food aid and food crisis in sub-saharan africa: statistical trends and implications

FOOD CRISIS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 303

Food aid andf iod crisis Sub-Saharan Afiica: Statistical trends and implications *

Charlotte Benson and Edward J. Clay

Relief and Development Institute 1 , Ferdinand Place London NW1 8EE, U.K.

TRENDS IN PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

Food aid must be seen in the context of recent changes in the economic situation and food system of the region. The same applies to the response of emergency needs. I n examining trends in production and consumption we consider only Sub-Saharan acute food shortage countries because Nigerian statistics distort the aggregate figures for the region as a whole (see Table 1 1 for a list of crisis affected countries). The trends in Nigeria are quite different from those in the rest of the Sub-Saharan countries. For example, by 1982 Nigeria accounted for 36% of the GDP of Sub- Saharan Africa.

Overall statistics, whose reliability is discussed by Borton and Clay (19861, indicated a steady rise in population with total food consumption keeping up relatively well up to 1982, so that per capita consumption did not vary widely. However, from 1982 there was a considerable drop in total consumption. This was largely the result of a sharp fall in production, leading to a large decline in per capita food consumption since population continued to grow.

in

This paper documents the rapid expansion and changes in food aid flows to Sub-Saharan Africa up to mid-1985.

Trends for Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and for the more seriously affected countries are examined, as are the comparative experiences of food aid of individual countries in the region. Table 11 lists the Sub-Saharan African countries and indicates the most seriously affected food- short countries, as defined by the WFP/FAO task force.

It should be borne in mind that some practical problems exist in compiling data on food aid. These include lack of availability of reliable data, especially of most recent data; lack of common terminology and defmitions; and different accounting systems. These data problems are sometimes a source of confusion. However, the basic facts are clear: food aid gradually emerged during the early 1980s as a resource too often of considerable significance to many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. These trends were only accelerated with the crisis of 19861985. These facts provide a point of reference for further analysis of the

GDP and per capita daily calorie consumption

The movement is shown in Fig. 1 of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita daily calorie consumption (from all commodities) for the period 1970 to 1984.

Between 1970 and 1972 per capita GDP rose slightly. Since then it has followed a generally declining trend. In 1982 it stood at its lowest level for the period, at only about U.S.$225 (at 1975 prices). Meanwhile, between 1970 and 1973, per capita calorie consumption showed a steady decline until in 1973 it was only just above the 2,000 calories/capita/day benchmark. It then rose until 1980 from where it then fell slightly for the next two years. Between 1982 and 1984 it fell dramatically. In 1983-1984 it fell below the 2,000 calories/ capita/day benchmark to only 1,920 calories/capita/day. This was its lowest level for the period 1970 to 1984.

Hources of- the crisis, its actual dimensions- and con- sequences. and food consumption

Key words: Sub-Saharan Africa; Food aid; Statistical trends.

“An earlier version of this paper was prepared as “Food Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Background Paper” for the WFP/ ADB Seminar “Food Aid for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Abidjan, 8-1 1 th September 1986. The paper is based on published and unpublished WFP data and also uses provisional data for 1984/ 1985 supplied by the FA0 and the International Wheat Council, London.

Changes between 1970 and 1984 in population, total food consumption (in calories) and per capita food consumption (in calories) are shown in Fig. 2.

The statistics indicate a steady growth of population, fairly closely matched by the increase in total food consumption. Between 1970 and 1976 population growth was at a slightly higher rate than the increase in total food consumption. However, there have been short run rises and declines in per capita consumption within the longer-term trend. Between 1976 and 1982 the annual increase in total food consumption was slightly greater than population growth, causing a small rise in the per capita food consumption curve. However, between 1982 and 1984, although population continued to grow steadily, total food

Disasters/ 10/4/ 1986

304 FOOD CRISIS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

- Y q

90 1 \

85 I 1 1 I 1 1 I I I 1 1 I I 1

7 0 71 7 2 73 74 75 76 77 7 8 79 80 81 82 83 84 Year

Source: WFP unpublished data.

Fig. 1. Sub-Saharan Africa: Acute food shortage countries. Development of per capita real income and apparent caloric food consumption, indices of poverty and hunger levels.

*---a GDPIcapita in U.S.$ at 1975 prices, indexed on $250 1972 income. - Food consumption of all commodities, indexed on 2,000 calories/ capita/ day.

consumption declined. This was reflected in a fall in per capita food consumption between these years, far more severe than during the previous widespread drought (1970-1973).

“Staple” cereal and (dry equivalent) starch roots production, crop area and yield, 1970 to 1983

Tubers or starchy roots are important staple roots in many Sub-Saharan countries. So the combined production of cereals and these starchy roots is used as a close proxy for total food supply. The dry equivalent of starchy roots have been aggregated with cereal production here. This is

because of the dietary importance of root crops (and possible relative unimportance of cereals) for a number of Sub-Saharan African countries. Figures for total and per capita cereal production for the whole region in the period 1979/ 1980 to 1984/ 1985 also show a gradual decline in total and per capita production since the 1982/ 1983 agricultural year.

Production of staple crops rose slightly in 1970-1972, fell in 1972-1973 and then showed a marked upward trend between 1973 and 1982, rising by 40%. However, in 1982-1983 there was a sharp drop in production levels, which the statistics are expected to show continued through 1983/ 1984 and 1984 1985.

