ethical consumers’ emotional satisfaction and the link between their motivations and happiness. Also, the idea that self-oriented motivations focused on self-actualization rather than moral emotions (guilt and empathy) play key roles in ethical consumers’ happiness with fair-trade consumption have been noted. However, strong associations of the paths from narcissism to self-actualization, self-actualization to happiness, and self-actualization to repurchase intentions compared to the paths from guilt to empathy, empathy to happiness, and empathy to repurchase intentions help in understanding issue of ethical consumers’ emotional satisfaction and the link between their motivations and happiness (Hwang & Kim, 2018). For example, in understanding the reasons why some consumers drink coffee. It was revealed that consumers associate the consumption of coffee to habit, pleasure, family, friendship, and work. This indicates the consumers’ emotional satisfaction and motivations for the consumption of coffee, and it reflects the social meaning of the drink in the domestic environment, work or in friendship circles (Arruda et al., 2011). Also, of significance to consumers’ motivation for consumption is the consumption of foods that by dint of their status as chemical-free. Foods that are locally produced and/or free of genetically modified ingredients are also believed to reduce the environmental impact of food provision. However, there are many other factors, such as health concerns, that may also encourage the consumption of these foods. It was observed that while consumers believed organic food to be healthy and environmentally sound (both of which were considered desirable) there are also issue of convenience. Hence, consumers cannot be said not to hold genuinely positive environmental attitudes, rather, there are range of contradictory beliefs and practices that appeared to be derived from the discursive conflict between conventional and organic food industries over environmental, health and safety claims. However, these conflicts can be leveraged by identifying the barriers and opportunities for expanding the organic industry in the context of the ways organics is constructed by consumers (Lockie, Lyons, Lawrence, & Mummery, 2002).
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ISLAM AND CONSUMPTION In Islam, morals and spirituality, including ecological ethics, are dependent on the primary sources of the Quran and the authentic narrations in the hadith. Consumption from the Islamic point of view can be linked to the belief that Allah is the Provider and the Sustainer. Quran 5 verse 114 states: Said Jesus, the son of Mary: “O God, our Sustainer! Send down upon us a repast from heaven: it shall be an ever-recurring feast for us - for the first and the last of us -and a sign from Thee. And provide us our sustenance, for Thou art the best of providers!”. The Quran also describes humankind as the khalifah or vicegerent of Allah on earth in Quran 2 verse 30 which states: And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” Human’s position of vicegerent entails responsibility and trusteeship. The position can further be linked to the idea of consumption on earth since consumption is regarded as a phenomenon where the acquisition of goods not only powers economic growth and motors global trade flows but also comes to define our sense of self, social and cultural status (Stearns, 2006; Wiedmann, 2015). The importance of the self, social and cultural status is recognised in Islam and have in fact, been divinely supported from the very beginning of human existence on earth. The Quran demonstrates this support by describing the messengership of Prophet Muhammad as mercy for all creatures “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds” (Quran 21:107), as well as uswatun hasanah - an excellent role model – “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often” (Quran 33:21) for human civilisation. Also, from the hadith (a compilation of narratives describing the sayings, practices and silent approval of Prophet Muhammad), a number of examples can be applied in the context of present-day issues on sustainable consumption. A precedent, through the acts of the Prophet, otherwise called sunnah, eating with three right fingers (Sahih Muslim No. 2032) may help keep one healthy and sound, forestall nourishment pollution, limit food consumption, enhance digestion, dodge mouth
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and tongue burning. With regards to sustainable consumption, this modest eating manner can help abstain from spending on dispensable cutlery, for example, forks, spoons and chopsticks which can be poisonous, non-biodegradable and raise worries over deforestation (Samsudin, 2017). Another precedent from the sunnah likewise enjoins Muslims to put on white cloth (Sahih At-Tirmidhi No. 2810). Aside from virtue, neatness and solace, it can likewise add to nature positively by having less shaded articles of clothing as coloring in the material business has been censured for its substance discharge, water utilization and stream contamination. Taking into account that the sustainable motivation demands each individual’s activity for sustainable consumption, efforts are being made to encourage striving for ecological reasons as conceivable path forward. Dynamic interest in social or financial exercises that help ecological benevolent ways of life can likewise be polished through zuhd or asceticism which can be viewed as a cure to materialistic or commercialization culture. This shows that Muslims through Islamic teachings can undertake sustainable consumption as a way of mitigating the risks associated with high income society e.g. overconsumption and materialistic lifestyles (Samsudin, 2017). Furthermore, Yusuf (2004) presented a metaphor between the spiritual and the physical heart which may aid our understanding of Islam and consumption. He noted that overconsumption of food harms the physical heart and simultaneously, the spiritual heart. This is because those who consume an overabundance of rich foods literally do become hard-hearted with arterial sclerosis, the hardening of the arteries…likewise, the spiritual heart may experience what happens to the physical heart (Yusuf, 2004, p. 28). Therefore, a Muslim is urged to be moderate in his consumption. One of the ways the Islamic teachings encourage moderation in consumption is through fasting which invariably leads to spiritual growth. This goes to show that Islamic spiritual tradition as in-built mechanism which can be cultivated to aid sustainable consumption and resist overconsumption.
