Service Contract No 2007 / 147-446 Strategic ... - Swaziland

5.3.2 Expected impacts in absence of the NASSwaziland has been facing high levels of poverty and food insecurity; the country has one ofthe highest scores on the Human Poverty Index (HPI-1) (53.9%) 21 . Poverty has apparentlybecome more pronounced in recent years; present estimates are that 69% of the populationlives below the poverty line of E57.00 and E104.00 per month for rural and urban areasrespectively 22 . This can be attributed to: (a) persistent drought that has caused famine inmany rural communities, especially in the eastern Lowveld and Lubombo Plateau; (b) theloss of income earnings through retrenchments and general unemployment, contributing tothe lack of access to productive resources by the poor; and (c) HIV/AIDS, which hasintensified poverty due to the loss of earnings from breadwinners in families.According to the Swaziland Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Swazi VAC, 2009)- an improved rainfall season will enhance agricultural production, with a reducednumber of households having a food deficit;- a decline in the rate of consumer inflation will improve households’ access to food,despite diminishing income opportunities due to increased unemployment levels,primarily as a result of the global financial crisis and reduced migrant work in SouthAfrica;- however, the dependence on rain-fed agriculture “is no longer a viable option for asector that is considered a livelihood source for a significant proportion of thepopulation”; and- in the midst of food insecurity, the country has been concentrating efforts in fightingHIV/AIDS, and the emergence of other health-related epidemics (such as cholera)pose a challenge to the health care system.The VAC highlights the need to ensure that efforts on improving livelihoods are focussedwhere the need is greatest, and that “streamlining interventions by the various role-players isessential to maximise utilisation of the available resources”.In the sugar industry, in the absence of the NAS the long-term sustainability of small- andmedium-cane growers will be based on support that can be provided by the government,mainly through the MOA, SWADE, sugar mills, the SSA, and the private sugar companies.There will be a heightened risk of increasing poverty levels and decreasing food security ifproblems experienced in the shift from subsistence farming to the introduction of commercialsugar cane production escalate, influenced primarily by financial and technical difficulties.Little legislation deals directly with poverty alleviation and food security, and issues related tothe viability of small-scale farmers 24 . Rather, the GoS has produced a set of related policies(see Annex 4).A multi-sector Poverty Reduction Task Force (PRTF) was set up by the MEPD in response tothe results of the Swaziland Household Income and Expenditure Survey (SHIES) in 1997,23:21 www.undp.org22 www.unep.org23 Established in 2002, the aim of Swazi VAC is for an analysis of livelihoods in development and emergency programming,for input into policy decision-making at government level, for local UN Agencies, and for NGOs.24 Legislation that broadly speaking may be of relevance include: labour legislation; legislation related to the formation ofcompanies; the Public Health Bill (1999); the Electricity Act and the Swaziland Electricity Company Act (both 2007); andthe Water Act (2003).RDMU (Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Adaptation Strategy) - Page 56