The trade of agricultural goods in the global market economy has expanded consumer preferences and altered food choices. Developing technologies have led to substantial increase in agricultural production, with higher quantities of food in the international market as the main objective. As a result of this system, western countries go into developing countries and exploit workers for resources to be sold back to western countries.
Since developing countries lack economic stability, most developing countries rely on exports of valuable resources to repay international debts or as a major source of the country’s income. This process is fairly evident in countries such as Tanzania. Farmers are employed at dishonourably low wages, which do not equate to the amount of labour and tools needed for production. Eventually, the external companies buy the land due to the farmers’ inability to afford to continue to maintain it.
After attaining colonial independence from Britain in 1961, Tanganyika and Zanzibar united in 1964 to form the nation formerly known today as Tanzania. Tanzania is a country located in East Africa, borders the Indian Ocean, and resides between Kenya and Mozambique. In size, Tanzania is slightly smaller than the province of British Columbia, Canada, with a population just under 45 million. Its climate varies from tropical to mildly chilled temperatures, more frequently subject to drought, due to effects of climate change on the Tanzanian agricultural economy. Agriculture makes up half of the national economy as well as three quarters of market exports (approximately 85%) in Tanzania. Moreover, peasant farmers amount up to 80% of the Tanzanian workforce.
Richard Ndendya, a volunteer at Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC), is a Tanzanian student here on exchange with the Canada World Youth Program for three months. Richard was granted this opportunity through Uvikiuta, a nonprofit organization that deals with environmental issues, in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. Ndendya delivered an outstanding presentation about climate change and the Tanzanian agricultural economy to Oxfam members, a KWIC working group that meets every Wednesday to discuss the intersection of, climate change, food, and gender.
Coffee is one of the most important cash crops for the Tanzanian economy and is mostly exported from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Ndendya claims, “Companies are buying the farmlands from the farmers and employing Tanzanians as labourers for very low wages. 1kg of coffee is sold for 1000 shillings,” whichequates to about $1.00 in U.S currency. In North America, just a cup of coffee is up to $3.00. As Ndendya explains, the coffee beans are sold to foreign companies residing in the country who then trade it as a commodity to external countries. Due to price exploitation, farmers began to resist to cooperation with the cash crop industry.
Due to climate change, the country experiences extreme rainfall in comparison to Tanzania’s normal rainy season. As Ndendya recalls, “the flood two years ago destroyed homes, there was hunger, homelessness, and major economic losses in tourism. Currents in the Indian Ocean are so high, causing severe stormy weather.” Moreover, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and as a consequence of warmer weather, the melting snow caused erosions, putting the people of the town at dangerous risk of their lives, as well as risking their crops and livestock.
Ndendya states that coordinators on behalf of a Swiss company took initiative through their own independent project to spread environmental awareness and climate change through informative workshops in Tanzania. Ndendya got to participate in a 2000km bike ride that last over 2 months which served to spread awareness about current environmental issues in the globe and the effects on the region of Tanzania.
Global warming as currently experienced worldwide is an increase in the earth’s temperatures, and rise in sea levels. This global phenomenon is caused by CO2 emissions polluting the air as a result of trapped heat from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere heating up the planet. In Tanzania, sea levels have risen, extreme floods have occurred, with poverty, hunger and homelessness as the end result. All of this in addition to the exploitation of farmers whose daily lives depend on the country’s agriculture. Where does a country turn?