ANALYSES/DISCUSSIONS As expected, the respondents noted they practiced sustainable consumption as a Muslim. They expressed their understanding of sustainable consumption in terms of managing resources to the point whereby wastage is avoided. They mentioned that as Muslims they believe sustainable consumption is in agreement with the general intent of the religion. Although not many expressed that they consciously bought, used or disposed of goods in a sustainable manner yet there are some who mentioned their efforts to dispose of non-biodegradable items in a manner accessible for recycling. In a country where there are challenges with awareness 210
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on the effect of non-biodegradable item disposal as well as the need for recycling and reuse, Islamic teachings on moderation and avoidance of israf (wastage) can be seen a way of bringing about the necessary change in the society. Almost all the people interviewed expressed linking there sustainable consumption practices to Islam while other who did not mentioned that it does not have anything to do with religion. One of the respondents stated: I have never linked it to any specific teaching or tenet of Islam. However, the teaching of doing what is right perhaps contributes. Analysis of the main factors that motivated the practise of sustainable consumption also showed a mixture of Islam and non-Islamic influence. One of the respondents stated: The main factor is my conviction in the science behind the negative impact of our actions on the planet. I am convinced our actions as humans are contributing to the damage to the planet. However, there are those who believe Islamic injunctions motivated them to practice sustainable consumption as expressed by a respondent thus: Islamic injunctions as well as the personal interest in service to humanity which is expressed by not putting any harmful objects on the street even removing them Respondents also linked the meaning from their experience from sustainable consumption to their sense of identity as Muslims when the observed that; The religion teaches us that we are vicegerents of God on earth. Thus, in all our actions we should remember we are accountable even in the so-called mundane activities. It does relate to my sense of identity as a Muslim especially in serving as a model to others because when Islam [sic] sneezes, the whole world catches cold. As a Muslim, we are advice to used [sic] lawful things that will make life comfortable and easy for us. Although, quite a number of the respondents appear not to be aware of what sustainable consumption is about but based on Islamic teachings they expressed consuming most things following the principle of moderation as encouraged by 211
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Prophet Muhammad, therefore their consuming sustainably cannot be said to be selectively and occasionally. Among the factors that shape or constrain their choices and actions are affordability, need/want, and impact on personal health or environment health. Others mentioned personal conviction (e.g. do not like extravagance), religious influence, and hope for a reward from Allah. Probably due to very low level of awareness on sustainable consumption in Nigeria many respondents could not appropriately mention their common practices of sustainable consumption. For instance, some respondents mentioned issues and items that have no direct link to sustainable consumption. This may be due to looking at the issue of sustainable consumption from wastage, moderation, excessive use, etc. Products and issues related to energy-saving light bulbs, biodegradable household cleaners, hybrid-engine vehicles, reusing plastic containers, recycling printing paper, opting for public transport, sorting out their waste in designated bins and using environment-safe shopping bags were either mentioned in passing or not mentioned at all. However, with regard to disposing, the respondents noted donating old/unwanted items such as papers, deck tape, clothes, tins, pen, and electrical products to people who need them or are less-privileged. In summary, the results show that the understanding and practice of sustainable consumption among Muslims in Nigeria is very low. Furthermore, most Muslims think that sustainable consumption is about preventing wastage and minimizing cost. This finding is in many ways at variance with the current understanding and practice of sustainable consumption and consumer motivation in some countries, where the populace: …were found to be extrinsically motivated to practice sustainable consumption, driven primarily by their psychological need for relatedness. In other words, consumers perceived sustainable consumption as an avenue to care for and connect with other members of their community in a meaningful way (Abdulrazak & Quoquab, 2017). The study also confirms the reason why Muslims in Nigeria consume in the ways they do and ascertain the role of religion in shaping sustainable behaviours among the people. Also, this study is in support of Godazgar (2007) findings that more religious people seemed to be, the less consumerist were their habits. Godazgar in a study of Muslims in Tabriz, Iran, describes how veterans of the Iranian Revolution were much more likely to eschew consumerism and had low rates of consumption themselves; compared with those below 27 – who, for example, ‘consumed’ three and a half hours of satellite TV per day – but also had wildly divergent views on the
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ethics of consumption. In reference to the fact that consumption plays a significant role in identity formation of Muslims worldwide, and is part of status negotiations across a wide variety of contexts Muslims find themselves in, Fischer (2008) notes that “no single theory was able to capture the immense complexity involved in modern religious consumption” (Fischer, 2008, p. 226). This is not to suggest that sustainable consumption in other parts of the Muslim world is more complex and awareness more advanced than in Nigeria but to substantiate studies (e.g. (Hashim Brown, 2013; Mesbahi, 2011) that have argued for human being’s responsibility, aql (reason) with echoes of moderation and restraint as the operative meaning for the environmentally conscious when it comes to interacting with nature, and with consumption. It also emphasises the connection between Islam and sustainable consumption, which supports my position.
SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This section discusses the solutions and recommendations in dealing issues presented in the preceding section. This article offers a conceptualization of the link between Islam and sustainable consumption on the basis of ethical consumer practices. Furthermore, given that Muslims in Nigeria think that sustainable consumption is basically about preventing wastage and minimizing cost, there is need for more awareness on practices, like recycling to become more standardized in the country. This could, in the long run, lead to a sustainable consumption or sustainable food movement so that the conceptualization of ethical consumers can keep up with reality. In addition, governments (at various level), organizations and firms should promote sustainable consumption as something that directly benefits the society. There is need for the marketing of such idea to be grounded in the spirit of religion and ethical values through emphasizing care for members of the society. Furthermore, because of the overall need for development in the country, it is important to highlight the fact that Nigerian government need to be more conscious of sustainability. This is required in order to establish a balanced kind of development. Public and private enterprises should also make concerted effort to synergise their priorities in addressing sustainable consumption as this will hasting developmental objectives. This can also be done through investing in the establishment of effective collaborations with potential partners. Religious organisations in the country need to play their role in the communities through educating, engaging, mobilizing, and advocating for more attention to be paid and invested in sustainable consumption.
