Many domestic factors have hindered economic development in many
African countries. In his book "Collapse," Jared Diamond describes
the circumstances leading up to the genocide in Rwanda. Most of the
factors he describes are common to Africa as a whole, but were simply
more concentrated in Rwanda.
The most significant problem cited by Diamond is the population
explosion occurring in Africa. In East Africa particularly, the rate
of human population growth is among the highest in the world. In
Kenya, for example, the population is currently doubling every 17
years. One factor increasing the population relating to postcolonial
African politics is increasing national unification and the
stabilization of national boundaries, allowing people to settle some
areas that were previously no man's lands subject to recurring
fighting.
Rwanda is an extreme case of population growth run amok, with a
population density that is three times that of Nigeria, Africa's third
most densely populated country, and 10 times that of Tanzania.
Rwandan agriculture is very inefficient and unmechanized, requiring
most people to be farmers and preventing them from producing a surplus
that can feed others besides themselves. Although the population grew
rapidly after independence because of a period of prosperity lasting
15 years, Rwanda did not modernize its agricultural methods. Instead,
food for the growing population was provided by clearing forests and
draining marshes, shortening fallow periods, and trying to obtain
multiple harvests from a single field each year. By 1985, all arable
land that was not part of a national park was being cultivated. At
that point, per capita food production began to drop sharply because
no new land was available and the productivity of existing land began
to decrease.
The conversion of the country's land to farms without efforts to
control erosion led to deteriorating farm productivity. Furthermore,
the absence of forests led to streams drying up and less consistent
rainfall. By the late 1980s, famines began to recur. The increase in
population also led to a significant decline in median farm size,
creating additional barriers to efficient farming. In fact, the
average household could only meet 77% of its food needs from its farm.
While 9% was consuming less in 1600 cal per day in 1982, this rose to
40% by 1990.
Considerable inequality also existed, with both very large farms and
very small farms increasing significantly, but very large farms still
remaining at less than 10% of the total number of farms. A large
increase in the number of small farms placed greater pressure upon
many families, resulting from many poor families having to sell land
to raise money. As a result, the rich became richer and the poor
became poorer.
International institutions in the early stages of independence were
not particularly helpful. Although Rwanda experienced 15 years of
prosperity and received much foreign aid during that time,
accumulating environmental problems, a steep decline in world prices
for Rwanda's principal exports of coffee and tea, austerity measures
imposed by the World Bank to address for Rwanda's growing debt, and a
drought in the southern part of the country resulted in considerable
hunger and desperation. These factors, as much as the ethnic rivalry
between Hutu and Tutsi, resulted in the genocide.
During the Cold War, foreign aid was largely geared towards buying and
cementing alliances between countries rather than fostering their
economic development. Little concern was given to problems of endemic
corruption and poor governance in African nations. Many African
countries adopted communism, which proved to be disastrous
economically. On the other hand, Western emphasis on market economies
and trade did little to help the poor, and frequently worsened their
situation as subsidies were removed. In many cases, civil wars broke
out with independence as a minority ruling ethnicity put in place by
the colonial power struggled for control with other ethnic groups.
AIDS has also hindered economic development by killing off productive
people in their 30s while leaving behind a large number of orphans
requiring care. This creates a considerable economic burden on
African societies.
More recently, international institutions have recognized that the
previous focus on creating market mechanisms has done little to aid
the poor or promote economic development. In fact, in many cases, the
poor have been adversely affected disproportionately by such measures.
Furthermore, an emphasis on reducing corruption and encouraging good
governance has occurred. Debt forgiveness and encouraging new
financial approaches, such as micro lending, has also shown
encouraging results in some poor nations. Finally, foreign aid has
been specifically focused upon reducing poverty and promoting economic
growth instead of emphasizing the correction of macroeconomic
imbalances and market distortions.
Sincerely,
Wonko
Sources:
"Collapse" by Jared Diamond, Viking Penguin (2005)
"From Adjustment to Poverty Reduction: What is New?" United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations (2002)
http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/pogdsafricad2.en.pdf |