Fig. 2. Sub-Saharan Africa: Acute food shortage countries. Development of apparent total caloric food consumption. Population and per capita caloric consumption, indices 1970 = loo. *---@Food consumption of all commodities in calories, total.

Population.

+-3 Food consumption of all commodities in calories, per capita.

90 t 80 I

70 71 72 73 74 7 5 7 6 77 7 8 79 80 81 82 83 84

Year




Fig. 3. Sub-Saharan Africa: Acute food shortage countries. Development of starchy staples production, crop area and yield, indices 1970 = 100. * -4 Production of cereals and (dry-equivalent) starchy roots. +--OCrop area planted to cereals and starchy roots.

-Yield in kg/ha of cereals and (dry) starchy roots.

140

130

X 120 QI D t - 110

100

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 Year

Crop area planted has shown an overall slightly upward trend, while fluctuations in yield have been the main influence on levels of production. Until 1981, however, falls in yield were reflected in smaller declines (if at all) in production because of the upward trend in acreage of crop areas. However, from 1981 crop areas began to fall so that when yield also fell in 1982-1983 it led to a fall of a larger magnitude in production.

RECENT MOVEMENTS IN CEREAL IMPORTS

Between 1950 and 1980 total cereal imports of developing countries rose from 5 million tonnes to over 100 million tonnes per annum. Rising imports to Sub-Saharan Africa have been part of this upward trend. Since 1979/1980 the total volume of cereal imports to Sub-Saharan Africa has risen from 7.6 million tonnes in 1979/1980 to 12.7 million tonnes in 1984/1985. In per capita terms, imports increased in five years from 21.8 to 31.4 kg (see Table 1). Studies for the late 1970s suggested a very close Wsitive link between imports (and food aid for low income countries) and rates of economic and urban growth and population pressure on arable lands (see Morrison, 1984).

Cereal imports and production

There was a gradual rise in cereal production from 41.3 to 45.2 million tonnes between 1979/1980 and 1981/1982. However, since 1981/ 1982 cereal production has fallen until in 1984/1985, cereal production stood at the lowest level for the period, 38.6 million tonnes. Meanwhile imports as a percentage of production rose overall between 1979/ 1980 and 198411985, from 18.4 to 32.9%. This rise was a result of declining Sub-Sahara African production and rising levels of imports. In many Sub-Saharan African countries roots and tubers form an important part of the staple foods. It


can be misleading, therefore, to compare cereal production with cereal imports and food aid.

Cereal imports and food aid

There was a gradual rise in the total volume of food imports to the region from 7.6 million tonnes in 1979/1980 to 12.7 million tonnes in 1984/1985. However, imports other than food aid, so called "commercial imports," rose far less than gross imports, increasing overall from 6 million tonnes in 1979/1980 to 7.8 million tonnes in 1984/1985, an increase of only 30%. Instead it was the dramatic rise in the volume of food aid which accounted for much of the rise in cereal imports between 1979/ 1980 and 1984/1985. In 19791 1980 food aid formed 1.6 million tonnes, representing 21% of gross imports; by 198411985 it formed 4.9 million tonnes and 39% of imports.

Cereal imports and exports

The volume of cereal exports fluctuated over the period 1979-1985, although remaining at very low levels. In 1984/1985 there was a sharp fall in the volume of cereal exports to 0.1 million tonnes. The volume of net imports showed an upward trend, rising from 7.0 million tonnes in 1979/1980 to 12.6 million tonnes in 1984/1985.

Total supplies of cereals

Total supplies of cereal per person rose from 139.1 to 147.9 kg between 1979/ 1980 and 1981/ 1982. They then fell to 123.4 kg per person by 1983/1984, a reduction of 17%. They increased again in 1984/ 1985 to 126.4 kg, largely as a result of an increase in the volume of cereal food aid in this year. It was also partly due to the greater fall in the level of cereal exports than the drop in cereal production, and to a

Disasters/ 10141 1986


Table 1. Total and per capita cereal supplies, production, imports and food aid in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1979/1980 and 198411985

b ! , ? 43.1 4 5 . 2 41,9 3 8 . 7 3 6 . 6

' l A , 9 !X,? 1 2 2 . 4 115.3 99.7 95.3

7.6 9 ,3 1 0 1) 9 . 2 l 9 , ? !1.7

1 . 6 2 , 3 2 , j 2 5 2 , e 1 9

- , . , , c, 16.0 ?7 ,1 l l , ? 26 .3 3 1 1 A .

4 . 6 6.1 6,? 6 6 7,' 12.1

F , 9 !,9 7 . 7 5.7 7.5 7.8

- I :. : ] 2 4 . 7 2 2 . 0 27 2 27 2 38.6

! 8 , b 2 1 . 5 ? ? ' 2 1 0 2 6 . 6 .3?,9

6 , 4 , E I 0 ,6 I

' , 7 1 : 1 5 2 . 6 l , 5 L

7,0 9.9 5 6 9 . 2 9.7 12 , f

2 0 , 2 2 4 9 2 5 5 2 1 . 5 2 4 . 7 3 1 , i

'Data refer to the calendar year of the first year shown. Rice in terms of milled rice. For total grain, season beginning 1st JQly of first year shown; for rice, calendar

'All supplies per person are based on production and net imports, taking no

Source: FAO.

