Sisal Production in Madagascar - Essay Example

Madagascar Sisal Name Class Unit Introduction The sisal plant in Madagascar originated from the Mexico (Elson, 2008). The production of sisal in Madagascar has been declining with the production recorded in 2008 being 10,000 tons. Madagascar is the only producer of sisal in the francophone Africa. Madagascar started sisal export in 1922 after the First World War with 42 tones. The production continued to increase and was estimated to be at 2,500 tones by the end of the Second World War. In 1965, Madagascar was able to export a record of 28,700 tons which was an increase from 11000 tons in 1961. After many French settlers left the country, the production of the sisal went down. Most of the sisal produced in Madagascar is exported with only a small proportion being used for domestic market (WGC, 2014). The production of sisal in Madagascar was mainly done by major European companies which ceased in 1980s. Sisal was started in the southern part of Madagascar due to the availability of cheap labor. The productions of sisal have been under crisis in Madagascar due to high cost of production. The country experienced stagnation in the production of sisal which has lowered the exports in the 1980s. In 2013, there was an increase in the sisal export demands from Madagascar. The export from Madagascar was at 5.441mt in 2013. The largest export market was China and Morocco which accounted for 80 percent of the production (WGC, 2014). The statistics shows that sisal is a major foreign export earner for Madagascar. The country has been experiencing high demand for the produce making it hard to keep with the demand. The main social issue in sisal farming in Madagascar lies on the use of child labor. Madagascar has been criticized for engaging in child labor in its agricultural activities. There has been evidence that child as young as eight years have been involved in the agricultural related labor (Parker, 2007). Viewpoint from a Madagascan village elder For most of the population in Madagascar, sisal farming has been helping them in their livelihoods. I managed to talk to an elder on his views about the sisal production. According to him, working on sisal farms had been the major activity for most of the villagers since colonial days. He explained that the locals work for 10 days a month in the sisal plantations to get an equivalent of US$15. The locals are mostly living under the poverty line despite the high demand for the product. He explains that despite the problems associated with the poor pay in the sisal plantations, the country have been under political turmoil. The poverty levels in the country are high especially in the sisal growing area which is located in the south. The elder claims that the arable land in Madagascar is scarce as the sisal plantations have taken a large area. This makes most of the locals to work in the plantations. Most of the plantations are in the hands of the foreigners since independence and takes up to 80 percent of the land in the area occupied by 16 villages (WGC, 2014). According to the elder, those living near the sisal plantations are poor even when the rest of the country has a good season. For the villagers, this means that food security is a problem in the sisal growing area. The elder claims that almost 70 percent of the local children are suffering from poor nutrition. Most of the families in the sisal growing areas are large due to polygamy (Sharp & Kruse, 2011). This situation adds to the poverty as they have more dependants. Despite this, the elder claims that sisal still holds a major place in the country economy. His appeal is for the plantations owners to consider increasing wages and engaging in social responsibility (Parker, 2007). Viewpoint from a sisal exporter Sisal in Madagascar has been experiencing high demand in the world market. I managed to get a viewpoint from an exporter who explained the current situation and its benefits to exporters and country. According to the exporter, the sisal production was low in 2013 due to drought. This made the sisal plantations in Madagascar to reduce their production. The rain was back in 2014 making the production to resume. According to the merchant, the 2012 export was at 7.078 tons and increased to 7.175mtons in 2012 (WGC, 2014). The exporter claims that the increase in demand for the Madagascar sisal has been greater than the production. This, he attributes to reduced production in Kenya and Tanzania who recorded reduced supply. According to the exporter, the prices for sisal are high and there is high possibility that they will continue appreciating. The main factor that will determine the level of price appreciation is the demand in Kenya and Tanzania. The exporter explained that the main export market for the produce remain to be china and morocco. The main problem being faced by the exporters is shipping. The exporter claims that there is a single shipping line from the port of Ehoala. The port is served once in a month but there have been poor adherence to schedule by the shipping company. This