Poverty and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa: A link to Agricultural Poverty Reduction Strategies
The problem of poverty and how to reduce it remains the most pressing dilemma in the many international development debates. More precisely, two questions are at the heart of much of academic research and public policy for development, namely: what is it that makes Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the poorest region in the world and what can be done to deliver the sustainable and broad-based economic growth required to address this? This article seeks to provide an introduction to current debates on these two interrelated questions. A section of zaina rice grown in Doho irrigation rice scheme, Butaleja. I will not pretend to offer a broad overview of a vast and ever changing body of academic literature and government policy. Rather, this article is set to answer two main questions. Firstly, what are the prime drivers and maintainers of poverty in SSA as I see them (building on a holistic approach to defining poverty) and, secondly, I briefly highlight how agriculture can aid in economi