Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Food Crop Genetic Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Smallholder Incomes, Hunger, Nutrition and Policy

(International Development)

Over 40% of people living in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still live in extreme poverty, the majority living rurally. The region has the highest prevalence of hunger in the world, with one in four people undernourished, contributing to mortality and long-term physical and cognitive challenges. Simultaneously, with 95% of agriculture rain-fed and biodiversity diminishing, SSA lags behind the rest of the world in crop productivity and use of improved quality seed. Agriculture and health are inextricably linked in SSA, and this panel examines alternative choices for providing agricultural and health research; and disseminating and using the products of that research – including crop genetic resources – in SSA. Governments or foundations can invest in research and development and allow the resulting scientific knowledge to exist as a public good, promoting widespread low-cost access subject to public resource constraints. Alternatively governments can pursue subsidies and intellectual property rights protections to spur private investment, making agricultural and health discoveries private or club goods, provided at market prices. The first paper examines the relative advantage of alternative funding options for providing agricultural and health global public goods (GPGs). We consider trade-offs among public, philanthropic, and private funding considering: (1) the size and scale of potential benefits; (2) the ratio of social benefits to financial returns; (3) estimated costs of providing the good; and (4) associated risks of provision and non-provision. We also discuss inequality by sub-population, noting that whereas true GPGs might attract international or private investments, regional public goods might be more reliant on local or philanthropic funds. The second paper considers the choice of how to disseminate improved quality seed. In Ethiopia and Uganda the vast majority of seed used by farmers is obtained via informal seed systems, including own-saved seed, exchanges with neighbors, and purchase from non-certified seed vendors. Most improved seed, however, is provided through a small but growing formal seed sector comprised of certified seed producers, processors, and distributors. When attempting to increase quality seed access and use by farmers, governments must choose whether to strengthen quality standards in existing informal systems, or to support the replacement of these systems by new formal systems – choices with implications for rural farmers and seed vendors alike. The final paper uses panel data from the Malawi Integrated Household Panel Survey to examine the relationships between seasonal hunger, farm household coping strategies, and nutrition outcomes. We identify characteristics of hungry households, and examine farmers’ use of crop and income diversification as coping mechanisms - planting “off-season” crops, diversifying on-farm food portfolios through livestock and wild or forest products, or seeking income from off-farm employment to smooth consumption and manage risk. Finally, we investigate whether short-run coping strategies like early harvesting could exacerbate future seasonal, and ultimately chronic, hunger by reducing crop yield and nutritional value. Ultimately this panel highlights the roles of policies and farmer choices in shaping how health and crop genetic resources are generated and used – and how those choices translate into global food security and local livelihood outcomes.