Poverty Reduction in Africa
- In 2002, 44 percent of the population in Africa was poor-virtually the same rate as in 1990. Current projections find that poverty will fall to 38 percent by 2015. (World Bank, Global Monitoring Report 2006).
- Improving the role of smallholder African farmers in the region's economies can help reduce poverty. Agriculture accounts for over a third of the continent's gross domestic product (GDP) and almost 60 percent of its export income. (IFPRI, Ending Hunger in Africa: Prospects for the Small Farmer, 2004)
- Raising the output of smallholder farmers would increase their incomes and food security, lower food prices, and stimulate the rest of the economy. Each one percent increase in agricultural productivity in Africa has been shown to reduce poverty by 0.6 percent. (IFPRI, Ending Hunger in Africa: Only the Small Farmer Can Do It, 2002)
- Smallholder farmers can benefit not only from greater agricultural output, but also from greater crop diversity. Non-traditional exports-such as fruits, flowers, vegetables, and processed foods-represent the most profitable market options. (IFPRI, Ending Hunger in Africa: Prospects for the Small Farmer, 2004)
- Linking smallholder farmers to high-value urban and export markets can raise rural incomes and enhance export competitiveness. However, this requires investments in infrastructure, such as roads, to connect farmers and markets. (IFPRI, Building on Successes in African Agriculture: Strategies for Sustainable Land Management and Poverty Reduction in Uganda, 2004)
- In Uganda, improvements in smallholders' access to land, other assets, education, extension, market information, credit, roads, and off-farm opportunities can help to break the downward cycle of poverty and land degradation, and put farmers on a more sustainable development pathway. (IFPRI, Linkages between Poverty and Land Management in Rural Uganda: Evidence from the Uganda National Household Survey, 2004)
- Ethiopia has the lowest per capita agricultural incomes in East Africa, and food insecurity plagues some three million people every year. Agriculture represents a livelihood for about 85 percent of the country's population. (IFPRI, Ending Hunger in Africa: Prospects for the Small Farmer, 2004)