Asset preservation in African agriculture in the face of HIV/AIDS: The role of education

• Published in: American journal of agricultural economics 2005-01, Vol.87 (5), p.1298-1303
• Main Author: McPherson, Malcolm F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Africa; Afrika; Agricultural economics; Agricultural resources; Agricultural workers; Agriculture; AIDS; AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome); Assets; Bildungspolitik; Consumption; economic impact; Education; Epidemics; extension education; Familienbetrieb; Families & family life; Family farms; Family members; farm assets; farm families; farm labor; farm management; farm production systems; Farmers; farming systems; Food security; Food supply; HIV; HIV infections; Human capital; Human immunodeficiency virus; I120; Knowledge; Landwirtschaft; Learning; literature reviews; Nutrition; O150; pandemic; public policy; Rural economics; Skills; social impact; Socioeconomic factors; Succession planning; Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; What Role for Agricultural Economists in Addressing the HIV/AIDs Pandemic?; World Bank
• ISSN: 0002-9092; 1467-8276; 1467-8276
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8276.2005.00822.x

HIV/AIDS degrades the assets of African farm families. The epidemic erodes the family's resources (time, human capital, physical capital, and finances), fragments their social and economic networks, and undermines their organizational capacities. To counteract these adverse impacts, farm families would benefit from assistance that replenishes their assets, modifies their activities, reorganizes their work routines, revives their support network, and provides access to new knowledge. HIV/AIDS-affected farm families, however, face a Catch 22. With an eroding asset base, they are losing the capacities to craft and sustain the necessary changes. This article argues that education and learning, if selectively and sensitively provided, would help farm families preserve their assets in the face of HIV/AIDS.