摘要：Labor remains an important component of agricultur-al production in Sub-Saharan Africa because of the limiteduse of purchased inputs. Since AIDS affects adults in theirprime productive years, labor shortages are becoming a majorconcern in some countries. As the epidemic spreads in ruralareas, any changes in availability and productivity of thelabor force will directly affect food production—and con-sumption. Sub-Saharan Africa, with 11 percent of global pop-ulation, has an estimated 73 percent of global HIV/AIDS-related infections. Little is known about the net effect ofAIDS on the agricultural economy, but there is no questionthat food insecurity will increase in the severely affectedcountries.
