The promotion of maize fertiliser packages: A cause of household food insecurity and peasant impoverishment in high rainfall areas of Zimbabwe

Child malnutrition is a continuing problem in Zimbabwe's communal areas. These include some high rainfall areas, which make a contribution to the country's maize surplus during non‐drought years. A survey of farmers and extension workers in four high rainfall communal areas was carried out to investigate the effects of following recommended practices for maize production on household economy and food security.

Thirty‐two per cent of communal farmers had applied all the officially recommended fertiliser to their 1990/91 maize crop, often by obtaining these inputs on credit in lieu of grain sales receipts from the subsequent harvest. Yet. yields were so low that 48 per cent of these farmers would have been unable to retain sufficient grain to satisfy their families’ minimum requirements, if they had reimbursed the full cost of the input credit.

The majority (64 per cent) of farmers had deviatedfrom the recommended practice by adopting ‘low external input strategies’. A key feature of most of these strategies was the substitution of manure for part or all of the recommended fertiliser. In three of the four communal areas studied, this had improved the chances not only of recovering input costs, but also of achieving maize self‐sufficiency.

These results suggest that policy‐makers should shift emphasis from a dependence on costly external inputs to the integration of low levels of fertiliser with a range of more natural methods of soil improvement, in an effort to improve household food security in the communal areas.     

Book briefs

Key variables in social investigation, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1986, vii + 276 pp.

Reproductive change in developing countries, Insights from the World Fertility Survey, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1985, xvi + 301 pp, ISBN 0‐19‐828465‐9.

The world crisis in education, The view from the eighties, Oxford University Press, New York, 1985, vii + 353 pp ISBN 0‐19‐503503‐8

Reaching the Urban Poor, Project implementation in developing countries, Westview Press, Boulder Colorado. 1986, vii + 264 pp, ISBN 0‐8133‐7129‐5

Housing policy, An international bibliography, Mansell Publishing Limited, New York, 1986, ix ‐ 398 pp, ISBN 0‐7201‐1785‐2

Agribusiness and the small‐scale farmer: A dynamic partner for development, Westview Press, Boulder, 1985

Agriculture and employment in developing countries: Strategies for effective rural development, Westview Press, Boulder, 1985

Progress in natural resource economics, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1985

International agricultural trade: Advanced readings in price formation, market structure and price instability 1984

The role of markets in the world food economy, Westview Press, Boulder, 1983     

Technology transfer in small‐scale dryland crop production: Future challenges

The study focuses on maize technology transfer in a typical homeland maize‐growing area. Two thirds of maize growers were women. Thirty per cent of producers were over 60 years of age, 20 per cent were illiterate and 50‐60 per cent were living in varying states of poverty. There was insufficient contact and intensity of contact with all sources of farming information. The ‘trickle down’ process from progressive to less progressive farmers has been unsuccessful.

Less than half of the farmers were implementing practices according to proven recommendations. This was related to a lack of knowledge. Most farmers did not realise that all practices were interrelated, resulting in below optimum yields.

Innovativeness was explained by greater farming resources, farming knowledge, contact with information sources and level of education, while yield per ha was also explained by greater farming resources, as well as the presence of the male head of household and contact with extension workers.

Farming populations are not homogeneous relative to farming practices and technology has been developed to suit the more progressive farmers. Future technology transfer strategies should be based on a targeted approach to reach both progressive and low‐access and resource‐poor farmers.     

The role of dryland cotton as a source of household income in two magisterial districts of KwaZulu

The aim of this paper is to illuminate certain economic aspects of the production of dryland cotton among rural households in the Ubombo and Hlabisa magisterial districts of KwaZulu. In order to assess the viability of the household cotton enterprise, its contribution to household income and the producers' perceived constraints to production, an interview survey was conducted among 100 cotton‐adopting households in the two study areas. Multi‐stage sampling techniques were employed to facilitate the study.

