Abstract:
Objective: Agricultural activities in most African countries demand human labour, the supply of
labour to agriculture may be threatened if humans could no longer farm because of HIV/AIDS
pandemic. Past studies have identified the alarming situation and challenges the spread of
HIV/AIDS endemic poses to human existence and agricultural growth. Examining these interactions,
and their direction, is useful for informing policy directives. Therefore, the general objective
of this study is to examine interactions between HIV/AIDS pandemic and agricultural growth in
Africa using a model of retrogression. Methods: Twenty countries in Africa identified as HIV/AIDS
ravaged countries were taken as the areas of study. These countries are spread over four zones of
the Northern Africa, the Eastern, the Southern and the Sub-Saharan Africa. A combination of analytical
tools was employed to meet the study objectives. Results: The results revealed that long run
economic cost of HIV/AIDS had a statistical positive significant relationship with agricultural/economic
growth. The results suggest that there is a curvilinear relationship between the
course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and agricultural/economic growth in terms of human capita development.
Conclusions: HIV/AIDS pandemic interactions and agricultural growth have demonstrated
that a more balanced approach is necessary for effective policy.
