Policy responses

Social and economic safety nets
Social support groups, savings clubs and credit associations, self-help groups, community based organizations, income-generating projects and voluntary labour are all essential in supporting rural livelihoods. Community support through labour sharing and food sharing from communal plots are fundamental to households affected by HIV/AIDS. External support should be directed towards strengthening these kinds of community-based initiatives rather than replacing them

Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS
Experience across all sectors and from all partners in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic must be built upon in order to develop an effective agricultural strategy. There is work specifically targeted at HIV/AIDS from women’s empowerment programmes, legal literacy initiatives, rural credit and so on, upon which the agricultural sector should build.

Links and references

http://www.fao.org/3/y8331e/y8331e00.htm#Contents

Barnett, T. 2001. HIV/AIDS and agriculture. Mitigation strategies in the agricultural sector: a global perspective. From technical meeting on Mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and rural poverty: a framework for the agricultural sector. FAO.

FAO. 2001a. Strategic approaches to HIV prevention and AIDS mitigation in rural communities and households in Sub-Saharan Africa.

FAO. 2002a. AIDS is hitting the African farm sector. World Food Summit: 5 years later.

Pros Mitigate impact through implementation of agricultural labour saving techniques and technologies. Preservation of agricultural knowledge and local best practices Investment on rural institutions Invest in nation-wide or local safety net systems Mainstream public health in all interventions

Cons Difficulty to implement when national priorities are on public health issues

Minimum conditions Functional agricultural extensions services and infrastructures (e.g. irrigation) Functional supply chain Access to intervention areas

Governance Relevant national line ministries Country Humanitarian Response Programme Updated UNCT Food Security / Nutrition Clusters