Results show that the Ubombo region's inherent climatic suitability, combined with extensive support services, has benefited the dryland producer and resulted in a lucrative on‐farm enterprise. Cotton contributed an average of 62 per cent to annual household income in this district

In the climatically less suitable Hlablsa district, where producers are limited by lack of finance and small land sizes, wage labour was found to be the prime source of cash income for the household, while cotton contributed an average of 17 per cent towards annual household income.

Producers in both areas are cost effective relative to the white commercial farmer while mean yields and net incomes indicate that dryland cotton has the potential to contribute much to the development of certain areas of KwaZulu. Overspending on chemicals may indicate the need for increased extension into complex pest control management procedures.     

Inefficient land use in KwaZulu: Causes and remedies

Rural KwaZulu is a less developed region of South Africa. Despite intense population pressure, arable land is underutilized. Grazing resources are overutilized.

Supply response to price incentives and farmer support programmes is inelastic as the potential gains to farmers are limited by small farm sizes. Facilitating the land rental market could improve efficiency informing, and also has equity advantages. Institutional changes are needed to encourage land rental

Overstocking occurs primarily because grazing is an open access common property resource. Unlike most solutions to overstocking (eg cattle taxes and quotas), privatization of grazing land (even in the limited sense that arable land is privately controlled) would not only encourage stock‐owners to reduce stocking rates but would also improve their incentive to upgrade herd and pasture quality. It is recommended that privatization be promoted in areas where it is more acceptable to households.     

Book briefs

G Antonelli and A Quadrio‐Curzio (eds) The agro‐technological system towards 2000 North Holland.

W J Baumol Superfairness: Applications and theory The MIT Press, Massachusetts, 1986

E Boonzaier and J Sharp (eds) South African keywords: The uses and abuses of political concepts David Philip, Cape Town and Johannesburg, 1988

C Bryant (ed) Poverty, policy, and food security in Southern Africa Lynne Rienner Publishers. Boulder, Colorado, 1988

J Butler. R Elphick and D Welsh (eds) Democratic liberalism in South Africa: Its history and prospect David Philip, Cape Town and Johannesburg. 1987

D P Chaudhri and A J Dasgupta Agriculture and the development process: a study of Punjab Croom Helm, London, 1985

R Cohen (ed) Satisfying Africa's food needs: Food production and commercialization in African agriculture Lynne Rienner Publishers. Boulder/London, 1988

J M Conrad and C W Clark Natural resource economics: Notes and problems Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987

D E Janvry and K Subbarao Agricultural price policy and income distribution in India Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1986     

An overview of agricultural and rural development problems in less developed areas of Southern Africa

The problems discussed in this paper are essentially the influence of various factors which underlie the present low levels of agricultural production and the constraints to development of the less developed rural areas of Southern Africa.

The nature, intensity and output of small‐scale farming systems are dependent upon the interactions between and within five groups of factors: physical and ecological; the agri‐milieu; institutional and operational; the human potential; and technology.

This paper discusses previous and present development trends, and reviews the interrelated problems of use of physical resources, the agri‐milieu, human resources, institutional problems and technology.

Suggestions are made for a co‐ordinated strategy at national and local level aimed at removing some of the present barriers and constraints to agricultural and rural development.     

Socio‐economic factors determining the success achieved among cotton‐adopting households in two magisterial districts of KwaZulu

The aim of the paper is to investigate certain aspects of the post‐adoption behaviour of dryland cotton farmers in the Ubombo and Hlabisa magisterial districts of KwaZulu. Particular attention is paid to the socio‐economic determinants of the success (returns per hectare) of the household cotton enterprise.

Multi‐stage sampling methods were used to draw a random sample of fifty cotton‐farming households from each of the two study districts. The data were collected by interview survey and analysed using principal components and regression techniques.

Results suggest that the success of the household enterprise in both areas is largely determined by the socio‐economic environment under which the producer operates. The most important success‐determining factors are those relating to the human capital endowments and economic status of the household.     

