Post 7: Concluding Thoughts

 Post 7: Concluding Thoughts

Over the past three months, I have become immersed in the issues surrounding food and water development in Africa, and I have begun to piece together the general state of affairs there. In my opinion, Africa has a wealth of potential, but it has so far failed to come together as one to harness that potential. I believe, that through greater communication and joint development initiatives, as seen with the Senegal river, all can benefit. This is especially true in the case of food production amidst a backdrop of water scarcity.  

To end with one final point to demonstrate my belief in a clearer way it is necessary to draw on the theory of comparative advantage. Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage states that countries should specialise in the production of a good for which they have the lowest opportunity cost (cost benefit foregone from the next best alternative). This theory was proven by the Bernhofen-Brown test in the mid-nineteenth century, when Japan opened-up to foreign trade and specialised in silk production, for which It has comparative advantage. The results led to a drop in the domestic value of silk due to an increase in production, but a comparatively larger increase in sales abroad through exports (Bernhofen and Brown, 2004).

This theory lends itself to the concept of “virtual water” (Allan, 1998), which suggests that by importing goods from one country with an abundance of one type of resource, into a country where that resource is scare, water is effectively purchased from the exporting country. Due to the comparative advantage, this also has the benefit of saving water. This is the kind of cooperation and innovative thinking that could make a real difference in Africa for the development of food and water.

This example is not too dissimilar to the Senegal River Basin, where three countries came together with individual strengths, whether it be hydroelectricity, agriculture or fishing, through their cooperation, all has benefitted. Through my examples, the best outcomes have come from collaborations between people. Whether it is a community of smallholder farmers or a multinational development project, I believe this cooperation has been a recurring theme in the success stories I have covered.  

This necessity of this is greater now than ever, given the impending demographic boom and climate change on the horizon. Whilst there is still a lot to do, from what have learned, the progress of water and food development in Africa has been positive. I do not take the Malthusian stand-point in the population debate (Pearce, 2007), and firmly believe that continued development in agricultural methods and water management will support Africa into a successful future.  

Thank you for reading. 

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