A- Increasing of dependency
Dependency exits when one party relies on another without the
reliance being reciprocal. Baldwin defined dependence in terms of reliance on
others, lack of self-sustenance and self-sufficiency35. He also
defined it in terms of the benefits that would be costly for one to forego.
Thus, most developing countries found themselves in this tragic situation.
McKinlay36 further elaborated that in such a relationship, one party
may choose to terminate the relationship with little or no costs while the
other can do so only at considerable costs. Given the above suppositions, the
reliant state, therefore, operates in a subordinate or
35 Baldwin D. A., (1980) «Interdependence and Power: A
Conceptual Analysis», in International Organization n° 34, pp.
471-506.
36 Mckinlay D. R, Little R., (1977) «A Foreign Policy
Model of US Bilateral Aid Allocation» in World Politics n°
30, pp. 58-86.
98
International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
dependent position. More so as Moon37 puts it, the
dominant party establishes a dependent relationship because it generates a
degree of control or influence, and the main use of aid is the potential to
control. Caporaso38 alluded to the fact that this control can be
used for a variety of reasons dictated by the dominant state.
Given the above definition of dependence, one can argue that
the provision of aid creates a relationship of unreciprocated reliance.
McKinlay elaborated that the donor can terminate the provision of aid with
little or no costs. The recipient on the other hand incurs considerable costs
when aid is terminated. Aid provides the donor with a potential of control over
the recipient. This potential to control is derived from three factors:
- Firstly, the excess demand for aid places the donor in an
advantageous bargaining position. The donors can, therefore, dictate to some
extent a number of conditionalities under which aid is to be supplied.
- Secondly, the nature of aid provides the donor with the
means for intervention in the recipient country for instance with programme
aid, it entails some intervention in the recipient's fiscal, monetary and
development policies while project aid entails future reliance of the recipient
on the donor for the servicing and maintenance of the particular project.
- Thirdly, repayment can create another situation where the
donor is in an advantageous bargaining position.
Given these three factors one discovers that many developing
countries are experiencing difficulty in repaying their debts, and the problem
is becoming more acute. This article, therefore, argues that economic growth as
advocated
37 Moon B. C., (1983) «The Foreign Policy of Dependent
State» in International Studies Quarterly n° 279, pp.
315-340.
38 Caporaso J. A. (1978) «Dependency and Power in the
Global System: A Structural and Behavioural Analysis», in
International Organisation n° 32, pp. 13-43.
99
International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
by the modernisation theorists entails more than capital
injection, as aid reduces the capacity of developing countries to service their
debts. Food aid dependence has reached a point where it is counterproductive
and is doing nothing to generate processes that would obviate the need for it.
The aid recipient relationship has developed into one that neither generates
mutual respect nor harnesses the capacities of all those involved. Instead, it
has generated the dependency syndrome, cynicism, and aid fatigue.
Many developing countries and most LDCs depend on the export
of a small number of agricultural products for their foreign exchange earnings.
However, the real prices of these commodities are volatile and decline over
time. The direct consequence is declining and erratic incomes for LCDs and
their small producers. This specialization in a few commodities also results in
an increased dependence on food imports from developed countries. Developing
countries have increasingly specialized in non-food products such as coffee or
cocoa, while the subsidized exports from developed countries make imported food
cheaper than local products. The LDCs now spend between 50 and 80 per cent of
their foreign exchange on food imports. The specialization of LDCs in
exportable cash crops and the liberalization of agriculture have been strongly
encouraged by western countries and international financial institutions.
Encouragement of these policies is based on the theory that trade will lead to
development. However, reforms have actually driven the poorest countries into a
downward spiral: while their export earnings are declining and volatile, they
have to finance growing amounts of imports of food and manufactured goods from
developed countries. This situation directly threatens the food security and
economic sustainability of many LDCs, and increases their debt burden.
Given the dire economic situation of LDCs, it has become
increasingly difficult for them to import food and ensure adequate food
availability at the national level. Some form of assistance for these food
imports is therefore
100
International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
necessary to allow LDCs to allocate a portion of their scarce
resources for nonfood purchases. In order to improve food security and economic
stability in the long run, they must also allocate resources for education,
health, agriculture, infrastructure, and other basic programs. IFA is the only
solution they have to feed their population. The problem is that food aid, and
particularly food aid in-kind, is not politically neutral and it may ultimately
create more dependency on food imports. Therefore, if the need for assistance
to meet food deficits is undeniable, it must be integrated into broader
national responses that protect and restore the livelihoods of small farmers
and increase national food availability.
To summarize, a household or community exhibits dependency
when it cannot meet its immediate basic needs without external assistance.2
Dependency is not necessarily an undesirable outcome: for households that
cannot support themselves, such as those without able-bodied adults, dependence
on external assistance enhances welfare; the alternative is destitution. To
distinguish it from the more common, pejorative use of the term
«dependency», this welfare-enhancing type is referred to as
«positive dependency.» Helping individuals, communities and
organizations to meet basic needs when they otherwise could not - fostering
positive dependency - is indisputably desirable. The undesirable aspect,
«negative dependency», arises when meeting current needs is achieved
at the cost of reducing recipients' capacity to meet their own basic needs in
the future without external assistance. For many countries, food aid is
integrated into policies leading to structural food deficits and increased
dependency on food imports. For the poorest countries, such dependency combined
with scarce resources to finance imports has resulted in increased poverty and
hunger.
101
International humanitarian food aid in the North-South
cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014
| 