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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Future studies could employ methods to explore and identify the relationship between Muslim countries policies and practices in sustainable and equitable food consumption as well as motivations for consumers’ sustainable consumption practices in those countries. Moreover, the research here was conducted exclusively on Nigerian Muslim consumers, therefore, there is need to explore a cross-national context, in order to know if the same types of motivations apply to consumers in these countries. Lastly, this study did not make any attempt to understand the reasons for consumers’ practices, which could also be studied from an Islamic angle (e.g., buycotting, boycotting, etc.), especially in the light of the evolving nature of consumer behaviour in contemporary period. It is important to note that future studies could explore the reasons for the emergence of these behaviours and to what extent are they connected to religious values. This will help in confronting ongoing trends in contemporary food system and directly engage the question of contemporary food politics and approaches to sustainable food consumption.
CONCLUSION This paper began by investigating the need to understand consumers’ motivations for sustainable consumption, specifically, how it relates to Nigerian Muslims. To that end, this study drew from the Islamic teachings as its theoretical basis. Accordingly, Muslim consumers in Nigeria were found to be motivated to practice sustainable consumption and are driven primarily by their Islamic understandings. In other words, Muslim consumers regard sustainable consumption as an avenue to practice moderation and avoid israf (wastage) based on Islamic teachings. This contributes to a better understanding of consumers’ motivations to consume sustainably from religious perspective. The findings suggest that Muslim consumers in Nigeria do not understand the full implication of sustainable consumption and therefore do not often consciously practice it, however, since consuming sustainably leads to desired outcomes based on Islamic teachings they are not against it. In view of the above, it could be inferred that there is compatibility between Islam and sustainable consumption. The findings of this study moreover contribute to the literature on consumers’ motivations for consumption when examined critically within Islamic norms. In this respect, the study also show the perception of consumption motivation in Nigeria and how such consumption motivation is seen among Muslims and the basis for their arguments on sustainable consumption.
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Finally, the paper suggests that in addressing the issue of sustainable consumption and consumers’ motivations for consumption in Nigeria should take into consideration the religious beliefs of the people. The findings of this paper, therefore, have policy implication for government and private institutions as it recommends the concept of moderation as a major Islamic motivation to consumption sustainability and if put in place could result in a compatible motivation to sustainable consumption.
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Stearns, P. N. (2006). Consumerism in World History: the Global Transformation of Desire. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203969885 Sustainable Consumption Roundtable. (2006). Looking back, looking forward - Lessons in choice editing for sustainability. Journal of Perioperative Practice, 21. Retrieved from https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/ handle/10023/2314/sdc-2006-looking-back-forward.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y %0Ahttp://www.sd-commission.org.uk/data/files/publications/Looking_back_SCR. pdf Sustainable Development Goals Fund. (2016). Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved from http:// www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12responsible-consumption-and-production.html Thøgersen, J., & Ölander, F. (2002). Human values and the emergence of a sustainable consumption pattern: A panel study. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23(5), 605–630. doi:10.1016/S0167-4870(02)00120-4 Truong, Y., & McColl, R. (2011). Intrinsic motivations, self-esteem, and luxury goods consumption. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(6), 555–561. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2011.08.004 Veenhoven, R. (2008). Sustainable consumption and happiness. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, (11279), 1–31. Vermeir, I., & Verbeke, W. (2008). Sustainable food consumption among young adults in Belgium: Theory of planned behaviour and the role of confidence and values. Ecological Economics, 64(3), 542–553. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.03.007 Vringer, K., van der Heijden, E., van Soest, D., Vollebergh, H., & Dietz, F. (2017). Sustainable consumption dilemmas. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(6). doi:10.3390u9060942 Wang, D., & Han, J. (2011). Exploring Chinese Motivations for Luxury Consumption. In The tenth Wuhan international conference on e-business-operations & services management and technology (pp. 1193–1198). Academic Press. Welch, D. (2015). Sustainable Production and Consumption. In International Encyclopedia of the Social (2nd ed.; pp. 839–844). Behavioral Sciences. doi:10.1016/ B978-0-08-097086-8.91054-7 Wiedmann, T. (2015). The material footprint of nations. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (p. 6271). National Academy of Science. 218
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Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. J. (2010). Sustainable consumption: Green consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable Development, 18(1), 20–31. Yu, D. (2014). Motivations of luxury consumption in America vs. China. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 71. doi:10.1007/BFb0085471 Yusuf, M. (2004). Purification of the Heart: Signs, symptoms, and cures of the spiritual diseases of the heart: translation and commentary of Imam al- Mawlud’s Matharat al-Qulub. Starlatch Press.