Publications

Sajogyo, Usaha Perbaikan Gizi Keluarga (ANP Evaluation Study 1973), Lembaga Penelitian Sosiologi Pedesaan, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, 1975. Rp 1000 pp. xiii + 195.

Committee on Economics Teaching Material for Asian Universities (ed.), Economic Theory and Practice in the Asian Setting, Volume 1: Macroeconomics, pp. 172.

Economic Theory and Practice in the Asian Setting, Volume 2: Microeconomics, pp. 1970.

Economic Theory and Practice in the Asian Setting, Volume 3: The Economics of Agriculture, pp. 245.

Economic Theory and Practice in the Asian Setting. Volume 4: The Economics of Development, pp. 274.

New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd., 1975 (Available through the Asia Office, The Agricultural Development Council, Inc. Tanglin P.O. Box 84, Singapore 10).

Seminar Hasil Penelitian Lapangan. Pusat Latihan Penelitian Ilmu² Ujung Pandang (Seminar on Results of Fieldwork, Social Science Research Training Centre, Ujung Pandang), 8–11 December 1976, Hasanuddin University and Social Science Research Training Centre.

Seminar Hasil Penelitian Lapangan 1976, Pusat Latihan Penelitian Ilmu² Sosial, Aceh (Seminar on Results of Fieldwork, Social Science Research Training Centre, Aceh), 6-9 December 1976, Syiah Kuala University and Social Science Research Training Centre.

Werner Rutz, Indonesien: Verkehrserschliessung seiner Ausseninseln (Transport Penetration of the Outer Islands), Paderborn, Germany, 1976. Pp. 182, 15 fold-in maps. DM58.00.

C.L.M. Penders (ed. & transl.), Indonesia: Selected Documents on Colonialism and Nationalism, 1830-1942. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, 1977, pp. 347 + glossary and index.

J. D. Legge, Indonesia. second edition, Prentice-Hall of Australia, Sydney, 1977.

Tax Inspection For Foreign Bodies and Aliens, Indonesian Tax Guide For Foreigners, Jakarta, April 1975, pp. 75.

Drs. B. Usman, Kumpulan Karangan Pajak Sinar Harapan 1973-5, PT Sinar Agape. Press, January 1977, pp. 211 Rp 2500.

Drs. B. Boediono, Pajak Penjualan, Direktorat Jenderal Pajak, Jakarta 1975, pp. 931.

Sritua Arief, Indonesia Growth, Income Disparity and Mass Poverty. Jakarta, Sritua Arief Associates (P.O. Box 2250, Jakarta), 1977.

Indonesian language version, pp. xviii + 150, Rp 5000.

English language version, pp. ii + 207, Price on application.

Kumpulan Bacaan Sosiologi Pedessaan (Readings on Rural Sociology), Lembaga Penelitian Sosiologi Pedesaan, Institut Pertanian, Bogor. 1975.

Direktorat Jenderal Industri Tekstil, Buku Petunjuk Industri Tekstil (A Guide-book to the Textile Industry), Jakarta, 1976. Pp. ix + 410. Rp 6750.

Brian Lynch. Indonesia: Problems and Prospects. Sorrett Publishing Company, Melbourne, 1977, pp. 183. Recommended price $A11.95.

Dr Ir Herman Soewardi. Respons Musyarakat Desa Terhadap Modernisasi Produksi Pertanian, Terutama Padi, Gadjah Mada University Press, 1976, pp. 175.

Douglas Miles, Cutlass and Crescent Moon. A Case Study of Social and Political Change in Outer Indonesia. Centre for Asian Studies, University of Sydney, 1976, pp. 160.     

Book briefs

World food marketing systems, Butterworth & Co, London, 1986.

Faces of hunger. An essay on poverty, justice and development, Studies in applied philosophy, Allen & Unwin, London, 1986. xiii + 178, distributed in South Africa by MacMillan South Africa, Braamfontein.

