IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS AND THE FUTURE FOR AFRICAN

AGRICULTUREWeek 11 b

ObjectivesDiscuss how HIV/AIDS impacts agriculture:

Crop productionLivestock productionNatural resources

Discuss the roles of Government on HIV/AIDS

Discuss the roles of PEPFAR U.S Government organization on HIV/AIDS

Discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS on demographic

Discuss the solutions in combating HIV/AIDS

IntroductionEducation and health status affects a person’s potential to engage in high-

value nonfarm jobs as well as the return on agriculture.

The physical intensity of most agricultural labor, health and nutrition affect agricultural productivity

Poor health reduces agricultural productivity, and some agricultural practices contribute to health problems

AIDS takes a heavy toll on rural population in Africa

Mortality among young adults sharply increasing

Life expectancy declining in many countries: Lesotho (45.6), Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, 47 years in (HDI for 2010 Namibia 62.5

What is AIDS? The acronym HIV/AIDS is a term now coined to mean the virus and disease it

causes.

It stands for Human Immune-deficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune- Deficiency Syndrome.

HIV is the virus that destroys the immunity system of an infected person to such an extent that the individual is susceptible to a wide variety of diseases

as the body is not able to fight any disease, a condition called AIDS.

A person may carry the virus and is said to be HIV positive

but may not exhibit any symptoms of being sick until the viral load exceeds a certain limit in which case the person starts to exhibit symptoms of AIDS.

It is these opportunistic diseases that will make an individual ill, emaciated, incapacitated and then eventually die.

FAO Information:

The impact of HIV/AIDS on HH AIDS reduces household members,

gives extra responsibilities due to nursing,

It increases poverty, and it increases vulnerability on the entire household as resources become over

stretched,

the number of orphans increase and it is difficult to look after orphans as they expect special care.

Thus production goes down = less people producing - even if the patient is still farming,

he is weakened so his output is less – and more time is spent on nursing and caring for the patient.

The number of orphans increases and this places other burdens on already stretched clusters and households.

Factors affecting the vulnerability and resilience of a household to the impacts of a death on livelihood and food security includes

• Length and degree of incapacity during AIDS related illness;

Health status of surviving

partner/spouse;

Number of dependents left:

Age

Gender

Stage in household development cycle

Livelihood and agricultural production

opportunities

Overall cluster composition:

Number of female headed household and

dependent producers

Explanation of the figureA conceptual framework is presented in Figure is above

Adapted from Asenso-Okyere, et al, 2010

The framework shows how HIV/AIDS affects:

agricultural production, food security and farm income

through its direct influence on agricultural labour supply

HIV/AIDS Linkage to Agriculture

HIV

/AID

S I

llne

ss in

th

e

ag

ricu

ltura

l ho

use

ho

ld s

ect

or

Death of worker Loss of farming knowledge

Absenteeism due to HIV/AIDS

Less land under cultivation

Less labor-intensive crops

HIV/AIDS Illness in the agricultural

household sector

Decline in Income from wage labour

and off-farm

Food insecurity

Decline Farm income

Family members’ time diverted to

caregivingLess crop variety

Loss of savings, household and farm

assets

Less labor productivity and

efficiency

Low

cro

p an

d liv

esto

ck

prod

uctio

n

Condition Effect Outcome Impact

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Crop Production

Loss of knowledge on cropping systems

young orphans are still too young to learn

Reduce crop produce required at household level

Explanation….. HIV/AIDS causes illness and ultimately death in individuals that are affected by the

disease.

Once the disease has progressed into AIDS, the individual becomes prone to all opportunistic diseases, gets incapacitated and eventually dies.

The most direct effect on an individual, who is infected by the disease, is first illness, incapacitation and eventually death

The contribution of the individual to total available labour decreases as the illness progresses to total incapacitation and death and

contribution of other household members to available labor also decreases as they forego productive work to care for the sick or mourn at death

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Livestock Production

Communities keep cattle, goats, pigs, and local chickens

for selling whenever there is a need for cash.

The raising and tending of both small and large-breed livestock are done by all members of the household,

with different responsibilities according to gender and time availability.

For example, women tend cattle while the children are at school, but the children look after them after school.

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Livestock Production…. HIV/AIDS has intensified the negative impact of drought on the livestock by further depleting

herds.

For example Most tradition the slaughter of a cow when a family member dies in order to take care of the mourners; The frequency for slaughter has increased due to HIV/AIDS

Livestock soles have increased to pay for hospitalization or treatment of sick members of the household

Prices received for livestock sales are low.

Traditionally, farmers will sell cattle only when they are really desperate.

The death of a male member of the household affects livestock production Because men hold the majority the local knowledge about and experience with livestock.

Once the male member is chronically ill or dies the livestock will be left in the hands of female members and children who may have very little or no knowledge at all on the livestock industry.

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Natural Resources

Trees and herbs for medicinal purposes

Land access for women

Indigenous knowledge on natural resources

Ownership

President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief: www.pepfar.orgThe U.S. directly supported life-saving antiretroviral

treatment for more than 3.2 million men, women and children

worldwide as of September 30, 2010, up from less than 2.5 million in 2009.

PEPFAR directly supported antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission for more than 600,000

HIV-positive pregnant women in fiscal year 2010, allowing more than 114,000 infants to be born HIV-free.

PEPFAR……

Partnerships with more than 30 countries, PEPFAR directly supported 11 million people with care and support,

including nearly 3.8 million orphans and vulnerable children, in fiscal year 2010 alone.

Supported HIV counseling and testing for nearly 33 million people in fiscal year 2010,

providing a critical entry point to prevention, treatment, and care.

PEPFAR…..

The U.S. is the first and largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight; AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,

Made an historic multi-year pledge of $4 billion for 2011-2013, a 38 percent increase in U.S. support.

To date, the U.S. has provided more than $5.1 billion to the Fund.

Of the estimated 5.2 million individuals in low- and middle-income countries who currently receive treatment,

nearly 4.7 million receive support through PEPFAR bilateral programs, the Global Fund, or both.

AIDS and DemographicsAIDS can change the demographic profile of rural populations

Through the direct effects on mortality and through migration

Increased number of orphans and vulnerable (OVC) in rural area in Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe have high dependence ratios

The changes in rural household composition are likely to affect household income strategies

The potential of rural households to benefit from agricultural and rural growth.

SolutionsAntiretroviral treatment sustain the adult labor force, leading to less child

labor and better child nutrition outcomes

Abstention

Faithful to one partner

Educational campaigns on HIV/AIDS prevention

Break the silence barrier

Stigma associated to HIV/AIDS

See the 4 pager FAO HIV/AIDS :food security and rural livelihoods

In summaryAIDS reduces adult’s capabilities to work

Diverts the labor of others to caregiving

Breaks the intergenerational transmission of knowledge.

All these factors result in reduced agricultural production

Questions: 140 points1. What is AIDS? How does is differs from HIV? [10 points]

2. What are the causes of HIV/AIDS? [10 points]

3. What are the impacts of AIDS on food security? [20 points]

4. What are the implications of HIV/AIDS on food security? [20 points]

5. Use a diagram to show your understanding of how AIDS can lead to food insecurity?[20 points]

6. What effects does AIDS have on demographic in rural area? [10 points]

7. What roles does PEPFAR play on HIV/AIDS? [10 points]

8. What should be agriculture sector responses to the impact of HIV/AIDS?[20 points]

9. What major challenges of HIV/AIDS on young farmers? [10 points]

10. What is the sustainable response to fight HIV/AIDS? [10 points]