Agriculture: Economies In Sub Saharan Africa And Parts Of Asia - Essay Example

An argument essay Introduction Agriculture is one of the major sectors that have the potential of developing the underdeveloped economies in Sub Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. Some of the regions have desirable ecological conditions that sustain various agricultural activities such as the growth of cocoa in West Africa, tea and coffee in east Africa and sugar can and cotton among many other types of crops in Southern Africa. However, the management off agribusiness in these regions is a major drawback to the realization of the development dreams despite the rich fertile lands and desirable climatic conditions thereby influencing of the concept of free trade. Free trade refers to a social movement whose aim is to better the trading conditions for some of the agricultural products produced in Africa in order to increase the profitability of the crops. Free trade has the potential of bettering the lives of poor African farmers by creating market for their products thereby sustaining the development of the continent as the discussion below portrays. Despite the favorable climatic conditions in the parts of Africa, the lack of proper management of agribusiness in the regions coupled with the lack of adequate market for such products has resulted in underproduction thereby domesticating the poverty levels in the regions. The creation of free trade in the developed countries most of which import agricultural products from African countries therefore presents several advantages to the poor farmers and traders from the region. The social movements seek to better markets for such products as cocoa, coffee, sugarcane and tea among many others that originate from the African continent (Mendoza & Bastiaensen, 2003). The lack of effective market coordination and management made farmers from the continent vulnerable to unscrupulous intermediaries people who exploit them thereby making large profits at the expense of the farmers. Most of the farming families in Africa have remained poor despite the large quantities of the cash crops they produce. The poverty arises from exploitative intermediaries who take advantage of the farmers’ lack of both information and exposure. Most of the business people collude with the local leaders on the scheme to exploit the poor farmers thereby domesticating poverty in the fertile highlands and regions where the crops thrive (Thomas, 2010). Most of the farming families cannot afford school fees and therefore fail to educate their children. The governments in the countries have not taken the initiative to construct schools in some of the remote regions of the countries thereby compelling the poor families rule out the option of education for their children. Most of such children work alongside their poor parents in the fields where they earn small amount of money capable of sustaining them despite their favorable ecological conditions and fertile lands. Child labor is a major problem in the West African countries that produce cocoa. Most of the chocolate manufacturing companies operating in the West African region do not only exploit the small-scale cocoa farmers in the region but also use their children in the factories where they offer cheap labor thereby increasing the profits for such unscrupulous business people. As explained the regions lack education centers which the chocolate manufacturing companies do not develop as their social corporate responsibilities (Kilian, Jones, Pratt & Villalobos, 2006). Such factors therefore compel the parents to send their children the factories where they offer their manual labor. The development of free trade in the continent therefore seeks to cushion the poor small-scale farmers from exploitative intermediaries thereby presenting an opportunity for such poor families to develop and educate their children. The adoption of free trade system has not only increased the price of the products imported from Africa but has also vouched for the abolition of child labor either in the plantations or in the factories. Several governments including the American and the government of the United Kingdom among many others in Europe have burnt the sale of chocolate among other cocoa products manufactured by companies believed to be exploiting poor farmers in West Africa and engaging in child abuse by employing children (Bowes, 2010). Such trade sanctions have helped improve the lives of farming families in such regions since the companies have adopted better working conditions and abolished child labor. In some cases, some of the chocolate companies have developed modern learning facilities in West Africa in extensive social responsive investments in the regions. This way, the lives of the poor families are likely to improve as they earn better and can educate their children (Eric, Alejandro & Dwanye, 2009). Prior to the development and adoption of the free trade system, small scale farming of such crops was not a profitable venture since the farmers would not consolidate their products in order to reach the large scale that can fetch attractive returns from the international markets. Such compelled the small-scale farmers to sell their produce at cheaper price to the intermediaries who exploited them. Most farmers would therefore sell their lands to the wealthy members of the society and the rich multinational corporations that set up their companies in such regions (Goodman, 2004). The loss of such a vital family asset as land would imply that most families lived in perpetual poverty and became squatters in their own land after selling their lands. They would therefore seek employment from either the same exploitative wealthy business people or the equally exploitative multinational corporations who could afford the land. Such structures domesticated poverty in vast parts of Africa as the poor remained poor. With the adoption of the fair trade system, the market value for the cash crops increased. This made agriculture more lucrative. The small-scale farmers thus formed small corporative societies from where they accessed loans to purchase farm inputs thereby mechanizing their farms. Additionally, through sustained education in the corporative societies, the previously illiterate farmers obtained relevant information about the market and the trends in the international market. This way, they did not only increase their harvests but also had an increased access to the market (Berlan, 2008). The small-scale farmers can therefore currently consolidate their small produce in their respective corporative societies before exporting them. Such vital developments eliminated the intermediaries a feature that made it possible for small-scale farmers to access the international market thereby positioning their products against other marketers. This made agriculture more lucrative thereby improving the quality of life for the previously impoverished farmers. Lack of adequate information coupled with the abject lack of farming resources impaired agriculture in the continent. The small scale farmers most of who are impoverished and live below a dollar a day dedicated their effort in cultivating the same crops believing that only such would perform well in their region. The farmers thus domesticated their poverty despite the favorable climatic conditions in their regions (Littrell & Dickson, 1998). The farmers living in the regions that produce