ADDITIONAL READING Al-Jayyousi, O. R. (2016). Islam and sustainable development: New worldviews. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315589947 Chapra, M. U. (1992). Islam and the economic challenge. IIIT. East, R., Singh, J., Wright, M., & Vanhuele, M. (2016). Consumer behaviour: Applications in marketing. Sage (Atlanta, Ga.). Elasrag, H. (2016). Halal industry: Key challenges and opportunities. Hussein Elasrag. Fahm, A. O. (2014). Sustainable Development in Africa: Zakat as a Viable Means. Ulum Islamiyyah Journal, 14, 171–188. Fahm, A. O. (2018). Beyond Good Practices and Standards: An Islamic Framework of Sustainable Business Practices for Corporate Organisation BT - State-of-theArt Theories and Empirical Evidence: Selected Papers from the 6th International Conference on Governance, and Fraud. Ethics, 25(3), 3–25. doi:10.1007/978-98110-6926-0_1 Gbadamosi, A. (2016). Handbook of research on consumerism and buying behavior in developing nations. IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0282-1 Gbadamosi, A. (2019). Exploring the Dynamics of Consumerism in Developing Nations. IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-7906-9 MacDonald, M. (2002). Agendas for Sustainability: Environment and development into the 21st century. Routledge. United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2013). World economic and social survey 2013: Sustainable development challenges. UN.
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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Biodegradable: A thing capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms and thereby avoiding environmental damage. Hadith: A compilation of narratives describing the sayings, practices and silent approval of Prophet Muhammad. Islamo-Spiritual: Islamic concept of spirituality. Israf: A state of being excessive or extravagant. Khalifah: It means vicegerent or steward. However, it is most often used for the leader of a Caliphate. Qur’an: It is an Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic. Sunnah: The body of traditional custom and practice of the Islamic community, both social and legal linked to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Uswatun Hasanah: Model of excellent conduct. It is often linked to Prophet Muhammad.
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To continue IGI Global’s long-standing tradition of advancing innovation through emerging research, please find below a compiled list of recommended IGI Global book chapters and journal articles in the areas of food security, agricultural development, and sustainable agriculture. These related readings will provide additional information and guidance to further enrich your knowledge and assist you with your own research.
Ababio, G. K. (2018). Nutraceuticals: The Dose Makes the Difference – It’s All in the Dose. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 24–47). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch002 Abu, G. A., Okpachu, S. A., & Mallam, M. (2018). Economic Impact Assessment of the National Fadama Development Project on Rural Farming Communities in Niger State of Nigeria. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 264–275). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch012 Agarwal, P., Singh, V., Saini, G. L., & Panwar, D. (2019). Sustainable Smart-Farming Framework: Smart Farming. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 147–173). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5909-2.ch007 Ajayi, C. O., & Adenegan, K. O. (2018). Rights-Based Approach to Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 217–234). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch010
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Akinnagbe, O. M. (2018). Harmonising Roles of Agricultural Extension With Other Agencies Involved in Agricultural Development Towards Sustainable Food Systems in Nigeria. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 160–171). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-3631-4.ch007 Alapiki, H. E., & Amadi, L. A. (2018). Sustainable Food Consumption in the Neoliberal Order: Challenges and Policy Implications. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 90–123). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch005 Aliyev, K., & Gasimov, I. (2018). Retrospective of Economic and Trade Policies Focused on Agricultural Development: Case of Azerbaijan. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 177–195). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-52252733-6.ch009 Amone, W., Kamuganga, D. N., & Makombe, G. (2017). Promoting Agricultural Productivity and Inclusive Growth in Uganda. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 249–262). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch011 Andreea, I. R. (2018). Beyond Macroeconomics of Food and Nutrition Security. International Journal of Sustainable Economies Management, 7(1), 13–22. doi:10.4018/IJSEM.2018010102 Aye, G. C., & Haruna, R. F. (2018). Effect of Climate Change on Crop Productivity and Prices in Benue State, Nigeria: Implications for Food Security. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 244–268). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-2733-6.ch012 Badea, M., & Presada, D. (2016). Developing Students’ English Language Skills and Cultural Awareness by Means of Food Topics. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 176–202). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch007 Basu, A., Sarkar, A., & Basak, P. (2018). Nutraceuticals for Human Health and Hypersensitivity Reaction. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 323–341). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch015
