Why Do Famines Persist

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Why do famines persist?Theory and practice

Jose Maria Cisneros GallegosLondon, May 2015

Introduction

The underlying contradiction of possessing instruments to prevent faminesdespite the fact that they are still recurrent is a comple !uestion" Moreover,conceptualising famines as #entitlement failures$ misdirects %oth theunderstanding of the concept and the practicalities of ho& to end them" Thisessay &ill advocate for an alternative approach to the comprehension of famines&hilst recogni'ing the inherent compleity of their contetual issues" Theanalytical frame&or( proposed is %ased upon main propositions on ho& tounderstand famines &hich &ill %e singularly assessed &ith evidence from )frican

countries from the last several decades"

The essay presents a discussion of the conception of famines as #entitlementfailures$ *+en, 1-1., follo&ed %y outlining an evaluation of the four mainpropositions derived from the analytical frame&or(, dra&ing on eamples of pasteperiences of famines in )frican countries over the last decades" /inally,conclusions &ill %e dra&n from these criti!ues and analyses"

Understanding famine as an entitlement failure

The conceptuali'ation of famine determines the &ay the phenomenon isunderstood, %ut it also delineates possi%le &ays to approach the pro%lem inpractice" Theoretical foundations therefore #dictate$ the design and theimplementation of policies and programmes to end famine *d(ins, 2002."

The ousehold conomy )pproach *). &as developed to assess livelihoodstrategies at the household level in order to identify vulnera%ilities and predictho& households &ill react in times of crisis" uanti3cations of livelihood impactsare useful &hen designing development interventions as they provide valua%leinformation a%out the range of availa%le livelihood sources of income and food,as &ell as the household mem%ers$ nutritional status *+eaman et al., 2014." Thisis one of many methodologies to measure poverty and household deprivation*+66, 2007., some of &hich even rely on historical data to simulate the response

to future disasters *+eaman, 2000." o&ever all share a common theoretical%ac(ground, &hich is the sustaina%le livelihoods and entitlement theorisation ofpoverty"

Livelihood sustaina%ility is de3ned as the possi%ility of recovering from impacts,%ased on improving the asset %ase, and preserving natural resources, &hich canonly %e achieved if the household o&ns or has access to certain capa%ilities,assets, and activities *+coones, 1-." This %road8ranging conceptualisationprovides a set of distinctive criteria to identify sustaina%le livelihoods, &hich arefounded on the entitlement approach *+en, 1-1." )ccording to +en *1-1.,famines appear as the result of changes in the eercising of rights andentitlements over various resources" 9eprived households endure a shift in their

rights over the means for a decent standard of living, hence their vulnera%ility tofamines can only %e a product of the modi3cation in their entitlements"

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Figure 1: Why do famines persist? Analytical framework. Authors own working of Sen (1!1"#Seaman et al. ($%1&".

6n the a%ove frame&or(, the hourglass indicates that +en$s theory *1-1. and the) *+eaman et al., 2014. %oth assume a theoretical narro&ing &hich alsomanifests in the practical limitations &hen designing famine intervention" )mongthe theoretical elements unconsidered %y these t&o approaches are politics, the

economy, livelihood strategies, and climate change" +ome of the practicalpro%lems unaddressed %y them are decision8ma(ing, the purposefulness offamines, survival strategies, and climatic anomalies" 6n order to %etter eplainthis frame&or(, four proposals &ill %e assessed and contrasted &ith evidencefrom famine episodes in )frica over the last fe& decades"

Decision-making and appropriate responses

The 3rst proposal put for&ard to understand &hy famines persist are the politicalfactors &ithin the decision8ma(ing processes to tac(le food insecurity" 6ndeed,the preferences of policy ma(ers are of vital importance &hen deciding &hen andho& to act *Euchanan8+mith et al., 14." :hile arly :arning +ystems *:+. todetect famine may %e eFciently put in place, the information ;udged valid totrigger action, the critical thresholds for crisis indicators, and the timing ;udgedappropriate to intervene are diDerent according to the understanding of thedecision8ma(er"

The information failure generated after a%ysmal gaps of (no&ledge %et&een:+ managers and decision8ma(ers is a recurrent feature in )frican famines*9evereu, 200." The 2011 famine in +omalia revealed ho& important thesegaps are in reality *)l Ja'eera, 2011., &ith mass migration o&s from thesouthern region of the country to&ards the north and refugee camps in Henya&ere identi3ed as initial signs of livelihood stress and political violence" )s local

aid organisations reached out to international donors, no preventive action &asta(en as no evidence of #real famine$ &as presented" 9ecision8ma(ers often

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prefer to &ait until there is a verita%le humanitarian crisis in areas of stress,&hich ma(es any form of :+ and ) diagnoses redundant"

Moreover, the eFciency of the response is often limited due to inappropriateadministrative procedures on the part of %oth donor and recipient countries

