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1. Transforming Sub Saharan Africa Agriculture

Author:
Jamal Saghir and Hans Hoogeveen
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) agriculture is a dominant sector in the economies of most countries accounting for between 30 to 40 percent of gross domestic product, and the sector is a leading source of jobs for over two-thirds of Africa’s population. And yet, though it has the potential to be an agricultural power, a combination of low productivity and an inadequate policy framework make SSA the world’s most food-insecure region. Over the last 40 years it has also been steadily losing its share of the global agricultural market. With less than 10% of SSA’s population, Thailand exports more food products than all SSA countries combined, and Brazil’s food exports are now 150% higher than those of SSA, although levels were similar in the 1980s. The “Green Revolution” that transformed tropical agriculture in Asia and Latin America largely bypassed Africa, with total factor productivity growth in agriculture lagging behind that of other regions in the world (Evenson and Gollin 2003) 1 . Two main factors are responsible. First, little land on the continent is irrigated. Only two percent of Africa’s renewable water resources are used, compared to a global average of five percent. Of the 183 million hectares of cultivated land in SSA, 95 percent is rain-fed and less than 5 percent benefits from some sort of agricultural water management practice—by far the lowest irrigation development rate of any region in the world. Moreover, of the 7.1 million hectares equipped with irrigation equipment, only 5.3 million are currently operational. Second, modern inputs and technological processes are grossly underutilized. Africa has, by far, the lowest rate of improved seed and fertilizer use of any region— a rate that has remained virtually constant for the last 40 years—and the lowest level of mechanization in the world. In consequence, African farmers have the lowest farm productivity; their grain yields only one-half of those achieved by Asian or Latin American farmers.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Poverty, and Economy
Political Geography:
Africa

2. Moving Towards More Socially-Connected Educational Systems: From Theory to Practice

Author:
Maxime Honigmann
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Education has long been viewed as a key component in the empowerment of individuals, communities, and nations alike. Study after study has highlighted how improvements in educational systems can lead to lasting development benefits, including decreased poverty, improved gender parities, and all-around better economic opportunities. Schooling can act as a societal equalizer, giving disadvantaged individuals the chance to improve their socioeconomic standing and end up better off than their predecessors. Education promotes self-determination on individual and collective levels, and as such is deeply intertwined with an individual’s empowerment, self-respect, and respect for their community (Khisty 2006, 438). Depending on how they are oriented, educational systems may support or subdue the identities of individuals and groups, with the identities of disadvantaged or minority groups particularly at risk of suppression. If incorrectly or insufficiently addressed by educational policies, the physical and socioeconomic differences of disadvantaged or minority groups can percolate through the educational process in a way that can add to pre-exiting disparities. When the performance standards of educational systems do not properly take these differences into account and concentrate resources on higher achieving groups early on, they create otherwise-avoidable learning gaps, which in the long-run contribute to isolating conditions such as higher instances of poverty (Kenny et al. 2002; Peters and Oliver 2009; Botezat 2016). For example, an analysis of household surveys from thirteen countries found that the well-noted link between disability and poverty in adulthood was negated when educational attainment was controlled for (Filmer 2008, 150).
Topic:
Education, Poverty, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Understanding the Links Between Sexual and Reproductive Health Status and Poverty Reduction

Author:
Nata Duvvury and Philip Oxhorn
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The interrelationship between poverty and sexual and reproductive health status (SRHS) is widely noted in academic, policy and programmatic discourses, though none establishes causality. The primary emphasis in these discourses is that poor SRHS is an outcome of poverty, and thus can be addressed through poverty reduction programmes. The purpose of this brief is to understand what factors contribute to the interrelationship between SRHS and poverty, with a specific focus on understanding how SRHS impacts household poverty. Future studies may then focus specifically on these factors in order to address issues of causality. This brief is based on desk research involving two sources of data: 1) a review of global literature and 2) three country case studies. The global literature review examined literature documenting the nature, extent and strength of the interrelationship between poverty and SRHS. The literature search was conducted using keywords from different disciplinary perspectives demography, economics, development, women’s studies, sociology, human rights and public health. Key databases such as JSTOR, PubMed, MEDLINE and Elsevier Science Direct were consulted, as well as the specific library databases at National University of Ireland, Galway and McGill University. Researchers at McGill compiled an annotated bibliography of literature on India. The three country case studies were undertaken in Brazil, Ghana and Lebanon. Consultants in each country undertook an extensive search of academic, policy and programmatic literature including journal publications, research reports, policy briefs, and non-governmental organization (NGO) reports. The literature search in each country followed the same method as the global literature review, including identifying keywords from different disciplines and exploring different databases. In addition, the consultants searched grey literature through contacting various NGOs and research institutions. They also obtained statistical information from governmental and institutional databases. All country case studies explored three key questions: 1) Is there literature that demonstrates the impact of poor SRHS on poverty? 2) What factors have been highlighted in the literature as influencing the relationship between SRHS and poverty? 3) Are there trade-offs involved for women between education, fertility, status and work participation? and 4) Do programmes by civil society organizations, such as micro-credit or income-generating programmes, promote sexual and reproductive health?
Topic:
Development, Education, Poverty, Health Care Policy, and Reproductive Health
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Brazil, South America, Lebanon, and Ghana