2

year of second year shown.

account of stock changes.

slight increase in commercial imports. There must have been a decrease in private and public stocks, which initially compensated for declining production. The overall impli- cation is clear. Both donors and many governments responded too slowly in increasing imports to the declining food production, with an implied decrease in per capita production of 15% between 1981/1982 and 1982/1983 and another 14% by 1983/1984.

TRENDS IN FOOD AID TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

As a result of steadily increasing levels of cereal aid since the late 1970s, by the mid-1980s Sub-Saharan Africa had become the major recipient of food aid. This contrasts with even a decade ago, when only the drought affected Sahelian countries were receiving large scale food aid. These trends deserve close examination at country and regional level.

Trends in cereal food aid

During 1961-1963, the world total of food aid in cereals was 11.6 million tonnes, of which less than 1% went to

Sub-Saharan Africa. By the mid 1960% food aid in cereals had increased to 16-18 million tonnes per annum but then declined gradually to a post Second World War minimum of only 5.8 million tonnes in 1973/1974. In that year 20% of food aid went to Sub-Saharan Africa, in response to the drought in the Sahelian countries. Approximately 70% of that cereal food aid went to about ten countries in the Sahel belt.

Between 1974/ 1975 and 1979/ 1980, total cereal food aid to the world fluctuated, as did the share going to Sub-Saharan Africa. Global cereal levels remained close to nine million tonnes. However, from 1979/ 1980 onwards there was a gradual increase in total cereal food aid until it stood at twelve million tonnes in 1984/1985. Between 1979/1980 and 1984/1985 the percentage of total cereal food aid going to Sub-Saharan Africa also gradually increased from 17.1 to 39.!%'0.

The volume of cereal food aid received by Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1984/1985 agricultural year was ten times that shipped in 1971/1972 and 1972/1973. It has almost doubled in the two years since 1982/ 1983. In some countries it has more than doubled. However, this sharp increase in



Table 2. Cereal food aid by commodity to Sub-Saharan Africa, 1972/ 1973-1984/1985 (in thousand tonnes)

Source: Food aid in figures, FA0 (1985, No. 3).

cereal food aid did not increase the per capita availability of food in the region. There was a sharp decline through the 1980s. This was arrested by import flows in 1984/1985 and will be shown to have reversed with the not yet completed data for the favourable crop year of 1985/1986.

Cereal food aid by commodity 1972/1973-1984/1985

The major locally produced cereal staples of Sub-Saharan Africa are maize, sorghum and millet. It is important to examine, therefore, the extent to which food aid has been able to provide only exotic products. Total cereal food aid fell between I 973/ 1974 and 1975/ 1976 and between 1977/ 1978 and 1978/1979 but rose for the rest of the period (see Table 2). For the period as a whole it increased almost eleven-fold, from 0.46 million tonnes in 1972/1973 to almost five million tonnes in 1984/ 1985.

Except for the agricultural year of 1975/1976, there has been a rise in the total volume of wheat food aid every year, increasing from 0.2 million tonnes in 1972/1973 to 2.7 million tonnes in 1984/1985. This is more than a twelve-fold increase. The volume of food aid in rice has generally also shown a dramatically upward trend. For the whole period it rose from 5.6 thousand tonnes in 1972/1973 to 0.53 million tonnes in 1984/1985, just over ninety-four times higher at the end of the period than at the beginning. The level of food aid in rice was, however, very low at the beginning of the period. The volume of food aid in coarse grains, largely maize, increased over seven times between 1972/1973 and 1984/1985, from 0.23 to 1.7 million tonnes.

Between 1972/1983 and 1984/ 1985 cereal food aid to the Sub-Saharan Africa low income food deficit countries in the

form of wheat has increased relatively, rising from 48.8 to 9 . 3 % despite some fluctuations. Rice, too, increased relatively, from 1.2 to 10.6% (in 1982/1983, it was 24.8%). There has been a fall in the relative volume of coarse grains, from 50.0% in 1972/1973 to 35.1% in 1984/1985 (in 1982/1983 it formed only 18.4%). This trend does not necessarily reflect peformances within Sub-Saharan Africa. It probably reflects the limited availability of white maize as food aid. Donors were unable to meet the growing cereals deficit, increasingly a rural as well as an urban phenomenon, with close substitutes of locally produced cereals.

Table 3. Non-cereal food aid by commodity to Sub-Saharan Africa, 1978-1985 (in tonnes)




Table 4(a). Total food aid (cereal and non-cereal) delivered in 1984/1985 by food aid type (actual tonnage)

Totals

Food aid for projects 555,613 Food aid for relief 3,365,589 Food aid for market sales 1,937,245 Food aid for refugees (499,485) Totals 5,858,447

Table 4(b). Total food aid (cereal and non-cereal) pledges delivered or scheduled for delivery in 1989 1986 by food aid

type (actual tonnage) ~ _ _ _ _ ~

Totals ~~

Food aid for projects Food aid for relief Food aid for market sales Food aid for refugees Totals

531,346 1,356,700

830,898 (230,893)

2,718,940

Source: WFP (1986).

Non-cereal food aid by commodity, 1978-1985

Analyses of food aid are largely preoccupied with cereals. However, it is important also to consider trends in aid in dairy and other food products. Table 3 shows non-cereals food aid by commodity to Sub-Saharan African countries from 1978 to 1985. The volumes of each item have fluctuated considerably, but all have shown marked increases since 1983. Skimmed milk powder has been the largest in volume amongst the non-cereal food aid items, composing around half of the yearly total. Vegetable oil has been the second largest except in 1985 when its volume was greater than that of skimmed milk. In some years the volume of dairy products excluding skimmed milk has been greater than that of butter oil while in other years the converse has been true.