*Euchanan8+mith et al., 14." )gain in the case of the 2011 famine in +omalia,ineFcient %ureaucratic structures &ere also revealed *)l Ja'eera, 2011." /irstly,an unsurmounta%le hierarchy in the chain of international aid supply impededthe claims of local aid organisations, leading to early signs of crisis %eingignored" +econdly, time consuming administration also aDected the s&iftness ofthe delivery to the most aDected areas in southern +omalia" Theseadministrative measures include a meticulously &eighing the amount of grain to%e delivered as &ell as the collection, the counting, the chec(ing, and individualdestruction of the empty %a%y food sachets at the distri%ution sites *)l Ja'eera,2011." Though politically necessary, these procedures &ere costly since theyprevented resources from %eing %etter allocated to tac(ling famine in aDected'ones"

Gaps in understanding %et&een development practitioners and decision8ma(ersas &ell as ineFcient procedures impede appropriate responses, hencecontri%uting to the perpetuation of famines"

International relations and conict

The second proposal to %e evaluated is that famines persist %ecause of politicalfactors related to international aDairs and civil conicts" )id provided %y donorcountries is generally su%;ect to certain conditions and epected outcomes,nonetheless recipient governments also construct epectations a%out the donorcountries" These mutual epectations crucially shape the relationship %et&eendonor and recipient countries, &hich is a critical determinant of aid provision*Euchanan8+mith B 9avies, 15." 6ndeed, many cases of humanitarianassistance %y &estern countries have %een conditioned to the political situationin the recipient country *9unning, 2004."

The 2000 famine in thiopia occurred in con;unction to this country$s &ar &ithritrea" 6nternational aid o&s &ere interrupted %ecause of the apprehensionthat food aid &as misdirected to other purposes than helping the aDectedpopulation" This uneasiness &as further ampli3ed as such possi%le misdirectionof aid could %e perceived as #3nancing a &ar$ *Ma&ell, 2002." /urthermore, therising fear of terrorism aDected aid responses to some areas in the 2011 crisis in

+omalia" The %om%ing of

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political purposes of famine as a means of maintaining po&er, as no governmentaction &as ta(en and aid &as often %loc(ed" The impediment of aid contri%utedto the aggravation of livelihood disruption and famine" Kears later, political andcommercial elites as &ell as international donors &ere identi3ed as %eingamongst some of the %ene3ciaries of famine *Heen, 14."

)%sence of conict is usually a sine 'ua nonfor international aid o&s, yetseveral food crises in )frica in recent years reveal the importance of donor8recipient epectations and the utility of famines for political goals"

Neolieralism and the magnitude of the economic prolem

The third proposal assessed relies on the assumption that famines persist%ecause of a misapprehension of the dimensions of the economic pro%lem"6mportant factors ecluded from +en$s theory of famines *1-1, 1-4. are notonly political %ut also social and economic" )rgua%ly most importantly, the#entitlement echange$ approach ecludes a crucial factor in )frican economic

history@ neoli%eralism *9evereu, 2001."

The famine in Mala&i in 200182002 &as induced %y economic structures such asthe dismantlement of pu%lic programmes, agricultural su%sidies, creditassociations, and grain reserves" The latter &as as emergency food stoc(pile to%e accessed in cases of food insecurity &ithin the country" o&ever, 3nancialimpositions %y the 6nternational Monetary /und *6M/. forced a change in rationaleof the grain reserves@ they &ere to %e converted into an economic asset, thusallo&ing the recovery of the costs of aid provision, ;ust as in any other neoli%eralpu%lic service, leading to large commercial loans %eing given to 3nance thenecessary epansion of capacity" These neoli%eral policies ultimately failed asthey triggered a severe economic crisis during the famine intervention" +omeeDects of the crisis included speculation on grain prices, the control of grainsupply %y a fe& families, and a lac( of assistance for more vulnera%lehouseholds" The famine death toll &as estimated at 47,000 to -5,000 people*9evereu B Ti%a, 200A." Moreover, the esta%lishment of the conomicCommunity of :est )frican +tates *C?:)+. failed to strengthen the responsesystems of the mem%er states" Conversely, it has further enhanced theneoli%eralisation of )frican economies as it produced a lac( of %asic economicregulation to sta%ili'e prices and distri%ute food ade!uately and failed to supportthe implementation of social protection systems, factors &hich played a role inthe onset of the 2005 famine in Iiger *Mousseau B Mittal, 200A."

/amines occur in the contet of collapsed social and economic net&or(s, &hichare not encompassed in the #entitlement failure$ approach *>angasami, 1-5.">ecent studies in east thiopia have sho&n the importance of social net&or(s infood security" Many factors contri%uting to rural livelihoods depend on socialconnections and relationships that the household can mo%ili'e for their survival"?ne of these factors is the provision of seeds, &hich relies mainly in thehousehold$s informal social capital system and social relationship and support"

These are neither mercantile nor political relations, rather inherently social andyet vital for rural livelihoods *McGuire, 200-." The com%ination of highagricultural prices and lo& harvest resulted in the 2005 famine in +udan" Lo&yields triggered livelihood disruption &hich &as accentuated %y a rapid increasein cereal prices *200800." ouseholds &ere forced to adopt deleterious

coping strategies such as selling land and livestoc(, &hich further increased foodinsecurity and malnutrition in vulnera%le areas" 9espite that mar(ets &ere still

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functioning, the terms of trade &ere tremendously deteriorated to the point thatvulnera%le people &ere dispossessed *9evereu, 200."