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Bekele, F., & Bekele, I. (2017). Social and Environmental Impacts on Agricultural Development. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 21–56). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch002 Bhatnagar, V., & Poonia, R. C. (2019). Sustainable Development in Agriculture: Past and Present Scenario of Indian Agriculture. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 40–66). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-59092.ch003 Bohra, M., & Visen, A. (2018). Nutraceutical Properties in Flowers. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 217–235). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch010 Bran, M., Dobre, I., & Bran, S. D. (2019). Sustainable Development Through Field Vegetal Exploitation in Romania. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 47–74). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5.ch003 Burns, C., Katayama, K., & Roberts, R. E. (2017). Consumer Co-operatives and Perceptions of Food Safety: Shaping Markets in Post-Fukushima Japan. International Journal of Public and Private Perspectives on Healthcare, Culture, and the Environment, 1(1), 51–69. doi:10.4018/IJPPPHCE.2017010104 Caliman, B. F., & Ene, C. (2016). Sensory Evaluation in Food Manufacturing: Practical Guidelines. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 294–314). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch012 Carmenado, I. D., Hernandez, H. B., Mendez, M. R., & Ferrer, C. G. (2016). Managing for the Sustained Success of Organic Food Associations: A Sustainable Management Approach from “Working with People” Model. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 25–43). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch002 Cascella, M., Muzio, M. R., Bimonte, S., & Cuomo, A. (2018). Nutraceuticals for Prevention of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 236–259). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch011
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Chaudhry, S., & Garg, S. (2019). Smart Irrigation Techniques for Water Resource Management. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 196–219). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5909-2.ch009 Cristache, S. E., Rotaru, F. G., & Rotaru, E. C. (2019). European Agriculture in 2020: Solutions for a Sustainable Development. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 247–274). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5.ch012 Cristina, G., & Iridon, C. (2016). Food Cultural Values: An Approach to Multiculturality and Interculturality. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 125–145). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch005 D’Aleo, V., D’Aleo, F., & Bonanno, R. (2018). New Food Industries Toward a New Level of Sustainable Supply: Success Stories, Business Models, and Strategies. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 74–97). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-2733-6.ch004 Dahiya, K., & Dhankhar, R. (2018). Role of Nutraceuticals in Cancer. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 176–194). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch008 Daniela, R. E. (2019). The Role of Agricultural Cooperatives Models Among Europe. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 210–226). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-5739-5.ch010 de Gannes, V., & Borroto, C. G. (2017). Appropriate and Sustainable Plant Biotechnology Applications for Food Security in Developing Economies. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 178–196). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-0942-4.ch008 Diaconeasa, M. C., & Constantin, F. (2019). The Role of Higher Education in Supporting Sustainable Rural Entrepreneurship: A Case Study. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 294–315). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5.ch014
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Domazet, I., & Djokić, N. (2018). Food Safety From Consumer Perspective: Consumer Confidence in Food Safety. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 316–336). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2733-6.ch015 Drăgoi, M. C. (2016). Health Determinants: Nutrition-Related Facts. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 393–417). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch017 Dube, P., Heijman, W. J., Ihle, R., & Ochieng, J. (2018). The Potential of Traditional Leafy Vegetables for Improving Food Security in Africa. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 220–243). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-52252733-6.ch011 Durugkar, S. R., & Poonia, R. C. (2019). Peregrinating Gardens From Traditional to Most Advanced Handy Approach for Avoiding the Unnecessary Utilization of Resources. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 174–195). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5909-2.ch008 Erokhin, V. (2018). Trade in Agricultural Products and Food Security Concerns on Emerging Markets: How to Balance Protection and Liberalization. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 28–54). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2733-6. ch002 Famuyiwa, B. S., Olaniyi, O. A., & Adesoji, S. A. (2017). Appropriate Extension Methodologies for Agricultural Development in Emerging Economies. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 82–105). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-0942-4.ch004 Georgiana-Raluca, L., & Dan, B. (2019). The Competitiveness Constraints of Romanian Wine Sector and the EU-28 Agricultural Model. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 28–46). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5.ch002 Ghosh, I., & Ghoshal, I. (2018). Implications of Trade Liberalization for Food Security Under the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership: A Gravity Model Approach. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 98–118). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-2733-6.ch005 225
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Gomes, P. P. (2018). Food and Environment: A Review on the Sustainability of Six Different Dietary Patterns. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 15–31). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch002 Gonzalez-Feliu, J., Osorio-Ramírez, C., Palacios-Arguello, L., & Talamantes, C. A. (2018). Local Production-Based Dietary Supplement Distribution in Emerging Countries: Bienestarina Distribution in Colombia. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 297–315). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2733-6.ch014 Goundar, S., & Appana, S. (2017). Mainstreaming Development Policies for Climate Change in Fiji: A Policy Gap Analysis and the Role of ICTs. In W. Ganpat & W. Isaac (Eds.), Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (pp. 1–31). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1607-1.ch001 Guma, I. P., Rwashana, A. S., & Oyo, B. (2018). Food Security Indicators for Subsistence Farmers Sustainability: A System Dynamics Approach. International Journal of System Dynamics Applications, 7(1), 45–64. doi:10.4018/ IJSDA.2018010103 Guma, I. P., Rwashana, A. S., & Oyo, B. (2018). Food Security Policy Analysis Using System Dynamics: The Case of Uganda. International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach, 11(1), 72–90. doi:10.4018/IJITSA.2018010104 Gupta, C., Pacheco, C., & Prakash, D. (2018). Anti-Inflammatory Functional Foods. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 48–78). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch003 Hemansi, V. R. K., Shukla, R., Gupta, R., & Saini, J. K. (2018). Food Grade Microorganisms for Nutraceutical Production for Industrial Applications. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 342-367). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch016 Ignjatijević, S., & Cvijanović, D. (2018). Exploring the Global Competitiveness of Agri-Food Sectors and Serbia’s Dominant Presence: Emerging Research and Opportunities (pp. 1–193). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2762-6 Isaac, W., Ganpat, W., & Joseph, M. (2017). Farm Security for Food Security: Dealing with Farm theft in the Caribbean Region. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 300–319). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch013 226
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Ivolga, A., Trukhachev, V., Bannikova, N., & Baicherova, A. (2018). Improvement of Food Security Through Reforming of Domestic Veterinary Service: Case of Russia. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 337–358). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-2733-6.ch016 Jat, D. S., Limbo, A. S., & Singh, C. (2019). Internet of Things for Automation in Smart Agriculture: A Technical Review. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 93–105). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5909-2.ch005 Jat, D. S., & Madamombe, C. G. (2019). Wireless Sensor Networks Technologies and Applications for Smart Farming. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 25–39). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5909-2.ch002 Jean-Vasile, A., & Alecu, A. (2016). Trends and Transformations in European Agricultural Economy, Rural Communities and Food Sustainability in Context of New Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reforms. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 1–24). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch001 Jeločnik, M., & Zubović, J. (2018). Irrigation and Food Security: Case of Soybean Production in Serbia. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 269–296). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2733-6.ch013 Joseph, E., & O’Dea, E. (2017). Integrating Spatial Technologies in Urban Environments for Food Security: A Vision for Economic, Environmental, and Social Responsibility in South Bend, Indiana. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 263–299). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch012 Kais, S. M. (2017). Climate Change: Vulnerability and Resilience in Commercial Shrimp Aquaculture in Bangladesh. In W. Ganpat & W. Isaac (Eds.), Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (pp. 162–187). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1607-1.ch006 Kanyamuka, J. S., Jumbe, C. B., & Ricker-Gilbert, J. (2018). Making Agricultural Input Subsidies More Effective and Profitable in Africa: The Role of Complementary Interventions. In A. Obayelu (Ed.), Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies (pp. 172–187). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch008 227
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Kasemsap, K. (2016). Multifaceted Applications of Green Supply Chain Management. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 327–354). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-03415.ch014 Kasemsap, K. (2018). Nutrition and Functional Foods: Current Trends and Issues. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 158–175). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch007 Khaled, R., & Hammas, L. (2016). Technological Innovation and the Agricultural Sustainability: What Compatibility for the Mechanization? International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy, 7(2), 1–14. doi:10.4018/IJIDE.2016040101 Koç, A. A., Ozdamar, O., & Uysal, P. (2017). The Economic Determinants of Food Security in the MENA Region. International Journal of Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Business Models, 2(1), 1–19. doi:10.4018/IJFBMBM.2017010101 Kocadağlı, A. Y. (2017). The Temporal and Spatial Development of Organic Agriculture in Turkey. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 130–156). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch006 Kothari, R., & Wani, K. A. (2019). Environmentally Friendly Slow Release NanoChemicals in Agriculture: A Synoptic Review. In R. Poonia, X. Gao, L. Raja, S. Sharma, & S. Vyas (Eds.), Smart Farming Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Development (pp. 220–240). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-52255909-2.ch010 Kumar, B., Singh, S., Srivastava, K., & Wani, K. A. (2018). New Product Development and Regulatory Challenges in Nutraceutical Industry. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 280–303). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch013 Kuzman, B., Stegić, M., & Puškarić, A. (2016). Serbia and EFTA Contributions to Trade of Agroindustrial Products. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 355–364). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch015
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Singh-Ackbarali, D., & Maharaj, R. (2017). Mini Livestock Ranching: Solution to Reducing the Carbon Footprint and Negative Environmental Impacts of Agriculture. In W. Ganpat & W. Isaac (Eds.), Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (pp. 188–212). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-1607-1.ch007 Stancu, A. (2016). Correlations and Patterns of Food and Health Consumer Expenditure. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 44–101). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-0341-5.ch003 Stoian, M., & Caprita, D. (2019). Organic Agriculture: Opportunities and Trends. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 275–293). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5. ch013 Suchiradipta, B., & Saravanan, R. (2017). ICTs for Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations. In W. Ganpat, R. Dyer, & W. Isaac (Eds.), Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations (pp. 106–129). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0942-4.ch005 Thakur, K., Zhang, J. G., Wei, Z., Kumar, N., Tomar, S. K., & Pophaly, S. D. (2018). Cross Talk Between Functional Foods and Gut Health. In A. Verma, K. Srivastava, S. Singh, & H. Singh (Eds.), Nutraceuticals and Innovative Food Products for Healthy Living and Preventive Care (pp. 195–216). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2970-5.ch009 Tianming, G. (2018). Food Security and Rural Development on Emerging Markets of Northeast Asia: Cases of Chinese North and Russian Far East. In V. Erokhin (Ed.), Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies (pp. 155–176). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-52252733-6.ch008 Todirica, I. C., Dinu, A. M., & Calin, H. C. (2019). Public-Private Partnership Model for Supporting Traditional Producers. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 227–245). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5739-5.ch011 Trica, C. L., & Ghita, L. (2019). Green Public Procurement: Instrument of Sustainable Development. In G. Popescu (Ed.), Agrifood Economics and Sustainable Development in Contemporary Society (pp. 136–160). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-5739-5.ch007
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Zaharia, M., & Gogonea, R. (2016). Food Consumption Expenditure and Standard of Living in Romania. In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 245–274). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch010 Zubovic, J., & Pavlovic, D. M. (2016). Youth Employability in WB Countries: Can They Look Up to Youth in Developed Countries? In A. Jean-Vasile (Ed.), Food Science, Production, and Engineering in Contemporary Economies (pp. 315–326). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0341-5.ch013
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About the Contributors
Charles A. Anyanwu PhD is a lecturer in the Dept. of Religion and Cultural Studies, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. He hails from Imo State, Nigeria. He is Married to Rev. Mrs. Lawrencia U. Anyanwu and they are blessed with four children. He is currently pursuing a second PhD in Educational Psychology in one of the Nigerian Universities and needs sponsorship. Ibnu Budiman is a researcher in World Resource Institute, in the field of environmental governance. He holds MSc at the Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University and Research (WUR). He works on the topics of environmental social sciences. AbdulGafar Olawale Fahm is a Nigerian. He received his B.A. in Islamic Studies from University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He obtained his M.A. from International Islamic University Malaysia and his Ph.D. in the same University. His areas of interest are Islamic Spiritual Culture, Contemporary Issues, and Islamic Thought. In addition, Dr. Fahm is a Lecturer in Department of Religions, University of Ilorin, Nigeria and has experience in teaching courses such as Islamic Historiography, Public Finance in Islam, Islamic Fundamentals, Islamic Banking, and Classical Foundation of Islamic Civilization and Culture. Tosin Gbadegesin is a Sustainable Development Practitioner with competency in Environmental, Economic and Energy Sustainability. He has over two years’ experience working as Co-founder of CleanEdge, a nonprofit into energy, economic and environment sustainability. He has managed several development projects such as Save the Environment, Energy for Minorities, Sustainable Agriculture etc. Recently, he completed his Master’ degree in Sustainable Development Practice from University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where he graduated among best five percent in a class of fifty. He has over three years’ research experience working on several development issues. Some of these include working on: threat of changing climate to water and global food consumption pattern, accessing effectiveness of collective action
About the Contributors
in promoting access to market in Tanzania; investigating contribution of non-farm activities to rural youth employment etc. His sound research skills have also enabled him to author several papers in peer-reviewed international journals. He has been a facilitator/paper presenter at several international conferences such as Africa Youth Conference on Climate Change (AFRIYOCC), Symposium for Climate Change and Adaptation in Africa, International Conference on Business and Human Right in Africa, and many more. His education, research experience and work at CleanEdge have earned him leadership position at Barack Obama’s Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI) RLC Accra, Ghana, and many other notable awards such as Merit Writer Award, Public Policy Think Tank fellow of Ibadan School of Governance and Public Policy (ISGPP), 2018 Young Climate Leader (YCL), 2018 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Scholar, Young Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Scholar by Africa Water Association (AfWA) and USAID West Africa, Outstanding Research Contribution Award from Young African Leaders Journal of Development, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, and 2018 YALI Leadership Award in Energy and Environmental Sustainability by Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni of Nigeria and U.S. Embassy. Huynh Viet Khai was postdoctoral scholar in Kyushu, Japan. Currently, he is head of Department of Environmental and Resource Economics at College of Economics, Can Tho University, Vietnam. His research involves productive efficiency of agricultural production, water pollution, the demand of agricultural insurance, the solution of poverty reduction, organic production, biodiversity conservation, as well as economic valuation of non-market goods such as externality of agriculture and forest, waste management, environmental policy, the applications of contingent valuation and choice modeling methods. Hai Thanh Luong graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree in Vietnam’s University since 2004 and spent continuously around ten years to teach and research policing. He achieved doctoral tittle at School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University in 2017. His research interest includes criminology, border crime, transnational organized crime in Asia, drug trafficking, policing and police training. At the current time, Dr Hai holds an Honorary Principal Research position at the Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University. His maiden book chapter, on drug trafficking in Vietnam, was published in 2017. He authored his first book in 2019. The first book chapter, drug trafficking in Vietnam, was published in Viano’s Springer (2017) and the first sole book has also published by Palgrave MacMillan (2019).
