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

28World Agroforestry into the FutureTable 3. Area planted with each of five main tree crops ('000 000 ha).Cashew Cocoa Coffee Oil Palm Rubber1995 2003 1995 2003 1995 2003 1995 2003 1995 2003Brazil 700 673 739 589 1870 2396 33 52 50 103Côte d’Ivoire 70 125 1900 1700 920 400 134 141 46 70Ghana 2 13 1000 1500 10 8 100 115 15 18Kenya 0.85 2 – – 160 170 – – – –Vietnam 189 258 – – 155 500 – – 278 437Source: FAOSTAT 2005.trade regulation mechanisms: internationalagreements with or without buffer stocks,stabilization funds or cartels of producingcountries. None of these arrangements haveso far withstood the test of time and theydo not harmonize with the current movestowards liberalization and globalization.International funding organizations suchas the International Monetary Fund (IMF)and the World Bank have in fact pushed forthe dismantling of such state control andregulatory mechanisms through structuraladjustment programmes (SAPs).As well as affecting international trade, pricedeclines and fluctuations increase the riskto producers, who no longer have any guaranteeof remuneration and may end up withdebts that require them to sell or mortgagetheir land. These situations are exacerbatedfor perennial tree crops, which, by definition,are a long-term investment. Farmerswho obtain a poor price for their groundnutscan change their crop and production methodfor the next cycle; changing a coconutbasedfarming system is an entirely differentmatter. The upside to agroforestry systems is,however, that farmers can be more flexibleabout whether they choose to harvest a treecrop or not, although in many cases this isscarcely enough to compensate.So far, market liberalization has not producedmechanisms or institutions that canadjust supply to a somewhat inflexibledemand and therefore play a regulatoryrole to satisfy all concerned. In part thiscan be attributed to the weakness of farmerorganizations, particularly those in Africa,which is the result of having previously hadState-run enterprises and cooperatives. Insome countries, farmer organizations arehighly politicized, leading to in-fightingand rigid organizational hierarchies. Theprivate sector is unlikely to create appropriateregulatory institutions by itself becausefirms compete with each other and thedominant firms prefer private market arrangements.The weakening of the State byliberalization and the SAPs was justified onthe grounds of State mismanagement, butthe vacuum it has left has not been filled.Disinvestment has in fact considerablyweakened national research and extensioncapabilities that at least used to providesome support to farmers.One must also question whether liberalizationis actually being implemented. Controlson trade still exist in many countries,particularly in Africa. For example, pricesfor food crops may be kept low by controlsat the national level, or there may be capson the price of tree crops (timber and nontimberforest products) that make themunprofitable.Difficulties in diversifyingMany tree crop experts consider diversificationto be vital to protect product pricesagain entering a heavy downward trend.But such diversification, which needs totake place on both farm and producingcountry scales, comes up against numerousobstacles.In many countries, impoverished farmerslack both the information or training onplantation diversification and the technicalor financial resources required to diversify.This is all the more true for farmersof perennial tree crops, which experiencelong immature periods and wide price variations.They are also more likely to faceuncertainties surrounding land tenure andtree use regulations, particularly aroundprotected and indigenous species, whichcan seriously curb diversification efforts.On a national level, few poor countriescurrently have the human, technical andfinancial resources needed to help producersdiversify and increase local processing.For example, in most countries in Africa it