Decentralization and development — Policy implementation in developing countries, Sage Publications, London, 1983, 319 pp

Soviet interests in the Third World, Sage Publications, London, 1985, xi + 329 pp

No shortcuts to progress — African development management in perspective, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, London, 1983, xv + 223 pp.

Strategies for African Development, University of California Press, London, 1986, xii + 603 pp.

Labour and poverty In Kenya 1900‐1980, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986, xii + 296, £20,00     

Book briefs

Agricultural mechanization and the evolution of farming systems in Sub‐Saharan Africa, World Bank publication, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and Lon‐don, 1987

Livestock development in Latin America, World Bank publication. 1986

Liberty, Market and State: Political economy in the 1980s, Wheatsheaf Books, Brighton, 1986

Law, custom and social order: The colonial experience in Malawi and Zambia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1985     

Book briefs

Eastern Cape publication

Institute of Social and Economic Research

Development issues in the Eastern Cape: A review and assessment Working Paper 25, University of Rhodes, 1986, 96 pp. R5.

Richard N Langlois (ed)

Economics as a process ‘Essays in the New Institutional Economics’, Cambridge University Press, London, 1986, xi + 262 pp, R87,70

Paul Collier, Samir Radwan and Samuel Wangwe with Albert Wagner

Labour and poverty in rural Tanzania ‘Ujamaa and Rural Development in the United Republic of Tanzania’, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986, vii + 143 pp, £17,50

Allen Buchanan

Ethics, efficiency, and the market Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1985, xi + 135 pp, £15,00     

Sources of capital and income for communal area farmers in Kavango: Implications for agriculture and rural development

A survey based on a structured questionnaire was conducted at the beginning of 1995 to identify sources of capital and income for rural households in Kavango. The survey, which covered 80 households, revealed that there was a high dependence on external income sources. Pensions were the major source of income for the highest proportion of all households (33 per cent), followed by wages (23 per cent) and brewing (10 per cent). Other sources of income of similar importance to brewing were crop sales, non‐formal work and cash remittances.

Livestock were a minor source of income but a major source of capital and food security. Households with smaller cattle herds depended more on cattle for income and food security than those with larger herds. Cattle were a highly valued production resource that was only consumed during times of crisis and only in the absence of less valuable assets that could be easily liquidated. Grain storage was more popular among groups with the lowest income. By various criteria, female‐headed households always tended to be in the group of households categorised as the poorest of the poor. However, given sufficient income, over one third of them would purchase cattle to diversify their investment portfolio.

This article presents a number of potential strategies for improving the incomes of rural households in Kavango. These include the promotion of equitable livestock ownership and better use of the grazing resource through community management, intensification of cropping and the implementation of labour‐intensive programmes to develop rural infrastructure.     

Farm household economics: Some policy implications for emergent farmers in Southern Africa

Farm household economics recognises the fact that production and consumption decisions are made jointly by small farm (ie surplus‐producing) households. This phenomenon is of particular importance in areas where small farm households predominate.

Most empirical applications of farm household economics have been directed at measuring the effects of price changes on consumption and have relied on the ‘separable’ approach in deriving estimates. This approach assumes that production decisions always precede consumption decisions with farm households treated as profit maximizers in production and utility maximizers in consumption. Results have clearly demonstrated consumption responses smaller than estimates based on consumer theory alone.

Although many researchers regard mathematical programming as a potentially suitable tool for simulating smallholder behaviour, proponents of new household economics would be reluctant to accept any model that does not (a) maximize utility (rather than profit) and (b) capture the ‘profit effect’ which variations in product prices have on the farm household's full‐income constraint. Attempts to include these basic postulates of farm household economics in programming models are in progress.     

Publications

F. van Anrooy et al (eds), Between People and Statistics: Essays on Modern Indonesian History, The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1979, 316 pp. tables, diagrams. Paper: DF 139.50.