such cash crops as coffee, sugar cane, tea and cocoa thus turned to exporting other food crops that they did not produce. While such trades enhanced the development of commerce within countries, such farm products were costly and the impoverished farmers who had invested all their resources in the cash crops could not afford them. Additionally, as explained the farmers lacked adequate farm inputs such as fertilizers. This implied that their small parcels of land began losing their organic manure thereby turning their investments in the cash crops into massive loses. Poverty is a vicious cycle that domesticates itself within families and societies as its effects spread to national levels. The poor farmers could not afford the food crops sold by farmers from other regions. Furthermore, they had invested their time in cash crops some of which took years to mature. They therefore could neither afford food nor farm inputs for their farms that were fast losing their fertility. The small-scale farmers of the cash crops could not afford education for their children thereby compelling their children to work either alongside them in the penurious parcels of land or in the companies within their townships. This way, the poor farming families domesticate poverty as its vicious effects spread to unimaginable regions. Africa has therefore remained impoverished despite the fertile lands and favorable climate owing to the lack of information and corrupt leaders who take advantage of the poor situation in the countries to exploit the rest of the citizens. The development of fair trade system on the other presented the farmers with an opportunity to revitalize their poor situation. Through effective farmer education, the farmers learnt the essence of mixed cropping. Through mixed farming, the poor farmers who engaged in growing cash crops began producing other types of food crops albeit on a small-scale basis. Mixed cropping enriched their farms with vital organic manure thereby improving the performance of their crops. The farmers readily found market for their respective food crops from their local markets (Vincent, Lori & Darrell, 2013). The living standards of the farmers thus improved since they could earn better from the different crops and had adequate food for their families. This improved their productivity as they could work better in their farms with their families. Free trade did not only create an increased market for the cash crop but presented an opportunity for the poor cocoa farmers in west Africa and tea farmers in east Africa to appreciate the essence of diversifying their produce. This way, the societies sustained themselves thereby improving the living standards for the farmers. Fair trade does not only vouch for the improvement of the prices paid for such products in the international markets but also promotes the maintenance of higher social and environmental standards. The use of the environment is vital in sustaining development in the underdeveloped African societies. Planting a single crop over the years depletes the natural fertility of the land. Additionally, the export policies imposed on some of the products in the international markets discouraged several farmers in Africa. In such fast developing economies in Africa such as Kenya, coffee farmers began investing in the real estates as they converted their lands into modern residential areas owing to the rapid development of urbanization in the region a feature that has increased demand for modern homes. Such radical changes will not impair economic development but also facilitate environmental and climatic change. Fair trade is therefore an essential commercial policy that will revive the African economies and present the poor farmers with more opportunities through diversification and effective utilization of their land among other vital resources (Grimes & Lynne, 2000). The structure of fair trade system has contributed to the success of the endeavor thereby improving the lives of the poor farmers in Africa. Marketing fair trade products has some humanitarian connotations thereby improving the price of such products. Marketers of such products employ specific strategies to ensure that the products fetch better prices thereby improving the productivity of such products. By labeling the products and marketing them strategically, such marketers have succeeded in eradicating labor exploitation associated with some of the product such as chocolate manufactured from the West African countries (Nicholls & Opal, 2004). Cocoa farers in countries like Senegal and Ivory Coast have often suffered exploitation by the large multinational corporations that manufacture chocolate. Such unethical operations such as child labor have deprived the countries of its future since the children would miss school in order to work in the plantations and factories. This ensured that the families remained poor since the companies laid them off when they mature and recruit younger children. Sustainability and consumer attitudes are two vital aspects in agribusiness. The fair trade system therefore seeks to improve the sustainability of the production of the crops and influence consumer attitude in order to increase the market share for such products while securing the future of the societies that produce the crops. Sustainability dictates that the farmers conform to the dynamic farming technologies in order to improve both the quality of their lives and the quality of their produce. Small-scale farmers in Africa cannot afford the expensive machinery used in the mass production of such crops. This makes the farmers vulnerable to the exploitative multinationals corporations that buy the produce from the farmers cheaply. Conclusion This therefore underscores the value of the fair trade system of commerce that creates enabling platforms for the small-scale farmers to afford the machinery. As discussed, small-scale farmers form corporate societies through which they access financial services from bans among other local financial institutions (Renard, 2003). This way, the purchase and own the machinery collectively thereby mechanizing their small parcels of land. Through such changes, the quality and quantity of the produce increases thereby fetching more money from the international markets. Such effective management of agribusiness in the African continent among other poor regions throughout the world sustains the development of the regions. In retrospect, the development and effective coordination of fair trade system of commerce has enhanced the rapid development of Africa among other poor nations throughout the world. The system of trade values the development of the regions thereby eliminating exploitative structure. The effective marketing of such products has increased profitability for previously impoverished small-scale farmers in the regions. The farmers currently educate their children following the reduction of child labor in the plantation a feature that promises to curb illiteracy and poverty by extension in the regions. References Berlan, A. (2008). "Making or Marketing a Difference? An Anthropological Examination of the Marketing of Fair Trade Cocoa from Ghana." Research in Economic Anthropology 28: 171-94. Bowes, J. (2010). The Fair Trade Revolution. London U.K:Pluto Press. Eric, J. A.,Alejandro, P. & Dwanye, B. (2009). Does Fair Trade Deliver on Its Core Value Proposition? 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