African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

Physical constraintsIn many parts of Africa, irregular weather patterns(drought, floods), isolation of agriculturalregions and environmental degradation allcontribute to significantly reducing the rate ofgrowth of agricultural and food production.Social constraintsSocial constraints restrict agricultural and ruraldevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa: low levelof literacy and schooling, insufficient access tosafe water for humans and livestock, poor dietaryhabits, low health-care coverage, spread of malariaand HIV disease and uncontrolled populationgrowth.Financial and economic constraintsSerious financial and economic constraints hamperthe development of the agricultural sector:(a) Sizeable external debt;(b) Disequilibrium of public finances and balanceof payments;(c) Low level of domestic savings;(d) Limited proportion of national financial resourcesallocated to the agricultural sector;(e) Low participation of basic infrastructureand the private sector in the economy;(f) Export essentially confined to primarycommodities;(g) Stagnation or regression of the industrialsector; and(h) Restricted markets, which, coupled with theserious difficulties of national institutions informulating and implementing appropriatepolicies, exacerbate resource degradationand increase the level of unemployment,therefore fuelling social disruption.Technical constraintsThe technical constraints essentially translate aslimited application of technology in productionsystems, inappropriate agricultural practices, lowuse of inputs and insufficient farmer training andadvisory assistance. Agricultural production, especiallyfood production, depends almost exclusivelyon natural factors (rains, soil, rudimentarytillage tools). The progress made in raising foodproduction in certain countries is the result of anextension of cropped area rather than an increasein productivity.Institutional and political frameworksPoorly defined and poorly articulated legislative,regulatory and policy frameworks with littlemotivational impact contribute largely to raisingthe transaction costs of direct investments by nationalsand foreigners (FAO, 2000).The severity of the problem of food securityvaries from one African subregion to another.Although West Africa is more populated thanany other African subregion, it has the lowestproportion of hungry inhabitants (about 18%),while East Africa, with a far smaller population,has more than twice as many (42%). The proportionis also higher in central and southernAfrica, which are also far less populated. Some44 per cent of the 340 million people living inthe 26 countries that make up these three subregionsare undernourished. Food production hasmade rapid progress in West Africa, notably inBurkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria,and a number of other countries, but two outof every five persons still do not have adequatefood intake. The food situation in the other subregionshas further deteriorated, primarily due topolitical instability in Angola, Somalia, Ethiopia,Eritrea, Congo (Brazzaville) and in the GreatLakes Countries, including the Democratic Republicof the Congo (FAO, 2000).The State of Agricultural Production inAfricaIn the past three decades, agricultural productionhas increased at an average of less than 2per cent per annum, while the population hasrisen by about 3 per cent. Under current demandand supply trends, cereal imports are expectedto rise from the current 10 million metric tonsWATER FOR FOOD SECURITY195