THE IMPLICATIONS OF ARTISANAL SMALL-SCALE MINING ON FOOD SECURITY IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Zimbabwe's economy and household livelihoods have traditionally been anchored on agriculture and farming. However, a radical shift has been witnessed, resulting in unprecedented growth in artisanal and small-scale mining. Various theories attempted to explain this phenomenon, including agricultural poverty due to climate change, rising prices of minerals, and economic decline, among others. The rapid growth in artisanal and small-scale mining has both positive and negative implications for food smallholder farming and ultimately all the dimensions of food security. Based on the literature review method, this essay, therefore, examines the nexus between artisanal and small-scale mining and food security. This study is important in shaping policies that strike a balance between food security and other economic activities that support livelihoods, specifically for vulnerable communities, in a sustainable manner.

Keywords

• artisanal small-scale mining
• climate change
• entitlements
• food security

Project Number

Not applicable

ZİMBABVE’DE EL EMEĞİ İLE YÜRÜTÜLEN KÜÇÜK ÖLÇEKLİ MADENCİLİĞİN GIDA GÜVENLİĞİ ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Zimbabve'de küçük ölçekli madencilik ile gıda güvenliği arasındaki bağlantıyı araştırmaktadır. Tarım geleneksel olarak kırsal ekonominin temelini oluşturmasına rağmen, küçük ölçekli madencilik sektörüne doğru büyük bir kayma yaşanmaktadır. Doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak küçük ölçekli madencilikle uğraşan insanların sayısı, özellikle ekonomideki çöküşe bağlı olarak artmaya devam etmektedir. Zanaatkar ve küçük ölçekli madencilikteki hızlı büyümenin, küçük ölçekli gıda çiftçiliği ve nihayetinde gıda güvenliğinin tüm boyutları üzerindehem olumlu hem de olumsuz etkileri vardır. Bazı akademisyenler ve uzmanlar bu olguyu açıklamak için farklı argümanlar sunmuştur. Bu argümanlar arasında iklim değişikliğine bağlı tarımsal yoksulluk, artan maden fiyatları ve ekonomik gerileme yer almaktadır. Bu çalışma, literatür taramasından elde edilen verileri kullanarak, zanaatkar ve küçük ölçekli madencilik ile gıda güvenliği arasındaki bağlantıyı incelemektedir ve ortaya çıkan politikaları vekarar alma süreçlerini şekillendirme potansiyeline sahip bilginin üretilmesi bakımından önem taşımaktadır. Özellikle savunmasız toplulukların geçim kaynaklarını sürdürülebilir bir şekilde destekleyen gıda güvenliği ve diğerekonomik faaliyetler arasında bir denge kuran politika ve programların yürürlüğe girmesini etkilemek amaçlanmaktadır.

Keywords

• artisanal small-scale mining
• climate change
• entitlements
• food security

Project Number

Not applicable

References

1. ADONTENG-KISSI, Obed, ADONTENG-KISSI, Barbara (2017). Living with conflicts in Ghana's Prestea mining area: Is community engagement the answer? Journal of Sustainable Mining, 16(4), 196-206.
2. ALRUMMAN, Sulaiman, A., EL-KOTT, Attala F., KESHK, Sherif M. A. S. (2016). Water pollution: Source and treatment. American Journal of Environmental Engineering, 6(3), 88-98.
3. CLAPP, Jennifer, MOSELEY, William G., BURLINGAME, Barbara, TERMINE, Paola (2022). Viewpoint: The case for a six-dimensional food security framework. Food Policy, 106, 102164.
4. CARTIER, Laurent E., BÜRGE, Michael (2011). Agriculture and artisanal gold mining in Sierra Leone: alternatives or complements? Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1080-1099.
5. CHARI, Felix, NOVUKELA, Cawe, & NGCAMU, Bethuel S. (2021). Artisanal mining versus sustainability of agricultural food supply chains: effects of the conflicts in Southern Zimbabwe. Development in Practice, 1–12.
6. CHIGUMIRA, Easther (2018). Political ecology of agrarian transformation: The nexus of mining and agriculture in Sanyati District, Zimbabwe. Journal of Rural Studies, 61, 265-276.
7. CONNOLLY-BOUTIN, Liette, SMIT, Barry (2016). Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Regional Environmental Change, 16, 385-399.
8. DONKOR, Peter, SIABI, Ebenezer K., FRIMPONG, Kwasi, MENSAH, Samel, K., SIABI, Elikplim S., VUU, Christopher (2023). Socio-demographic effects on role assignment and associated occupational health and safety issues in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Amansie Central District, Ghana. Heliyon, 9(3).