9isregarding neoli%eral features of )frican economies and the magnitude of theensuing economic diFculties results in inappropriate interpretations and

interventions" :hen understanding famines, the incomplete portrayal ofeconomic pro%lems leads to the adoption of technical and managerial solutionsthat tac(le only minor aspects of comple economic pro%lems *d(ins, 2002."

!uman and ecological reakdo"n

The fourth proposal to %e evaluated is that famines persist %ecause of amisunderstanding of the dimension of the human and ecological %rea(do&n" 6nfact, famines are comple episodes &hich engender ecological destruction andhuman distress *)dger, 2000."

The epansion of arid areas and progressive deserti3cation are important issues

to consider &hen understanding and addressing famines" Ey 1-4 it &asestimated that -7 of the rural population in +udan living in the +ahel region&ere aDected %y &ater and vegetation scarcity *Mortimore, 1-." This is (ey tounderstanding that human life in these areas is often ena%led %y survivalstrategies rather than livelihood systems" /urthermore, climate change is acatalyst for the epansion of arid 'ones, yet famine theorisation does notconsider this phenomenon" 9uring the 2004 9arfur famine in +udan, patterns ofresponse could %e identi3ed according to the ecology and the livelihood systemof particular areas" arious coping strategies are put in place according to theenvironmental and the social systems" o&ever, ecological and human fragility&as palpa%le in the deadliness of this particular episode *de :aal, 2004." 6ncontets of such environmental adversity, human response is delimited to apsychological struggle for survival" 9espite the systemic %rea(do&n thatrepresents famine, a study of survivors of the thiopian famine in 1-481-5revealed some elements of resilience, adaptation and #%ounce %ac($" +ome ofthese factors &ere faith and hope, the presence of a living relative, andreconnecting &ith memories of one$s past and roots, sho&ing that enhancedeposure and multiple deaths in the family have long term eDects onpsychological resilience *Lothe B egen, 200."

Moreover, the intensity and the etension of recent climate change8drivenphenomena render super3cial any consideration of famines as eclusivelyeconomic disruptions" 6n fact, climate change is driving a series of anomalies in

the rainy seasons in )frica" 6t &as found that the 2005 drought in the !uatorialast )frican region &as due to etraordinarily high pressures in the &est,generating circular patterns of air circulation and a conse!uent dry season*astenrath B ol'in, 2007." The 2011 ast )frica drought &as also fuelled %y ana%normally etended lac( of rain &hich &as induced %y climate change" Theseasonality of #La Iia$ traditionally allo&ed local populations to anticipate dryseasons, ho&ever, the atypical drought in 2010 could not %e foreseen *Lott et al.,201." The a%normalities caused %y climate change are also etreme variationsof temperature that lead to disruptions in the production of %iomass in arid andsemiarid lands of the ast and +outh )frican coast *)nyam%a et al., 2002."

/amines can therefore %e disaggregated into intricate processes of ecological

fragility, livelihood disruption and psychological distur%ance" The eDects of

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climate change are translated into atypical episodes of etreme &eatherconditions"

#onclusion

The starting point of this argument &as that conceptualisations of faminedetermine the practice of famine reduction" +en$s understanding of famines as#entitlement failures$ is a&ed in that it does not tacitly address the politicalimplications of the changes in rights that result in deprivation" This in turn drivesan incomplete practice &hen addressing famines, &hich can %e characterised aspurely technical interventions" The lac( of consensus on ho& to de3ne faminesand ho& to eFciently tac(le them means that recurrence of the famine isdiFcult to impede"

This essay has proposed an alternative frame&or( for understanding thetheoretical and practical elements that could %e considered %eyond the#entitlement failures$" Ey doing so, some arguments of the critics of +en &ere

considered and epanded" vidence of famines in )frica over the past decades&as used to evaluate the validity of each proposal" Ey eploring the politicalaspects left out of +en$s theory of famines, practical considerations %eyondpolitics %ecame visi%le"

:hen deciding ho& and &hen to provide famine relief, a schism %et&eenpractitioners and decision8ma(ers %ecomes apparent" 9iDerences of interests%et&een donor and recipient countries may translate to an inade!uateintervention to address famine" ) historical summary of neoli%eral ad;ustments in)frica reveals deep8seated economic diFculties, an a%sent regulatory entity, andno safety nets" nhanced ecological fragility is %rought a%out %y climate change,&hich poses greater challenges &hen addressing livelihood disruption in thecontet of famine"

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