Journal: Human Capital

A List of Acronyms:

FAO- Food agriculture Organisation

CED- Community Economic Development

A Table of Contents

List of Acronyms p.2

1.0 Introduction. p. 4

1.1 Conceptualization and Purpose p. 4

2.0 What is in the Literature p 5

2.1 Organic farming in Uganda p.5

2.2 Education p.5

2.3 Developing Human Capital p.6

2.4. Farmers and communication technologies p.6

2.5 The Maasai pastoralists p.6

2.6.Women’s Access to extension and Training p.7

3.0Conclusion Human Capital as related to CED p.7

List of Bibliography p.9

1.0 Introduction.

1.1 Conceptualization and Purpose:

This paper will examine and analyze theoretical review of what is in the literature regarding human capital or human capacity and what has transpired over time especially in Tanzania. This is in regard to the core factors of human capital in terms of experiences efforts attempted by Tanzania and studies. Finally, there will be my own perspective on the relationship between human capital and community economic development. The role of human capital in developing the communities is significant and as we struggle to raise the wellbeing of the communities it is important to be clear about this concept.

The Human capital broad concept identifies human characteristics which can be acquired and which increase income. It includes people’s knowledge and skills, acquired partly through education and their strength and vitality which are dependent on their health and nutrition. More educated people earn more than less educated people. Human Capacity or Human Capital has been defined as a purposeful use of personal energy and psychological resources to create variable outputs. Variables can be material or non material, measurable or not measurable. The value is to the individual and the community.

Human Capacity is a tool that brings development by using human brain. There is need to organize capacity to make it more useful in society. For example man can increase level or capacity of production if it is well organized with proper training. If the community is given skills as Socrates believed, that “if human beings are trained they can be better teachers or farmers” . It is a resource like money or tractor and if it is properly used it can create materials for basic needs. Therefore, it is a very powerful instrument of production as a source of labour making use of land and capital. Theories of Human Capacity say that Human Labour can be productive or destructive therefore it needs to be trained or developed. Examples of destruction include environmental degradation through overgrazing, wars and others.

Moreover, human capital is a global demand that’s why there are ‘diaspora’ and other labour migration between countries. The challenge for countries like Tanzania is how to develop and maintain a strong working force when service provision to the population isn’t good. The reality is that we cannot remove poverty without enhancing manpower and poverty can’t be removed by dependency but by self reliance. There is need to make poverty our enemy and to make it history.

2.0 What is in the Literature

2.1 Organic farming in Uganda: Pali, P.N., Freyer, B, Kaaria, S.K. and Delve RJ. Human Capacity Development for Income Generation and Organic Market Linkages in Uganda. “Human capacity development in poverty Alleviation. The reading gives a case study of how to raise community empowerment to farmers with modern farming methods for example in Organic Farming and link them with export markets. In that case the role of the Private Sector was to assure technical commodity related support, infrastructure development organic export linkages and higher income. The role of Civil Society was to engage farmers for community empowerment. It put emphasis on the facilitation of market linkage and building capacities on market chain. However, there was a challenge of the scale of operation and lack of capacity for market chain dynamics. All in all both sectors contributed towards community empowerment to farmers to be able to make decision on aspects of farming in a bottom up approach. The bottom-line was the fact that organic agriculture was being practiced and it is one of fastest segments of farming sector globally. As a result, Uganda has the highest share of organic farming in Africa South of Sahara. Therefore, continued collaboration between the sectors helps strengthen farmer empowerment within the market chain despite small challenges in the collaboration.

2.2 Education: Billgren (2001) States that the education level of a country creates opportunities for future development for the society and the individual thus making education an important determinant of future economic growth. Unfortunately, Tanzania is reported to be among the countries with lowest net enrolment rates relatively. In The Tanzania National Vision 2025, one of the areas earmarked for poverty reduction in the National Vision was basic education which is under the domain of human capital. This is covered in attribute number 4 “to have a well educated and learning society” The Education Policy was one of the sector policies prepared among others to facilitate the realization of the National Vision by developing human capacity. One example is to have “one secondary school per ward but such a policy needs a careful investment. Moreover, the Millennium Development Goal number 2 stipulates the achievement of “universal primary education”. Currently there are plan to abolish primary four examinations to allow all school going children to complete primary education.