9. DUBE, N., MOYO, F., SITHOLE, M., NCUBE, G., NKALA, P., TSHUMA, N., & MABHENA, C. (2016). Institutional exclusion and the tragedy of the commons: Artisanal mining in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe. The Extractive Industries and Society, 3(4), 1084-1094.
10. ECKSTEIN, D., Künzel, V., & Schäfer, L. (2021). Global climate risk index 2021. Who suffers most from extreme weather events, 2000-2019.
11. ELUDOYIN, A. O., Ojo, A. T., Ojo, T. O., & Awotoye, O. O. (2017). Effects of artisanal gold mining activities on soil properties in a part of southwestern Nigeria. Cogent Environmental Science, 3(1), 1305650.
12. FAO, AGN (2012). Coming to terms with terminology. Rome: The Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization. http://www.fao.org/3/MD776E/MD776E.pdf (Accessed 6.11.2022)
13. GARRET, Nicholas (2007). The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Draft report. EITI.
14. GWASIRA, Michael (2022). Zimbabwe in youth population bulge: Is Zimbabwe ready to harness this demographic change. Health Times https://healthtimes.co.zw/2022/07/27/zim-in-youth-population-bulge-is-zimbabwe-ready-to-harness-this-demographic-change/ (Accessed 03.12.2023)
15. HILSON, Gavin. (2011). Artisanal mining, smallholder farming, and livelihood diversification in rural Sub-Saharan Africa: An introduction. Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1031–1041.
16. HILSON, Gavin, & GARFORTH, Chris (2012). ‘Agricultural poverty’ and the expansion of artisanal mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from Southwest Mali and Southeast Ghana. Population research and policy review, 31(3), 435-464.
17. HILSON, Gavin (2016). Farming, small-scale mining and rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: A critical overview. The Extractive Industries and Society, 3(2), 547-563.
18. HILSON, Gavin; HILSON, Abigail; MACONACHIE, Roy; MCQUILKEN, James & GOUMANDAKOYE, Halima (2017). Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa: Re-conceptualizing formalization and ‘illegal’ activity. Geoforum, 83, 80-90.
19. HILSON, Gavin, & LAING, Tim (2017). Guyana gold: a unique resource curse?. The Journal of Development Studies, 53(2), 229-248.
20. HILSON, Gavin; VAN BOCKSTAEL, Steven; SAUERWEIN, Titus; HILSON, Abigail & MCQUILKEN, James (2021). Artisanal and small-scale mining, and COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: A preliminary analysis. World Development, 139, 105315.
21. HENTSCHEL, Thomas; Hruschka, F., & Priester, M. (2002). Global report on artisanal and small-scale mining. Report commissioned by the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development of the International Institute for Environment and Development.
22. KARAMBA, Wendy; WINTERS, Paul & QUIÑONES, Esteban J. (2011). Migration and food consumption patterns in Ghana. Food policy, 36(1), 41-53.
23. KORTEI, Nii Korley; HEYMANN, Marcus Ekow; ESSUMAN, Edward Ken; KPODO, Fidelis Mawunyo; AKONOR, Papa Toah; LOKPO, Sylvester Yao; BOADI, Nathaniel Owusu; AYIM-AKONOR, Matilda & TETTEY, Clement (2020). Health risk assessment and levels of toxic metals in fishes (Oreochromis noliticus and Clarias anguillaris) from Ankobrah and Pra basins: Impact of illegal mining activities on food safety. Toxicology Reports, 7, 360-369.
24. LUCKENEDER, Sebastian; GILJUM, Stefan; SCHAFFARTZIK, Anke; MAUS, Victor & TOST, Michael (2021). The surge in global metal mining threatens vulnerable ecosystems. Global Environmental Change, 69, 102303.
25. MACONACHIE, Roy; BINNS, Tony; TENGBE, Paul, & JOHNSON, Reynold (2006). Temporary labour migration and sustainable post-conflict return in Sierra Leone. GeoJournal, 67(3), 223-240.
26. MAGIDI , Martin & HLUNGWANI, Promise Machingo (2023). Development or destruction? Impacts of mining on the environment and rural livelihoods at Connemara Mine, Zimbabwe. South African Geographical Journal, 105(2), 157-178.
27. MANYERUKE, Charity; HAMAUSWA, Shakespear & MHANDARA, Lawrence (2013). The effects of climate change and variability on food security in Zimbabwe: A socio-economic and political analysis. https://www.zimagrihub.org.zw/sites/default/files/documents/26.pdf%20CLIMATE%20CHANGE%20ZIM.pdf (Accessed 21.11.2023)
28. MARTINEZ, Gerardo; SMITH, Nicole M. & Malone, Aaron (2023). “I am formal, what comes next?”: A proposed framework for achieving sustainable artisanal and small-scale mining formalization in Peru. The Extractive Industries and Society, 13, 101-227.
29. MAWOWA, Showers (2013). The political economy of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in central Zimbabwe. Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), 921-936.