Sayogyo (ed), Ekologi Pedesaan, Sebuah Bunga Rampai (Rural Ecology, A Collection) Bogor, Yayasaan Obor and Institut Pertanian Bogor, 1982, pp 342 + xix.

Anthony Reid, The Blood of the People—Revolution and the End of Traditional Rule in Northern Sumatra, Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. xx + 288. $M48.00.

Colin MacAndrews and Chia Lin Sien (eds), Southeast Asian Seas: Frontiers for Development, McGraw-Hill International Book Company, issued under the auspices of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 1981, 375 pp. (no price stated).

James J. Fox (ed.), The Flow of Life: Essays on Eastern Indonesia, Harvard Studies in Cultural Anthropology, No.2, 1980 US$30.

Hazel Moir, ‘Occupational Mobility and the Informal Sector in Jakarta’ in S. V. Sethuraman (ed.) The Urban Informal Sector in Developing Countries, ILO, Geneva, 1981, pp. 109–120.

Joel S. Kahn, Minangkabau Social Formations: Indonesian Peasants and the World-Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980, pp. xvi + 228.

Tsuyoshi Kato, Matriliny and Migration: Evolving Minangkabau Traditions in Indonesia, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1982, pp. 267. $22.50.

M. C. Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia, Macmillan, London, 1981, pp. xv + 335. Paper, $16.95.

J. Spryt, Indonesia, An Alternative History of the Timeless Isles, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1979, pp. 214. Paper, $10.95.

G. W. Jones and H. V. Richter (eds), Population Mobility and Development: Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Development Studies Centre Monograph No. 27, Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1981, pp. xi + 474. $A9.00.

W. A. Stoever, Renegotiations in International Business Transactions: The Process of Dispute-Resolution between Multinational Investors and Host Societies, Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, Massachusetts. 1981, pp. xiii + 381.

H. Eichberg, Sozialverhalten und Regionalentwicklungsplanung: Modernisierung in der indonesischen Relationsgesellschaft (West Sumatra); Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1981, pp. 283. D. M. 66.     

Black land in white Natal: Administrative constraints on land reform

Very little land outside of KwaZulu is occupied by black people in Natal. This paper considers the position of black people living in freehold areas and established urban areas in Natal.

The administrative structures that purport to cater for these areas embody both horizontal and vertical constraints on efficient social provision.

Land reform accordingly appears to offer little more than a worsening of the situation if implemented before these structural constraints have been addressed.     

Book Reviews

M. Arsjad Anwar, Thee Kian Wie, Iwan Jaya Azis, Pemikiran, Pdaksanaan, dan Perintisan Pembangunan Ekonomi[Concepts, Implementation, and Pioneering in Economic Development], Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia and PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, 1992, pp. xx + 700.

Adam Schwarz, A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, and Westview, Boulder, 1994, pp. 370. Paper: A$24.95.

East Asia Analytical Unit, Expanding Horizons: Australia and Indonesia into the 22st Century,Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, 1994, pp. xviii + 346. A$34.95.

Sjahrir, Pikiran Politik[Political Ideas], LP3ES, Jakarta, 1994, pp. xiv + 191.

Sjahrir, Persoalan Ekonomi Indonesia: Moneter, Perkreditan dan Nenca Pembayaran[Problems of the Indonesian Economy: Money, Credit and the Balance of Payments], Pustaka Sinar Harapan, Jakarta, 1995, pp. xv + 205.

Sjahrir, Analisis Bursa Efek[Analysis of the Stock Exchange], PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, 1995, pp. xiv + 169.

Sjahrir, Ekonomi Indonesia dalam Perspektif Bisnis[The Indonesian Economy in a Business Perspective], PT Jurnalindo Aksara Grafika, Jakarta, 1994, pp. xvi + 239.

Sjahrir, Kebijakan Negara Mengantisipasi Masa Depan[National Policy: Anticipating the Future], Yayasan Obor Indonesia, Jakarta, 1994, pp. xv + 251.