has led to hardships for sisal exporters and the producers. The exporters are supposed to finance for the unshipped commodities leading to losses. The bad weather has been blamed for the shipping delays. This has made the exporters in Madagascar to be paying higher than their counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania putting them at a disadvantage. Despite this, the exporter claims that sisal farming holds fortune for the country. The current demand means that the produce will have high returns to the country (Parker, 2007). Viewpoint from a Powerful Madagascan politician Madagascar has recently emerged from a political strife. This had adversely affected the country economy leading to declining production. I managed to get the viewpoint of a powerful Madagascar politician on the sisal production. According to the politician, the government has engaged in structural reforms that have targeted the agricultural sector. The main aim of the reforms is to enable the country reap maximum benefit from the sisal farming. The politician claims that most of the country citizens rely on the agriculture which is vulnerable due to climatic changes (Sharp & Kruse, 2011). The country has made policies that can improve the agricultural production and make the economy diversified. The politician claims that diversification of the economy holds key to improve the life of the poor who depends on working in the sisal farms (Sharp & Kruse, 2011). The politicians says that the country has made drastic steps in reducing child labor in the plantations. The government has done this with an aim of engaging the children into education which can improve their livelihood and reduce dependency on manual jobs at the plantations. According to the politician, the production of sisal will help the country’s economy to grow due to the rising demand and the good weather condition this year. He claims that the current government is committed to ensuring the problems experienced in sisal export are dealt with and eliminated. The politician claims that the efforts of the current government to seek legitimacy in the world forum will help open Madagascar to trade. Currently, Madagascar utilizes a small portion of the produced sisal domestically. The politician said that the country will ensure that the country will be able to increase value addition to the sisal in the near future (Parker, 2007). The poverty levels around the sisal plantations have to be addressed by the government. According to the politician, Madagascar government is on the path to ensuring that the sisal sector will benefit all those involved (Erdmann, 2003). Conclusion Madagascar is the only Francophone country in Africa with the production of sisal. Sisal found in Madagascar originated from Mexico and the country was able to have its first export after the First World War. Despite the decrease in production in 1980s, the sisal production has increased in Madagascar. The country was able to benefit from an increase in prices that was experienced in 2013. The increase in demand for Madagascar sisal was attributed to the reduction in production in Kenya and Tanzania. There are high hopes for prices to increase in this year’s production. According to the villagers, most of the local gets their living by working on the plantations. The pay of working in sisal plantations is low leading to poverty in those areas and there is reduced arable land. The exporters have benefited from the recent increase in prices despite the poor shipping conditions. The main shipping line is available once a month and had been experiencing some problems due to weather conditions. The country has been stable after the political turmoil which damaged the economy. The politicians have been promising a change due to reforms in the agricultural sector. There have been efforts to reduce child labor in the country (Schlemmer, 2000). For Madagascar to benefit adequately from the boom in sisal prices there is need for policy change. There is need for restructuring the agricultural sector and diversifying the economy. If Madagascar succeeds in diversifying the economy, the poverty levels will reduce and the population will reduce their reliance on the agricultural sector. Sisal plantation owners should also be engaged in social responsibility to cater for the population around them. There has been negligence of the sisal workers who are paid low for their efforts. References Elson, E. G 2008, Sisal, Access Science. Erdmann, T.K 2003, The Dilemma of Reducing Shifting Cultivation. In The Natural History of Madagascar, Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Parker, P.M 2007, World market for raw sisal and other genus agave textile fibers, the: a 2007 global trade perspective, ICON Group. Schlemmer, B 2000, The exploited child, London, Zed Books. Sharp, M & Kruse, I 2011, Health, Nutrition and Population in Madagascar, Washington, DC: World Bank. WGC 2014, Market Report Sisal December 2013 /March 2014, WCG, p. 1-4, retrieved 21 August 2014 from, http://www.wgc.de/pdf_data/en_sisal-marketreport-03-2014.pdf Read More