Primary benefits
Economic benefits have been identified in the following fields:
Food security
Low levels of food production locally, especially in regularly occurring dry years, and the lack of cash income to purchase food from other sources leads to low nutrition levels throughout the project area. LUSIP addresses both issues by both
increasing food production locally and raising cash incomes substantially.
The provision of irrigation will not only increase agricultural output but also greatly improve the security of agricultural output, thus improving food security for the people of the area. By substantially increasing household income, as well
as food production, LUSIP will provide beneficiaries with the opportunity to enhance the range of foods consumed in the household leading to a more balanced diet and a general improvement in the nutritional status of the community.
Farm households will also be able to improve their homes and to afford a much wider range of consumer goods, such as clothing, furniture, cooking facilities, bicycles etc., which will improve their welfare.
Increased productivity
Under LUSIP, the 11,506 ha of land will be shifted from subsistence farming into diversified cash cropping. Once the project is implemented, agriculture in the project area will be transformed from mainly subsistence into a commercially
oriented agriculture.
This will go along with an estimated increase of the total agricultural production from 20,000 MT currently, to over 100,000 MT. Not only will production be considerably increased, and cropping considerably more diversified. In addition, and
beyond any of the crops identified in the study, farmers with irrigation will be in a position to diversify further as they identify other crops and other markets that have not been considered up to now.
The provision of irrigation water provides this freedom, which does not exist now under rainfed conditions.
Agricultural exports
LUSIP will have a significant impact on both production and agricultural exports from Swaziland. The Swaziland economy is very dependent on trade, and the ratio of exports and imports to GDP was about 79% and 81% respectively in 1995/96.
However, the capacity to increase imports to meet domestic demand can only be sustained by the continued expansion of export revenues. Through the export of agricultural produce, notably sugar and cotton, the LUSIP will be able to make a
significant contribution to increasing export revenues and net foreign exchange earnings.
Sugar, cotton and tobacco will be exported either to other Southern African countries or to countries outside SACU.
Increased rural incomes
While the overall level of income per capita in Swaziland is currently about Euro 870 per annum, the average income of the population within the project area is only Euro 90. As a direct result of the implementation of LUSIP, families who
currently struggle financially will be much better off than they are now.
The total farm income per year is expected to increase from its current level of around Euro 360 to Euro 2,900 per year for a farm size of 3.5 hectares.
| |
Before project
|
After project
|
| Farm size (ha) |
1.5
|
1.5
|
3.5
|
| Net (individual) farm-income (E) |
1,840
|
4,007
|
8,765
|
| Dividend from sugarcane (E) |
–
|
2,050
|
6,149
|
| Wages earned from working with associations |
–
|
367
|
1,102
|
| Off-farm earnings (E) |
446
|
–
|
–
|
| Total income (E/year) |
2,077
|
6,424
|
16,016
|
Employment opportunities
At full development, the demand for agricultural labour (both family and hired) will increase by approximately one million man-days per annum. A further 88,000 man-days will also be required by the processing mills, so incremental agricultural
employment created by LUSIP is 5,600 jobs per year.
The construction of the project will, for an eight-year period, create substantial employment opportunities. The expansion of the Ubombo Sugar Mill and Vunisa Cotton Ginnery will also contribute to an increase in demand for labour. The
incremental employment opportunities were determined for each construction component. In total, over 1.0 million man-days of employment, or 5,300 man-years, will be created in the construction of LUSIP.
Although some of the managerial and skilled personnel will need to be recruited from outside Swaziland, the vast majority of semi-skilled and unskilled labourers will be recruited locally. With regard to the annual operation and maintenance of
the Project infrastructure, it estimated that 36,000 man-days of labour would be needed per year, which is equivalent to 150 full-time jobs.
The above only deals with the direct income and employment benefits. There will be a multiplier effect as people within the area have cash incomes that will be spent within the local economy. This will generate opportunities and income in the
service, transport and retail areas additional to those quantified above.
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