In 1985, non-cereal food aid consisted of 105 thousand tonnes of skimmed milk powder (mostly from the EC and the U.S.A.), fifteen thousand tonnes of other dairy products, 144 thousand tonnes of vegetable oil (mostly from the U.S.A.) and twenty thousand tonnes of butter oil (from Europe). These are historically very large, making Sub-Saharan Africa the largest recipient of non-cereals food aid.

Food aid in 1985-1986

Only provisional data were available for the most recent years. However, comparisons between food aid pledges delivered or scheduled for delivery for 19891986 with total food aid delivered in 1984/ 1985 indicate that in 1 9 8 3 1986 there was a large fall in total food aid. Pledges for 198W 1986 to the twenty-one affected countries were less than half the level of 1984/1985 deliveries, then standing at

2.7 and 5.9 million tonnes respectively (see Table 4). There will probably be a further decline in food aid to Africa in 1986/1987, as countries continue to recover from the famine. These sharp falls in the level of food aid in 1985/1986 suggest that emergency food aid is just being used to meet immediate needs and is not being converted into development food aid to increase the capacity to produce food and raise incomes.

Food aid receipts by commocliQ and COMW, 1984/1985

It is beyond the scope of this paper to provide a detailed description of food aid on a country basis (see Table 10); but it is important to disaggregate to provide a sense of how the food aid is distributed and so correct some popular misconceptions about who gets the most food aid.

In 1984/1985 a total of 2,689 thousand tonnes of wheat, 452 thousand tonnes of rice, 1,737 thousand tonnes of coarse grains, 105 thousand tonnes of skimmed milk, 19 thousand tonnes of other dairy products, 145 thousand tonnes of vegetable oil and 20 thousand tonnes of butter oil were received in Sub-Saharan Africa. Who were the main beneficiaries?

Some countries received a much larger proportion of some commodities relative to their proportion in total food aid than they did of others. With some exceptions, the levels of the volume of receipts were generally higher in the low income food deficit countries. Findings of WFP work in progress suggests food aid allocation by all donors to Sub-Saharan Africa to be negatively, but not very strongly, related to both income and nutritional measures. That is, food aid given does tend to be greater where both incomes and nutritional standards are low, but the evidence suggests that in reality little attention is paid to either of these indicators of need.

In absolute terms, the most important recipients of cereal food aid in 1984/1985, in order of volume received, were:

- Ethiopia (869 thousand tonnes) - Sudan (812 thousand tonnes) - Mozambique (366 thousand tonnes) - Kenya (340 thousand tonnes) - Mali (266 thousand tonnes). Four of the same five countries were amongst the five

most important recipients of total volume of cereals and non-cereals food aid:

- Ethiopia (952 thousand tonnes) - Sudan (843 thousand tonnes) - Mozambique (374 thousand tonnes) - Kenya (343 thousand tonnes) - Somalia (276 thousand tonnes)

In per capita terms, however, the order of Sub-Saharan African countries in 1984/1985 is very different. For per capita cereal food aid and total food aid respectively the five most important recipients are: - Cape Verde (157 kg, 162 kg) - Sao Tome and Principe (109 kg, 113 kg)



Table 5. The five major recipients of cereal food aid in Sub- Saharan Africa in 19741 1985, 197911980 and 1984/1985

(in thousand tonnes)

i 974!75 1979180 1984185

iOl!NTSY VOLUME PECEIVEO COUNTRY VOLURE RECE!VEO COUNTRY VOLUME RECEIVED

T a x i n l a 847 7 S i l a n 212 3 E t h i o p i a 868 9

h a ! :a 1 1 1 2 Zambia 166 5 Sudan SI? 1

ua.: 1 % 5 “lazambique 151 0 Mozambique 366 1

!F:3 54 I Soma1 !a 136 8 Kenya 339 6

Clcinea 45 9 E t h i OD i a 1 1 1 5 Mali 265 6


- Mauritania (74 kg, 82 kg)

- Somalia (45.7 kg, 51 kg). - Lesotho (49 kg, 54 kg)

Thus the countries for which food aid is relatively most important in per capita terms are not those recently in the public eye. Only Somalia, with a large refugee and relief dependent population, appears as one of the most important recipients of food aid by both definitions, However, even this finding disappears if total cereal food aid rather than total food aid is being considered.

Table 5 lists the five major recipients of cereal food aid in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1974/1975, 1979/1980 and 1984/ 1985. This points to the constant change over time in the volumes of cereal food aid to different Sub-Saharan African countries, indicating that there is a limited extent to the pre-planning of food aid. Instead, there is a large “reactive” element in the allocation of food aid by country.

THE USE OF FOOD AID TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Food aid is normally divided into emergency and developmental assistance. This distinction is useful in that it clearly reflects the transitory and structural elements in the food deficits of developing countries. It also reflects a difference in administrative procedures.

Emergency aid is usually a response to the abnormal circumstances of a natural or man-made crisis. So emergency food aid provides an effective and direct response to people who suddenly lack food or the resources to acquire food. Emergency aid involves the direct distribution of food to refugees in camps or to displaced people. It also flows into government distribution systems

as, in effect, unplanned non-project food aid provided through a speedier channel of delivery.

Using food aid for promoting development raises more complicated issues about the appropriate circumstances for providing food aid. The conventional distinction is between “programme” or “non-project” food aid and various “project” uses.

“Non-project” food aid is the largest category of food aid globally and to Sub-Saharan Africa in most years and is provided by the bilateral donors directly to governments. Governments then sell commodities through their internal marketing systems or provide rations or wages in kind to particular, often privileged, groups of the population.

A recent important development has been that of “food security” projects in which grain is stored by governments under a longer-term agreement. For practical economic purposes this, too, is programme assistance within a longer- term agreement.

The other important uses of food aid are for direct distribution to pre-identified groups of beneficiaries within long-term projects. These can include agricultural and rural development projects, most of which are food-for-work. The other major direct project use of food aid is in nutritional improvement programmes.

The World Food Programme have data on the use of food aid by four main categories only since 1979/1980. The aggregations have only been possible for cereals. This is the classical problem of trying to aggregate the various commodities of the food aid basket. These commodities may be divided into two main categories: cereals and non-cereals. In this paper cereal shipments of wheat, rice and coarse grains are counted on an actual tonnage basis. Food shipments of bulgar wheat, wheat flour and cereal

Disasters/10/4/ 1986


Table 6. Food aid receipts in cereals for all Sub-Sahara African countries as a percentage of total world food aid

receipts in each category, 1979/ 1980-1984/ 1985

component of blended foods have been converted into grain equivalents. The conversion factors included in the Rules of the Procedure under the Food Aid Convention, 1980 (Rule 6, Article 111) were used. The WFP categories of use are as follows:

(i) Non-project food aid This is provided for sale to the public in recipient countries to generate funds for budgetary support or balance of payments assistance.

(ii) Project food aid This aims to reach targeted groups of the population, either free of charge or in renumeration for work, as in food-for-work.

(ii) Food security projects These are essentially for reserve stocks which are meant for governments to use in times of extreme shortage or for price stabilization projects.

(iv) Emergency food aid Such aid is to meet urgent situations such as sudden natural or “man-made” disasters, which governments cannot meet out of their own resources and which result in human suffering.

The relative pattern of use of cereal food aid in Sub- Saharan Africa has changed greatly between 1979/ 1980 and 1984/1985 (see Table 6). However, in all categories there have been overall rises in absolute values of food aid. Bearing in mind the rising total of food aid, it is the growth of emergency aid that is the most striking, emphasizing the unplanned nature of the growth of food aid to Africa.

Emergency assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa has fluctuated sharply in relative significance. It was only 14% of the total amount of cereal food aid receipts to Sub-Saharan Africa in 1979/1980, the lowest level for the period; and was at its highest, 51% in 1984/1985. In

volume, it increased about thirteen times, from 190,000 tonnes in 1979/ 1980 to 2,470,000 tonnes in 1984/ 1985 (see Table 7). This dramatic increase, especially in 1984/1985, was in response to the food emergency recognized in most African countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of emergency aid as a percentage of the world total has also fluctuated widely. However, in recent years it has been very high, standing at 56% in 1983-1984 and 75% in 1984-1985.

The proportion of cereal food aid received in Sub- Saharan Africa as non-project aid has fallen from 55% in 1979/1980 to 28% in 1984/1985. However, in absolute terms it has steadily increased over the period, from 760,000 to 1,380,000 tonnes. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of total world non-project food aid has generally increased over the period 1979-1980 to 1983-1984, from 12 to 2470, despite a fall to 19% in 1982-1983. In 1984-1985 it was slightly lower at 22%.

Project food aid received in Sub-Saharan Africa as a proportion of total cereals aid fell overall for the period 1979/1980 to 1984/1985 from 28 to 1770, despite a temporary rise to 32% in 1982/1983. However in volume, project aid has more than doubled, from 390,000 tonnes in 1979/1980 to 840,000 tonnes in 1984/1985. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of total world project food aid has also risen overall between 197G1980 and 1984-1985 from 24 to 31%. The growth of project food aid is an important factor which makes it unlikely that post-crisis food aid levels will return to levels of the late 1970s.

The relative composition of project food aid was very similar in 1979/ 1980 and 1984/ 1985. However, between these two dates the importance of agricultural and rural development projects has decreased and then increased again, although increasing in absolute terms every year. Cereal food aid receipts under nutrition improvement projects have fluctuated in relative terms, although, also, consistently increasing in absolute terms. The relative and absolute importance of other projects have fluctuated between 1979/1980 and 1984/1985. They showed a particularly high level in 1982/ 1983 when they formed 40% of project food aid.

Food security projects as a proportion of cereal food aid received in Sub-Saharan Africa was more or less constant for the period 1979/1980 to 1984/1985. In 1984/1985 it stood at 5%. However, in absolute terms it increased almost eight-fold, from 30,000 tonnes in 1979/1980 to 270,000 tonnes in 1984/ 1985. Again, it is another “planned” form of food aid which will sustain post-crisis food aid totals.

This disaggregated analysis of uses is important. It shows that there has been an underlying upward trend in absolute and relative terms of world food aid to Sub-Saharan Africa for development purposes in addition to increases, in absolute and relative terms, in emergency aid to Sub- Saharan Africa.

Behind the aggregate patterns for Sub-Saharan Africa there is a complex pattern of food aid use at a country level. Table 8 shows cereal food aid receipts in Sub-Saharan Africa in 198411985 by country. At the country level it is



Table 7(a). Food aid receipts in cereals for Sub-Sahara African countries by relative use, 1979/ 1980 to 1984/ 1985

1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85

Non project food aid

Project food aid

Of which:

Proportion of total 55%


Agricultural and rural development

Nutrition improvement

Other

Proportion of project food aid 63%

Proportion of project food aid 30%

Proportion of project food aid 7% Food security projects

Emergency food aid

Sub-Saharan Africa total 1,372.357

Proportion of total 3 70


50%

21%

61%

31%

8%

4%

24% 1,896.423

52% 48%

22% 32%

53% 53%

37% 17%

10% 40%

3% 3%

23% 17% 2,194.386 2,426.038

45%

23%

62%

32%

6%

4%

28% 3,016.055

28%

17%

66%

28%

6%

5%

50% 4,958.277

Source: WFP (1986).

Table 7(b). Food aid receipts in cereals for Sub-Sahara African countries by use, 1979/ 1980 to 1984/1985 (in thousand tonnes)

1979-80 1980-81 1981 -82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85

Non project food aid

Project food aid

Of which: Agricultural and rural development

Nutrition improvement

Other

Food security projects

Emergency food aid

Sub-Saharan Africa total

760 953 389 403

246 247 119 125 24 31 32 82

189 458 1,372 1,896

1,136 492

262 184 47 67

499 2,194

1,150 1,366 775 693

412 436 132 223 23 1 34 79 112

42 1 815 2,426 3,016

1,385 836

555 23 7 45

270 2,467 4,958

Source: WFP (1986).

clear that the relative importance of the different uses of food aid may be very different to the overall pattern for Sub-Saharan Africa.

FOOD AID DONORS

Table 9 contains cereal food aid shipments to Sub-Saharan Africa by donor and selected major recipients for 1984/1985 as reported by donors in fulfilment of their obligations under the Food Aid Convention.

During the early 1970s Africa only received about 5% of world food aid. By 1981 Africa was receiving about half of it. Shifts of U.S. food allocation from South East Asia in the early 1970s to Africa and the Middle East more recently account for part of this change.

Only once between 1974 and 1984 was a Sub-Sahara African country in the top five recipients of U.S. food aid (PL 480) shipments. This was Sudan in 1984. In 1975 Africa received 8.5% of PL 480 shipments; in 1984 it received 24% of PL 480 shipments. The bulk of PL 480 shipments are



Table 8. Food aid receipts in cereals by countries in Sub-Sahran Africa, 1984-1985

AGRIC, AN0 RURAL NUTRITION OTHER OEVELOPIENT IIPROVEIENT

FOOO SECURITY EMERGENCY TOTAL PROJECTS FOOD nIo

AN6OLA BENIN

8URKlNb FASO BURUNDI C A~EROON CAPE VEROE CENTRlK AFRICAN REP, CHAO COflOROS C ON60 0 JIBDUT I EQUATORIAL GUINEA ETHIOPIA 6118MI

GHANA GUINEA 6UINEA BISSAU

KENYA LESOTHO LIBERIA

BoTsunin

snmn

IVORY consi

R ~ O ~ G A S C A R nnLnuI

mnuRiinNin I n l I

IAUR IT IUS NOZAH81QuE NIGER N IGERII Runm sno TOME 1 PRINCIPE SENEGRL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE s o w n suonm sunziinno TANZhNIA TO60 U6ANOA Z A l E z m n z1ttaAeuE

35574

6000

2883 10850

10916 3827

5500 I85

66699

4510 17826 37308 14517

1 10000 36600 31575

30336 13872 10000

356299 1992

4590 6679

44680

I06 30900

275534

102061 6625

2000 74496

1384971

500 6635

3615

962 950 412

21085 I681 234 102

153420

381 4684 4392 1632

17551 18738

111 68139

1376 15707 1484 4000

17996 300

3239 1580 3849

13180 I598 1843

1010 1925

I7096

1757 157548

-

-

551695

18897 2413

45749 3812 2712 880

3599 338

11222

504 1261 873

2379 35155

715 378

16993 1 I608

2573 3731 6310 5461 1311 1851 3208

I672 654

17955 187

4759 2205

2795 3693 1689

I4220

-

236835

11796

11137 795 - 128

1378 9100

3888 69

-

-

2248

270

1696

1644

500

44619

6009

-

1214 5000

- 107000

16112

81824 18152

5000

-

27031 I

10580 2008 2880

90621 9977

I1361 31 117

2008 104623

120

5932

968173

2417 1 I792

5660 NIL

48513 14786

13000

79440 61552

47600 151791

1122

14594

92622 480167

22801

4737 I I726 3608

1 19066

2466816

77364 1 I057 60638

120038 16367 13203 35696 2916

117845 5628

738 12797 3650

I202692

I6776 103346 42485 22187

300087 81732 31986

100178 5107

213647 130525 17589

431744 157291

13893 8913

111079 I883

18315 I27325 757511

4439 129571 13239 21833 27914 8036 1

276614

4958277

Source: WFP (1986).


c.

?

P

\

Y

Tab

le 9

. Tot

al c

erea

l foo

d ai

d sh

ipm

ents

to

sele

cted

cou

ntri

es in

Sub

-Sah

aran

Afr

ica,

by

dono

r an

d re

cipi

ent,

of 1

984/

198

5 ob

ligat

ions

und

er th

e fo

od a

id c

onve

ntio

n, a

s of J

une

1985

(in

thou

sand

tonn

es)

RECI

D!EN

T CO

l!kTRY

AR

BEUT

INA

BUST

RALI

A AU

STRI

A CA

NPOA

EE

C FI

NLAN

D JA

PQN

YORU

AY

SPAI

N SU

EDEN

SU

ITZE

R-

USA

TOTA

L OF

UHIC

H PIU

LTILIT

ns

x LA

ND

IULT

ILAT

, OF

TOT

AL

77,7

81

20,0

00

6, e?

8 1,

580

17,S

lG

7,35

0

5,00

0 4,

000

1,51

0

' ,725

95,0

33

?8,4

88

29,6

89

10,3

50

21,7

60

!5,0

29

13,P

l9

339,

237

85,8

52

12,0

00

83,8

62

51,5

15

' '7,4

98

4 ,000

104,

??7

229,

I I7

925

- ',0

00

- 2,

270

- 1,

240

3,96

3

- 9,

!20

24,1

59

3,50

0 -

1,00

0

- 5,

963

- 5,

068

- 2,

769

300

- 3,

432

- 4,

000

925

- 8,

534

- 4,

920

4,14

1 -

2,71

0

3,26

3 15

4,37

0 15

6,25

0 50

,538

10

6,13

9 53

,561

13

7,64

7 3,

169

56,8

19

424,

571

54,1

07

681 I

452

30

2,86

0 67

,791

22

4,25

1 12

6,48

8 32

2,24

7 9,

974

187,

530

718,

477

3,26

3 21

7,83

1 53

,965

20

,061

55,9

53

11,8

13

35,4

99

3,54

5 10

0,07

3 '2

1,04

2

6,OX

32,O

X

23,6

%

25, O

X 9,

3X

!l,OX

35

,5X

53 4

%

16.8

1

i7,e

x

~_

__

_

~

Sour

ce: A

dapt

ed f

rom

the

figu

res

in F

ood

Aid

Bul

letin

(No.

1, J

anua

ry 1

986)

. Th

k Fo

od A

id C

onve

ntio

n so

licits

and

ove

rsee

s an

nual

ple

dges

of f

ood

assi

stan

ce.


Table 10. Food aid receipts by commodity for Sub-Saharan Africa, for 1984/ 1985 agricultural year for cereals and calender year 1985 for non-cereals

RLGOLR BENIN BOiSbAnil 8lJRk I N 4 FA53 SIJRUYD 1 CAflEROIjN CAPE VEROE CENTRAL RFP:CAN REP L I A D

CON60 3JIB0'111

cnirc~oe

EyUATORIAL G U I N i A EitiiuFia GABON GAnBIA GHANA GUINEA GUINEA BISSAIJ IVORY COAST KENYR LESOTH@ 1- IBERIA 1 A D A G A 5 C A R MALAUI NALl NAUR!TRNIR I A U R : T I V S rmrs I QlJE LIKR NlhERIA RDIPAOA jA0 TIHE b PRINCIPE SENEGAL SEYCHELLES !IEKRA LEOYE XMALIR SUDAN SWAZILBNC TP?IZAN I A 1060 f!GAhOA 3!tE !API:fi !!UEdBYE

?!,5 21 1 3:; 5

3 1 I

! I , ? 4 9 . 6 11 ,F,

163.6 5 4

, s 1 S . d

7 , o 868 ,Y

?@,% 9 3 . 7 4 7 . 3 2 0 . 9

339 6 7 1 , 8 1 3 , 9 9 8 , l

4 5 265.6 135, l 9,'

3 6 6 , l 43,:

2 1 9 . 3 3 5 , % 1 0 . 2

I 2 0 , h

20 < 247.9 t ' : , i

( 7 1 Y . C

2 2 . 8 30,b

i ? 7 . 6 ! I? I) 131 ?,

i 2 3 . 7

: ? / -

; p , , j

6.4

t , ?

9,1 I ! , i

3 . 5 19 I :.4

5 7 , o 6 . 8

I 0 . f

14 8 l 5 , l 2 e , 4 1 9 , 9

?,? 1 8 , s 61 , o

65,? 10 3

66 6 I $ , ?

3 3 3.1 4.9 1 , ? 4 . 5

3 0 , o 9 ?

?4,S 4 , l 4.8

10 5 5 0

Disasters/ 10/4/1986


% ! M E 0 \IL'' !PER CAP:'AI OTHER D A I R Y (PER C A P I T A ! VEGETABLE OIL ( P E R CbPITI\) BUTTER OIL (PER C R P I T A I TiITPL I E R E A ? AN0 YOR-CESEAL F i i CI' !Tb PRODIJCTS F O O D A I D

000 tonnes kg 000 tornrs I g 909 tonnes kg 000 tonnes kJ 009 tanncs k g

425 15

'2,969 64 18 1 4

503

! , l h F ,

! 1 !3

4 897 2

' 5 18

5 5

547 273

49 276 564 274 r7

871 7 ,

1 , 2 5 4

11

d 0

1,450 2,!?9

s ! 29 25 6 2 91 54 488

2,306 1,123 5,732

1,132 1 ,361 390 I20

Y,E16 8

5 0

233 42,176

420 4,0?8

191 l?

1,988 3 , 2 4 1

I59 1 050

'63 1,179 1,944

2 ! # 1 2 5 1.906

13,155

?a5

2,271 ?54

1 , 1 5 4 55

1 2 2

20,159 1 e, ?80

3 , 8 7 6 916

5 676

6,403 679

-

100

8,851

340

200

5,791

852

50

50

500 I ,600

649

400 500

8 3 . 3 2? 3 48 i

138 1 ! 3 . 6 ! 3 , l 5 ' ,3 I ! ,9

' !a,& 5 . 4

, 6 !5.9

1 5 9 5 1 , 7

i - !

2 0 99.6 49.6 ?' ,I)

3 4 3 , l 7 8 , P 2 0 , !

1 5 0 . 9 5 , :

268 7 150 .0 9,d

313 5 48.7

218 3 41.6 !il 6

i 3 7 , 0 !,4

23,5 2 7 5 . 6 t i d ? , !

, 7 1 3 6 . 8 25.2 31 , ? !'5,S 119,: 1 ? 2 . 5

Population figures used to calculate per capita figures are mid-year estimates. Per capita figures may be

Sources: Food Aid in Figures, FA0 (1985, No. 3). Population and Vital Statistics Report, UN, Series A, subject to rounding errors.

Vol. XXXVIII. No. 4.



Table 11. Sub-Saharan African countries

1 . Angola 2. Benin 3. Botswana 4. Burkina Faso 5. Burundi 6. Cameroon 7. Cape Verde 8. Central African Republic 9. Chad

10. Congo 1 1 . Comoros 12. Cote d’Ivoire 13. Djibouti 14. Ethiopia 15. Equatorial Guinea 16. Gabon 17. Gambia 18. Ghana 19. Guinea 20. Guinea Bissau 21. Kenya 22. Lesotho 23.. Liberia

24. Madagascar 25. Malawi 26. Mali 27. Mauritania 28. Mauritius 29. Mozambique 30. Niger 31. Nigeria 32. Rwanda 33. Sao Tome and Principe 34. Senegal 35. Seychelles 36. Sierra Leone 37. Somalia 38. Sudan 39. Swaziland 40. Tanzania 41. Togo 42. Uganda 43. Zaire 44. Zambia 45. Zimbabwe

Indicates the twenty African countries defined by the WFP/FAO Task Force as being in need of emergency food aid in 1985.

usually concentrated in a few countries with whom the U.S. keeps close security ties. However in recent years food aid has become less concentrated on a few recipients, although some countries of special strategic or political importance to the U.S.A. remained leading recipients.

The U.S.A., the EEC, Australia, Japan and Canada were the five largest donors in 19&1/ 1985 (and in most years since 1972/1973), tokether providing over 96% of total food aid shipments to Sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S.A. alone provided over 36% of total food aid shipments. Each spread their food aid shipments over a wide range of recipients. Meanwhile each of the smaller donors tended to concentrate their food aid on a smaller number of recipients. The actual amounts of food aid shipments to individual recipients was therefore sometimes greater from smaller than from larger donors. Also, as a percentage of their total world food aid shipments, the smaller donors, except Sweden and Finland, all gave more to Sub-Saharan Africa than the five biggest donors did.

The number of donors giving food aid to any one country did not necessarily correspond to the total volume of shipments received in that country. Countries receiving

larger shipments usually had a larger number of countries donating food aid to them. However, smaller recipients sometimes had quite a large number of donors sending food aid to them too.

The percentage of 1984/1985 cereal food aid shipments to Sub-Saharan countries which were channelled through multilateral bodies varies widely (see Table 9). Donors also use the WFP as their “agent” for what are normally bilateral food aid shipments. These shipments may be part of co-ordinated aid from several donors to a project or genuinely “targetted” by the donor. However, for the larger recipients of food aid, receiving 100,OOO tonnes plus of food aid, it was not generally greater than 20%. For Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole the figure was 20.470, i.e. 873,881 tonnes out of the total cereal food aid shipments of 4.3 million tonnes.

Goals of self-sufficiency and self-reliance in food have been set by the African leaders and are contained in the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action and the 1985 African Priority Programme for Economic Recovery, endorsed by the May 1986 Special Session of the UN General Assembly. We have seen, however, that food aid levels rose rapidly during the first half of the decade. Important elements of that aid such as project and food security agreements indicate a likely upward rachet effect in food aid levels. Significantly, some of the most important recipients in per capita terms (e.g. Cape Verde, Mauritania) and in overall levels (e.g. Somalia) are not countries where there is likely to be any easy move towards self-sufficiency in food.

There is much material here for debate. This document- ation of the growth of food aid, inextricably bound up with emergencies and large relief problems, is intended to provide a wider audience with the factual basis for participating in the debate on food aid in Sub-Saharan Africa.

REFERENCES

Borton J. and Clay E., The African food crisis of 1982-1986, Disasters 10(4), 258-272 (1986).

Clay E., European food aid and Africa’s food needs, in: Can Europe’s Food Surplus Solve Afn’ca’s Famine? Irish Council of the European Movement Conference Papers, Dublin (1986). FAO, Food Aid in Figures, NO. 3 (1985). FAO, Food Aid Bulletin, No. 1 (January 1986). UN, Population and Vital Statistics Report, Series A, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4 (1985).


food aid and food crisis in sub-saharan africa: statistical trends and implications

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