Dear editor,

I do not think that there is any sub-Saharan African country that is addressing rural poverty in its proper context. Poverty in Africa is predominantly rural.

Rural poverty in most parts of Africa has its roots in colonial systems compounded by the policy and institutional restraints imposed on poor people.

In recent decades, national economic policies and institutional structures have been modified to close the income gap. Structural adjustments have dismantled existing rural systems, but have not always built new ones.

In many transitional economies, the rural situation is marked by continuing stagnation, poor production, low incomes and the rising vulnerability of poor people.

Lack of access to markets is a problem for many small-scale enterprises in Africa. The rural population is poorly organized and often isolated, beyond the reach of social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes.

Increasingly, government policies and investments in poverty reduction tend to favour the urban over rural areas. Something more serious has to be done if we are to check the ever-increasing rural poverty.

Kanombe