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Striving for growth, bypassing the poor ? A critical review of Rwanda's rural sector policies.
- Source :
- Journal of Modern African Studies; Mar2008, Vol. 46 Issue 1, p1-32, 32p
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- This paper studies the Rwandan case to address some of the challenges and pitfalls in defining pro-poor strategies. The paper first looks at the danger of a purely growth-led development focus (as in Rwanda's first PRSP), and evaluates the extent to which the agricultural sector has been a pro-poor growth engine. It then studies Rwanda's current rural policies, which aim to modernise and 'professionalise' the rural sector. There is a high risk that these rural policy measures will be at the expense of the large mass of small-scale peasants. This paper stresses that the real challenge to transform the rural sector into a true pro-poor growth engine will be to value and incorporate the capacity and potential of small-scale 'non-professional' peasants into the core strategies for rural development. The lessons drawn from the Rwandan case should inspire policy makers and international donors worldwide to shift their focus away from a purely output-led logic towards distribution-oriented rural development policies. In other words, the challenge is to reconcile efficiency in creating economic growth with equity, and perhaps, to put equity first. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0022278X
- Volume :
- 46
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Modern African Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 31124175
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X07003059