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About the Contributors
Opeyemi Ademola Olayiwola, a Nigerian, is a Graduate Student at the Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Science, Pan African University, Cameroon. After joining the Master of Science program, Ademola was a Policy Analyst and Researcher (Africa Division) at the Organisation for World Peace, Toronto, Canada. His research areas focus on governance, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, migration and humanitarian crisis. Atiku Abubakar Udulu has interest in national and global economic history with particular emphasis on agriculture, crafts, enterprises and modern manufacturing industries in Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi and Zamfara states. He has B.A. from University of Sokoto, M.P.A. from Lagos State University, Ojo, M.A. and M. Phil. from Usumanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and obtained Ph. D in History and Strategic Studies from University of Lagos. Dr. Atiku has published books, contributed chapters in books, articles in Journals and presented papers in conferences at local and international levels.
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Index
A Africa 14, 33, 36, 56, 59-60, 62-63, 65, 68, 79, 81, 103, 123, 177-182, 184-196, 200 agriculture 2-3, 5, 12, 19, 29, 31-47, 54, 57-60, 62, 68, 78-82, 84-85, 87-92, 121, 144, 152, 157-158, 160-166, 171, 173, 187, 195, 204 alternative development 120, 122, 131133, 135, 140 availability 58, 60, 63-64, 78-82, 84, 8788, 92, 100, 103, 107-108, 112, 114, 117, 140, 160, 169, 172, 179-180, 183-185, 193-194, 205
B Biodegradable 212, 220
C capitalist consumption 4, 8-9, 21, 29 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 45, 57, 62-64, 76 church 56, 61, 177-183, 186-196, 200 climate change 2, 5, 14, 21, 32-33, 35, 3739, 41, 55-60, 62-69, 76, 80, 88, 103, 161, 169, 192, 194 climate-smart 31-47, 68-69 community 17, 67, 76, 82-83, 85, 87, 90, 92, 111, 120, 123, 125, 131, 133, 140, 161, 163, 167-168, 179, 184-186, 191-192, 194, 206-207, 212, 220
conflict 3, 78-83, 87-90, 92, 103-104, 106, 120-123, 125, 127, 131, 134, 140, 183, 190, 192-193, 208 consuming sustainably 212, 214 contemporary 2, 4, 8-9, 16, 41, 178, 187, 202, 207, 214 corporate food giants 9, 17, 21 cult violence 82, 86-87, 92, 100 CVM 143-147, 152
D development 2-5, 8-9, 18, 21-22, 32, 3442, 44-47, 54-56, 63, 66-69, 80, 8285, 87-88, 90, 100, 106, 119-120, 122, 124-125, 130-136, 140, 144, 152-153, 160, 162-169, 182, 194, 196, 201-202, 204-206, 213 diet 56-57, 66, 76, 109, 185 diets 56, 63, 66-67, 185 distribution 3-4, 6, 16, 19, 43, 68-69, 80-82, 146, 151, 157, 162-164, 167, 169-170, 172-173, 177-196, 200
E employment 157, 160, 165, 168, 181, 192 environmental challenges 54-55, 76 environmental degradation 2, 7, 35, 183 eradication 119-120, 124, 129, 133-134, 136, 168 ethnic minorities 119-120, 126, 130, 134, 140
Index
F FAO 2-3, 9, 15, 19, 29, 32, 35-36, 39-40, 43, 55, 58-60, 79, 183, 193 farmers 1, 6, 9, 11-12, 14-15, 17-19, 32-33, 35-47, 56, 59, 78-82, 88-90, 92, 103, 107-108, 111-112, 119, 121-127, 129, 131-136, 158, 161-168, 171, 173, 183 farmland 88, 91, 106, 111, 131 food access 2, 9, 65, 110, 114, 117 food availability 82, 87, 103, 107-108, 113, 117, 179-180, 193 food consumption 1-5, 7-9, 15-22, 54-58, 64, 67-69, 76, 114, 143, 179, 183, 206-207, 209, 214 food insecurity 2, 15, 38, 60, 78-81, 86-87, 89, 92-93, 101-106, 111, 113, 115, 117, 130, 182-187, 191, 193-196 food politics 1-9, 14-17, 19-22, 100, 195196, 214 food production 2-4, 6-8, 12, 15-16, 19-21, 43, 45, 54-58, 63, 68, 76, 81, 102-105, 107, 114, 157-158, 160-165, 169-170, 172-173, 177, 182, 184, 187, 194-196 food security 2-4, 15, 32, 35, 38-40, 43, 54-55, 57-58, 65-69, 78-81, 84-85, 87, 90-92, 100, 103-104, 109-110, 113-114, 117, 119, 125-127, 133-136, 140, 165, 181-185, 192-193 food stability 103, 111, 113, 117
G GATT 29 government 21, 37, 42, 62, 80, 82-86, 8891, 105, 108-110, 112-114, 120-121, 123-125, 130-136, 140, 144, 149, 157-160, 162, 164-173, 180-181, 195196, 205-206, 213, 215 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) 35, 45, 54, 57, 67, 76
H Hadith 209, 220 healthcare 113, 119, 129, 133-136, 140 Healthcare Service 119, 140
Hellenist 200 household 65, 79, 81, 103-104, 107, 109111, 113, 117, 122, 126, 128, 142, 144, 149, 151-152, 161, 183, 205, 212
I inequality 2-3, 5-6, 8-9, 32, 36, 42, 45, 81-82 Islamic teachings 210-211, 214 Islamo-spiritual 202-203, 220 israf 211, 214, 220
J justice 17, 19, 22, 31, 33-35, 37-39, 42, 4547, 100, 161, 185, 190-191, 194-195
K Kachin State 126, 140 Khalifah 209, 220
L Land Conflict 140 land rights 120-122, 124, 130-131, 134136 local farmer 121
M moderation 201, 210-215 modern 45, 62, 126, 160-164, 168, 173, 182-184, 213 Muslim 125, 171, 201-203, 209-211, 213214 Myanmar 60, 119-128, 130, 132-136, 140
N neglect 81, 179, 189-190, 192, 200 Nigeria 78-80, 82-88, 91-92, 101-102, 104105, 157-160, 163, 167-171, 201-203, 212-215 nomadic terrorism 101-105, 107-108, 112113, 115, 117 nutrition 2-3, 54, 56-58, 63-64, 66-67, 76, 79, 143, 184-185, 187
241
Index
O
S
Oil Violence 78, 85, 100 opium cultivation 120-123, 125-127, 129, 131-136, 140 opium poppy 119, 122-123, 126, 128, 132133, 140
safe pork 142-145, 147, 149-152 SC 29 Shan State 121, 124-127, 129, 131, 140 smallholders 31, 33, 35-36, 38-40, 42-43, 45 stability 66, 68-69, 79, 103, 111, 113, 117, 183 sufficient 79, 102-103, 107, 110-112, 114, 117, 128, 134, 160, 163, 183-185 sunnah 209-210, 220 sustainable consumption 5-6, 8, 16, 18-21, 29, 54-56, 142-143, 152, 161, 163164, 169-170, 191, 195-196, 201-206, 209-215
P Phenomenological Study 117 politics 1-9, 11-12, 14-17, 19-22, 38, 54-55, 78-79, 81-82, 87, 92, 100, 177181, 186-187, 190, 192-196, 200, 214 practice 18-19, 33, 43, 45, 88, 161, 189, 201, 211-212, 214, 220 production 2-4, 6-9, 11-12, 15-17, 19-21, 35-37, 43, 45, 54-60, 63, 65, 67-69, 76, 80-85, 89-90, 102-105, 107, 114, 117, 120, 122, 125, 127, 131-132, 144, 147, 149, 152, 157-158, 160-165, 167-173, 177, 179, 181-184, 186-187, 191, 194-196, 201, 204-206
Q Qur’an 220
R racism 177, 188-190, 194-195, 200 religious beliefs 215 Rice Mills 164, 170-171 role 4, 41, 86, 132, 144, 152, 164, 177, 179-180, 193-196, 200, 209, 212-213
242
T technology 7, 36-38, 62, 66, 69, 157, 162, 168, 173
U Uswatun Hasanah 209, 220
V violence 78, 82-83, 85-87, 89-93, 100 vulnerable 33, 36, 38, 45, 56, 60-61, 66-68, 103, 131, 187
W WTP 143-146, 150