2.3 Developing Human Capital www.farmafrica.org.ukwww.farmafrica.org.uk. This has been practiced in several ways. One of them is “Farming for Change”, whereby FARM – Africa, a non governmental organization work to reduce poverty by enabling marginal Tanzanian farmers and herders to manage their natural resources more effectively to improve their incomes. The methodology is that FARM – Africa has worked with rural communities since 1990 by providing sustainable and innovative solutions to problems identified by farmers. Grassroots programmes work through the development of strong partnerships with local, and national government, research organizations academic institutions community based groups and the private sector through different linkages and experience sharing. The project of FARM – Africa Tanzania works mainly with impoverished rural communities Manyara Region, Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Tanga on Forest Management Projects, Agricultural and Environmental Education. Agricultural Marketing, Dairy Goat, Pastoralism, Training and Advisory.

Impact has been observed in strengthened skills of grassroots rural organizations and rural people under the project are effectively articulating their own priorities and managing the outcomes of progressive policy change themselves.

2.4. Farmers and communication technologies: Also seen on Pambazuka News www.rural poverty portal.org. We are told that some poor farmers in Tanzania are now using modern information and communication technologies like mobile phones and internet to get access to market information and knowledge on market chains from producer to consumer. Market “spies” investigate prices and other aspects of local markets and use mobile phones to report the information back to their villages.

2.5 The Maasai pastoralists: Looking at the human capacity Development needs, Homewood (2005) reports that livelihood diversification for Maasai pastoralists is increasing pressure on land from conservation whereas agriculture and tourism and pushing Maasai pastoralists to the marginal areas. This makes them stop traditional livelihood activities. What is needed is education to enable the displaced communities to start stable, skilled employment. Also needed are skills to cope with language and accessing stable income generating activities as well as institutional support to enable the Maasai’s engagement in tourism as a potential.

2.6 Women’s Access to extension and Training:

Women constitute of 50% Worldwide and 60% to 80% in Sub-Sahara Africa in food production. However, a survey conducted in 1989 by FAO revealed that women received only 2% to 10% of all extension contacts and 5% of extension resources worldwide. The main obstacle was lack of knowledge on women’s contribution to agricultural production, lack of gender – disaggregated data and information, unpaid nature of much of women’s agricultural work, assumptions by policy makers that agriculture is a male domain. Moreover, extension services priority are directed to cash and export crops and to farmers who own land for collateral to access credit for inputs and other reasons. A study in Tanzania found that extension workers assumed that all adult women are married and that their husbands would advise them. Actually many were single and heads of households and the married ones never accessed information their husbands. The conclusion was that new approaches for increasing women’s participation in extension and training have to be reviewed to include women’s points of views.

3.0 Conclusion: Human Capital as related to Community Economic Development

From the literature and experiences shared, it is convincing that Tanzania can manage to reduce poverty through human capital development. The expansion of education from primary to secondary which are currently on expansion as well as tertiary level is a good indicator for this. What remains as a puzzle is whether the education beneficiaries will be accommodated in the employment sector when they are ready for jobs. Another question is whether to abolish primary 4 exams or to improve the quality of primary education so that all children pass the examination. Tanzania keeps going forth and backwards.

The Tanzania National Vision 2025 envisages Tanzania’s graduation from a least developed into a middle income country having eliminated abject poverty. Moreover, the overall capacity building gaps for the larger part of the adult population in the communities have to be addressed so that as many people as possible have sufficient skills to enable them to increase production and be self sustainable. The cases of Uganda and Farm- Africa are worth emulation. Community Economic Development requires significant empowerment for the communities both men and women, so that they can identify their appropriates skills needs and be able to access training to be able to organize their human capacities for their economic development. There is also a need to involve communities in designing policies which touch on their capacity building so that they are transferred by the local government from the bottom up and the local government has to ensure resources allocation and availability of extension services to enhance community economic development.

List of Bibliography:

1. Appleton S and Teal F. Human Capital and Economic Development.

2. The Socratic Movement Edited by Paul A Vander.

3. Human capital Investment: a field study of the Tanzania education sector ( 2001)

4. Pali PN. Freyer B, Kaaria SK and Delve, R J.

Human Capacity Development for Income Generation and Organic Market Linkages in

Uganda. “ Human Capacity Development in Poverty Alleviation”.

5. Pambazuka News www.rural

6. Homewood (2005)

7. www.farmafrica.org.uk

8. Billgren Charlote (2001)