30. MKODZONGI, Grasian (2013). New people, new land and new livelihoods: A micro-study of Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform. Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 2(3), 345-366.
31. MKODZONGI, Grasian & SPIEGEL, Samuel (2019). Artisanal gold mining and farming: Livelihood linkages and labour dynamics after land reforms in Zimbabwe. The Journal of Development Studies, 55(10), 2145-2161.
32. MKODZONGI, Grasian & SPIEGEL, Samuel (2020). Mobility, temporary migration and changing livelihoods in Zimbabwe's artisanal mining sector. The Extractive Industries and Society, 7(3), 994-1001.
33. MUGANDANI, Raymond; WUTA, Menas, MAKARAU, Amos & CHIPINDU, B. (2012). Re-classification of agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe in conformity with climate variability and change. African Crop Science Journal, 20, 361-369.
34. MUSEMWA, Muchaparara (2009). Contestation over Resources: the farmer-miner dispute in colonial Zimbabwe, 1903-1939. Environment and History, 15(1), 79-107.
35. NUNOO, Isaac; BOANSI, David & OWUSU, Victor (2023). Does the use of cocoa farmlands for artisanal small-scale gold mining increase household food insecurity? Evidence from Ghana. Resources Policy, 87, 104329.
36. NYAME, Frank K. & GRANT, J. Andrew (2012). From carats to karats: explaining the shift from diamond to gold mining by artisanal miners in Ghana. Journal of Cleaner Production, 29, 163-172.
37. OFOSU, George; DITTMANN, Andreas; SARPONG, David; & BOTCHIE, David (2020). Socio-economic and environmental implications of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) on agriculture and livelihoods. Environmental Science & Policy, 106, 210-220.
38. OKOH, Godfried & HILSON, Gavin (2011). Poverty and livelihood diversification: Exploring the linkages between smallholder farming and artisanal mining in rural Ghana. Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1100-1114.
39. OTAMONGA, Jean-Paul & POTÉ, John W. (2020). Abandoned mines and artisanal and small-scale mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Survey and agenda for future research. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 208, 106394.
40. SEN, Amartya (1982). Poverty and famines: an essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford University Press.
41. SERVIN, Jane & MOSELEY, William G. (2023) The hidden safety net: wild and semi-wild plant consumption and dietary diversity among women farmers in Southwestern Burkina Faso, African Geographical Review, 42:4, 483-503.
42. The Standard. 2019. Informal Mining Activities Give Farmers Headaches, June 20. https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2019/ 06/30/informal-mining-activities-give-farmers-headaches/ (Accessed 3.10.2023)
43. VAITLA, Bapu; COATES, Jennifer; GLAESER, Laura; HILLBRUNER, Christopher; BISWAL, Preetish & MAXWELL, Daniel (2017). The measurement of household food security: Correlation and latent variable analysis of alternative indicators in a large multi-country dataset. Food Policy, 68, 193-205.
44. WATARI, Takuma; MCLELLAN, Benjamin C.; GIURCO, Damien; DOMINISH, Elsa; YAMASUE, Eiji & NANSAI, Keisuke (2019). Total material requirement for the global energy transition to 2050: A focus on transport and electricity. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 148, 91-103.
45. World Bank. 2019. Zimbabwe Smallholder Agricultural Productivity: Survey Report 2017 (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/132391555925729892/Zimbabwe-Smallholder-Agricultur al-Productivity-Survey-Report-2017 (Accessed 17.11.2023)
46. World_Bank. Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining. World Bank Brief. 21 November 2013; World Bank: Washington, DC, USA, 2013; Available online: http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining (Accessed 6.10.2023)
47. ZENDA, Cyril (2022), What will loss and demage fund mean for Africa’s most vulnerable? Fair Planet. https://www.fairplanet.org/story/cop27-loss-and-damage-fund-for-africa/ (Accessed 8.10.2023)
48. ZHANG, Laetitia X.; KOROMA, Fatima; FOFANA, Mohammed Lamine; BARRY, Alpha Oumar; DIALLO, Sadio; LAMILÉ SONGBONO, Joseph; STOKES-WALTERS, Ronald; KLEMM, Rolf D.; NORDHAGEN, Stella & WINCH, Peter J. (2020), Food security in artisanal mining communities: An exploration of rural markets in northern Guinea. Foods, 9(4), 479.
49. ZVARIVADZA, Tawanda (2018), Artisanal and small-scale mining as a challenge and possible contributor to sustainable development. Resources Policy, 56, 49-58.