4. Case Study from Brazil Gender Equality, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Poverty Reduction: Understanding the Links with Economic Growth and Improvements in Household Income

Author:
Rosana Heringer
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The general understanding about the status of women in Brazil show a reality of many advancements in many aspects, however not always followed by equivalent outcomes in terms of the status of women in private space. This means that women in Brazil have experimented increased education levels and increased presence in the labor market. However, Brazilian women are still subjected to prejudice and discrimination when it comes to their role in domestic space, playing a subordinate role in relation to husbands and other male roles in the family. This also has implications for the status of women in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights and in terms of the participation of women in public sphere, including labor market and political participation. The status of women in the household, when subject to disrespect and lack of autonomy, leading to situations of economic dependence, unwanted pregnancy or domestic violence, to name a few, jeopardize the possibility of women developing themselves as independent citizens and with autonomy to participate in economic life. Although having recently elected the first woman president in the country, Brazil has also a low record when it comes to the political participation of women. The number of women as elected officials in the country is among the smallest in the world, and has been growing slowly along the last decade. It is also important to say that the status of women in Brazil is highly marked by the differences among women themselves in aspects such as class and race or ethnic background. Black and indigenous women in Brazil face the biggest burdens in terms of access to rights, with implications to their well being and to their status in society. It is also acknowledged that class differences, representing the inequalities in terms of education, occupation and income have great influence in the situation of women.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Poverty, Income Inequality, Economic growth, and Reproductive Health
Political Geography:
Brazil and South America

5. A Case Study from Ghana: Understanding the Links between Sexual and Reproductive Health, Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction

Author:
Akosua K. Darkwah
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Ghana is an interesting case study for this project for two reasons. First, it has an anomalous reproductive health profile. The country has the lowest Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in West Africa and one of the lowest in the sub-region. As at 2008, the TFR for the country was 4.0, for urban areas it was 3.1 and for the Greater Accra area, the most urbanized part of the country, it was 2.5 (GDHS 2008). This is a quite rapid decline from a TFR of 6.4 children per woman as at 1988. Even more interesting is the fact that the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) stood at a low 24% in 2008. Some scholars such as Grey and Blanc (2002) argue that abortion rates help explain the gap between the CPR one should expect given the low TFR and what actually pertains as measured by the GDHS. Abortion in Ghana, however, inspite of a liberal law, accounts for between 13% (Sedgh 2010) and 25% (Baiden 2009) of maternal mortality cases in the country. In other words, in Ghana if the assertions of Grey and Blanc (2002) are valid, a low TFR has been achieved at the peril of women’s lives, quite contrary to what one would expect if reproductive health concerns were addressed systematically in the country. Second, the country exhibits quite some discord between its policies and its practices. Over the years, Ghana has been influenced and positively impacted by the global regimes in first Family Planning and later Reproductive Health. It joined the UN system of Population Censuses in 1960 and was an African Pioneer in the development of official Population Policy. It has an illustrious son, Fred Sai who is well known in international circles for his work on Reproductive Health. Fred Sai was the president of the International Planned Parenthood Association during the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994 at which the conceptual shift from a narrow emphasis on family planning to the much broader notion of Reproductive Health was made. As president of such a key institution, he was instrumental in the processes that led to this effort and worked tirelessly to ensure that the Ghanaian State in its policies and practices reflected the conceptual shifts from Population Control to Reproductive Health. Two years after ICPD, the Ghanaian Reproductive Health Service Policy and Standards were developed and revised in 2003 to incorporate sexual health and gender based violence.
Topic:
Development, Gender Issues, Poverty, and Reproductive Health
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana