Africa's Growing Dependence on Imported Wheat: Some Implications for Agricultural Policies in Africa

Shah, M.M., Fischer, G., Kroemer, G., & Parikh, K.S. (1985). Africa's Growing Dependence on Imported Wheat: Some Implications for Agricultural Policies in Africa. IIASA Collaborative Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: CP-85-015

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Abstract

Understanding the nature and dimension of the food problem and the policies available to alleviate it has been the focal point of the Food and Agriculture Programme (FAP) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) since the program began in 1977.

National food systems are highly interdependent, and yet the major policy options exist at the national level. Therefore, to explore these options, we have developed policy models for national economies which are linked together by trade and capital transfers. For greater realism the models in this scheme are kept descriptive, rather than normative. The linked system contains some twenty national models which together account for nearly 80 percent of important agricultural attributes, such as area, production, population, exports, imports, etc., and somewhat simplified 15 regional models which cover the remaining countries of the world.

Policies have to be guided not only by the economic reality but also by the agro-ecological resource constraints facing the ,country. Thus, we have collaborated earlier with the FAO and UNFPA in a study to asses the agro-ecological agricultural production potential of the developing countries of the world.

One of the major food problems in the world, if not the most important one, is the problem of inadequate food availability to many in the world. Here the problem in Africa is of particular concern as it seems to be getting worse. The problem manifests itself in the growing food imports by Africa.

This study explores the problem of growing dependence of Africa on imported wheat using the analytical models, both economic and agro-ecological, developed at FAP.

We are grateful to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for partially supporting this study.

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