The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

182World Agroforestry into the Futuredevelopment and causing rural disintegration.For example, in sub-Saharan Africa,HIV/AIDS is depleting the region of its foodproducers and farmers and decimating theagricultural labour force for generations tocome (FAO 2004a).Although up to 80 percent of the people inthe most affected countries depend on agriculturefor their livelihoods, the greatest responseto the epidemic has come from thehealth sector. The agricultural sector cannotcontinue ‘business as usual’ in communitieswhere large numbers of adults havedied, leaving the elderly and children toproduce food. Agriculture and natural resourceresponses can play essential rolesin controlling the epidemic, so researcherswill have to revise the content and deliveryof services and the process of transferringagricultural knowledge.This chapter illustrates the specific impactsof the HIV/AIDS pandemic on agroforestryand proposes relevant strategies thatcould mitigate them. Since agroforestryis the science and practice of integratingtrees into farming systems and agriculturallandscapes, and there are many types andproducts of trees, there are many ways inwhich agroforestry can contribute.The impact of HIV/AIDS onrural livelihoodsThe impacts of HIV/AIDS are many andintertwined. While health and demographicimpacts have been studied most,the effects on agriculture and food securityhave become clearer over the last fewyears (FAO/UNAIDS 2003; Mushati et al.2003; Yamano and Jayne 2004). The impactscan be felt most dramatically in thereduction of the labour force, impoverishmentand the loss of knowledge that istransferred from one generation to another.All exacerbate food insecurity and poverty.Moreover, the consequences of HIV/AIDScontribute to making the rural poor morevulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection. Thisdevastating cycle must be broken, andagroforestry has a critical role to play.The impacts of HIV/AIDS that have a longlastingeffect on forestry, agroforestry andrural livelihoods stem largely from: a) reductionof the productive age groups andagricultural labour force; b) acute impoverishmentof households; and c) loss ofknowledge.Regarding loss of productive age groups,the Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO) has estimatedthat some countries could lose up to26 percent of their agricultural labour by2020 (FAO 2004a). A lack of availablelabour was found to be associated with anincrease in forest fires in Malawi, wherecommunities resorted to clearing the landby burning the forest rather than selectivecutting/processing. Fires destroy largerareas of woodlands than selective cuttingand remove all the products and servicesthat woodlands provide to communities(Mike Jurvelius, FAO, personal communication2002). Other effects of labourshortage are shown as a sharp reduction inthe area of land cultivated and a shift fromcash to food crops (FAO 2002).When a member of a household becomesinfected with HIV/AIDS there is a need topay for medical expenses and/or a funeraland productive assets are often sold tomeet these expenses. The consequent lossin purchasing power has led to less moneybeing spent on food. For example, a study inEthiopia calculated the cost of treatment ofone AIDS patient was more than the entirefarm’s average annual income (Demeke1993).The loss of a generation to HIV/AIDS isinterfering with the transfer of agriculturalknowledge, practices and skills that arenormally passed from one generationto the next. This knowledge is critical toboth sustainable agricultural productionand cultural identity. The epidemic is alsoresponsible for a significant loss in institutionalknowledge, since staff of such agriculturalservice institutions as the extensionservices are also affected.The overall impact of the epidemic dependson the actual stage of evolution ofinfection in the population. As shown inFigure 1, the rate of infection of the HIVvirus follows distinct phases. In Phase I,which can take several decades, prevalencerates remain low and increase slowly.Phase II starts when somewhere around5 percent of the population becomesinfected and exponential growth rates ininfection occur. Phase III represents a levellingoff of infection rates, and finally, adecrease occurs in Phase IV. The preciseshape of the curve and the duration ofeach phase will vary from area to area anddepend on a range of factors, includingpolicy and action taken to prevent andmitigate the epidemic. Early and decisiveaction may keep rates low, without everreaching Phase II, as in the case of mostdeveloped countriesPrevalence ratePhase I II III IVTimeFigure 1. Phases in the HIV prevalence curve.Source: Villarreal (2003).