Sjahrir, Formasi Mikro-Makro Ekonomi Indonesia[Indonesia's Macro and Micro Economy], Penerbit Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, 1995, pp. xii + 313

F.B.A. Bouman and Otto Hospes, Financial Landscapes Reconstructed: The Fine Art of Mapping Development,Westview, Boulder, 1994, pp. xi + 416. US$45.00

Robert Cribb (ed.), The Late Colonial State in Indonesia: Political and Economic foundations of the Netherlands Indies 1880–1942,Verhandelmgen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 163, KITLV Press, Leiden, 1994, pp. xiii + 295.

Shinya Sugiyama and Milagros C. Guerrero (eds), International Commercial Rivalry in Southeast Asia in the Inierwar Period,Yale Southeast Asia Studies Monograph 39, Yale Center for International and Area Studies, New Haven, 1994, pp. ix + 222.

W.L. Korthals Altes, Changing Economy in Indonesia. Volume 15: Prices (Non-Rice) 1814–1940,Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1994, pp. 175. Paper: Dfl. 48.00.     

Publication

Laporan Tahun Pembukuan 1960-65 [Report for the Fiscal Years 1960-65]. Bank Indonesia, Djakarta, 1968. Pp. xii + 3O1 and appendices.

Masalah Ekonomi Beserta Pemetjahannja [Economic Problems and their Solution]. Symposium organised by the Central Presidium of KAMI, 1-6 June 1968. Student Senate, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, Djakarta, 1968. Mimeographed, pp. 260.

Business Prospects in Indonesia Today. Published by the Committee for the 17th August Celebration and the Indonesian Community in Hong Kong, August 1968. Pp. 182.

Statistical Pocketbook of Indonesia, 1964-1967. Central Statistical Bureau, Djakarta, 1968. Pp. lii + 418.

Data-data Statistik Pokok Pembangunan Ekonomi [Basic Statistics for Economic Development]. Badan Perent janaan Pembangunan Nasional, Djakarta, 17 August, 1968. Mimeographed, pp. 50.

Report of the Singapore Technical Fact-Finding Mission on the Development of Tourism in Bali. Economic Development Division, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Singapore, June 1968. Pp. 79, Sp. $3.00

Bank Negara Indonesia Unit I, Bulletin of Economic and Financial Statistics, July 1968. Mimeographed, pp. 29.

Indonesian Economic Review vol. 1, no. 1-, May 1968-. Djakarta, Berdikari Ltd (monthly).

Iklantara, No. 1-, August, 1968-, Djakarta, Iklantara Advertising Agency (monthly).     

The effect of HIV on health care in sub‐Saharan Africa

This article is concerned with the hitherto neglected area of the effect of HIV on the delivery of health care in sub‐Saharan Africa. The task is hampered by a lack of usable data. In most countries there have been no sentinel HIV surveys, so we have no clear idea of the magnitude of the epidemic. However, it is certain that HIV will alter the demand for health care, and the supply and quality of services.

Demand will grow as infected adults and children seek care. Most HIV‐related illness is found in people who would not normally require care, and therefore creates additional demand. Demand for care will also be determined by the availability and accessibility of services. Ironically, the middle‐income countries may face higher bills, and in this sense the effect of the HIV epidemic may be worse in the more developed world.

The supply of services will be affected by increased morbidity and mortality among health care workers. This is already happening. The generous terms and conditions of service that most governments offer to workers in the public sector will make the problem worse.

HIV has served to improve the quality of health care in most of the developed world. Patients have sought to take control over their own care, and staff have been more rigorous in taking universal precautions. But in developing countries external aid often determines how health care is organised, and money spent on AIDS is diverted from other areas. This may also be true of local funding.

The effect of HIV on health care is lamentably under‐researched. This is particularly worrying as the effects of HIV will be felt first by the health care sector. The problem must be confronted urgently from the point of view of the suppliers of health care services, the users, and the policy‐makers.