2.4.1 The broad groupings of government policy objectives
2.4.2 Ranking policy objectives
A key step in identifying the most important policy issues on which to concentrate is to identify the government's own policy objectives and to gain some idea of the relative importance of each of these objectives. While they are sometimes difficult to prioritise, a rough ranking is both possible and essential if overall policy is to be effective and not deflected by internal or external interest groups.
Government objectives for the livestock subsector are determined partly by an overall political philosophy and partly through an assessment of the direction and speed at which change in the current functions of the subsector is desired.
The terms in which governments state their objectives vary in each country. However, most objectives can be classified as falling into one of five broad groups:
· independence objectives
· economic efficiency objectives
· resource conservation objectives
· stability objectives
· equity objectives.
Independence objectives are concerned with obtaining and preserving a satisfactory degree of political and economic autonomy. Independence implies that a country neither depends on foreign aid to meet the basic needs of its population nor is susceptible to external political interference (the former is often linked to the latter). Meeting the independence objective requires a high degree of self-reliance, in the sense that a country will wish either to be entirely self-sufficient in basic food commodities or to dispose of sufficient foreign exchange to meet part of its demand through imports. "Self-sufficiency" in all basic foodstuffs, meaning that the country produces domestically enough to meet its entire demand, is sometimes advocated. But self-sufficiency in this sense can involve very high costs if the country does not have the natural or other resources to produce a particular food commodity at low cost. It may be better to produce some other (e.g. non-food) commodity for which it does have the appropriate resources and to sell that to raise the foreign exchange to buy the food commodity. This point is dealt with in more detail in module 4.
Economic efficiency objectives (hereafter just "efficiency") are concerned with increasing the level of real national income and its growth rate over time. Economic efficiency is a very complex concept and only some aspects of it will be discussed in this manual. Efficiency implies that a country use existing, and generate new, technology to minimise costs per unit of output, and seek a combination of outputs consistent with its comparative advantage in the international market. Efficiency will usually be closely related to the appropriateness of price signals conveyed through the market mechanism. Government intervention often distorts these signals, resulting in a mix-allocation of resources within the economy. However, the market mechanism alone will not necessarily lead to optimum long-term development. Carefully thought out government interventions are often needed to ensure that the conditions for long-term efficiency are fulfilled.
Resource conservation objectives are concerned with preserving the natural resource base in order to ensure long-term efficiency and independence. These objectives are of particular importance to African livestock policy makers because of serious environmental problems, such as overgrazing, often attributed to livestock.
Stability objectives are concerned with avoiding abrupt and large changes in incomes, in the price and availability of domestically produced basic commodities and inputs, and in the consequent need for foreign exchange to buy essential imports. Since stability is rarely secured without cost, absolute stability of prices and quantities should not be the aim. Indeed, absolute price stability when production is inherently unstable can worsen both supply problems and farmer viability. Nor should food security be confused with self-sufficiency in the production of all food types. Agricultural markets, in particular, are inherently unstable. As a result, agricultural policy should be directed towards achieving an adequate degree of stability.
Equity objectives are concerned with the fair distribution of income and wealth within society. Important equity considerations in relation to agriculture and livestock include the distribution of income and assets among different types of farms within and among regions, and the allocation of land use rights between producers. The equity objective also concerns the relative well-being of producers and consumers, the distribution of purchasing power between different groups of consumers and the availability of employment opportunities. The market process alone will not normally lead to greater equity. Indeed, it may actually increase inequity, especially when the status quo is already inequitable or when economic power is becoming increasingly concentrated. Improving equity is, ostensibly, considered essential to policy formulation in many African countries.
These five broad classes will account for the declared objectives of most governments and can be gauged from public statements and documents such as national development plans. Table 2.7 shows the results of one investigation into what goals the governments of selected African countries claim to be pursuing in their livestock sectors. In the second column of Table 2.7 these goals have been reclassified to match the broad groups of objectives set out above. However, analysts will often find that specifying the real objectives underlying current policy is not as simple as this. The objectives actually pursued by policy makers may differ from the government's declared objectives. These real or undeclared objectives can often only be identified from the day-to-day decisions made by governments.
Perhaps the most frequently encountered and best known example of an undeclared objective is evinced by fixing food prices at levels that favour urban consumers rather than rural producers. While governments publicly espouse equity, efficiency or independence, their real objective may be self-preservation which could favour the interests of certain groups over others.
A government's real objectives may thus be at variance with its declared objectives. Moreover, whether declared or undeclared, governments' objectives may be incompatible with those of certain social groups or classes, whose interests may, in turn, also clash. Political reality is such that governments are frequently "captured" by interest groups which, through their superior wealth, power or ability to organise, have developed greater political leverage. Thus, in Africa, urban consumers of livestock products often have greater leverage than rural mixed farmers who account for the bulk of production. These, in turn, tend to have more influence than the pastoral groups, who produce less, are fewer in number and inhabit more remote areas.
Table 2.7. Major livestock policy goals in selected countries, 1975-85.
|
Goal |
Country |
||||||
|
Policy objective categories1 |
Côte d'Ivoire |
Ethiopia |
Mali |
Nigeria |
Sudan |
Zimbabwe |
|
|
self-sufficiency |
(a) |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Export promotion |
(b) |
|
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
Stabilisation and inflation control |
(d) |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Government revenue generation |
(b) |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Improved nutrition |
(e) |
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
|
Employment creation |
(e) |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
Source: Williams (1993).
1 Broad objective categories: (a) independence; (b) economic efficiency; (c) resource conservation; (d) stability; (e) equity.
It will frequently fall to the livestock policy analyst to unravel the complexities resulting from the co-existence of declared and undeclared objectives. For instance, the analyst may find that one set of policy instruments, geared to a declared objective, has been overlaid by another, geared to an undeclared objective. Both sets of instruments are in force, but each counteracts the other.
The analyst's job will be to clarify, by specifying which instruments are directed towards which objectives, by pointing out the incompatibility between government objectives and those of specific groups/classes and by identifying the extent of any conflicts. The analyst may also be asked to find ways in which conflicts can be reduced. For example, he or she might suggest that government stop pursuing a universal low-price policy favouring all consumers and develop instead a system of direct transfers in cash or kind to particularly vulnerable consumer groups.
In some cases, conflicts between different interest groups may appear more pronounced than they really are, owing to the use of inappropriate past policies. Conflicts of this kind can sometimes be redressed through policy reform. In other cases, giving one group what it wants will inevitably mean taking something away from another group, and difficult choices will have to be made.
It is the policy maker's job to make these choices. The analyst's role is to present the policy maker with alternatives, showing the costs and benefits to different groups implied by each alternative and pointing out the trade-offs between different objectives. For instance, one alternative might imply meeting the resource conservation objective, but at great cost in terms of equity; another alternative might imply enhanced independence in the short term, but depleted resources (and hence reduced independence and efficiency) over the longer term. It is also the analyst's role to try to identify the policy makers' rough ranking in respect to the different objectives. Experienced politicians may be able to state these explicitly in private. The less experienced may be either unable or unwilling to specify priorities. A skilful analyst is one who can deduce the policy makers' real preferences, either from analysing their past decisions or by presenting choices in a sufficiently concrete way for policy makers to see the necessity and implications of their choices.
