The Crisis in African Agriculture - Studies in African Political Economy (UNU, 1987, 99 pages): 5: The second post-independence decade: The food crisis: (introductory text...)

The Crisis in African Agriculture - Studies in African Political Economy (UNU, 1987, 99 pages)

5: The second post-independence decade: The food crisis

		*(introductory text...)*
		Smallholder development projects
		The basic needs strategy
		Agrarian reform
		More credit facilities
		Water supply
		The basic needs strategy in the current capitalist crisis

(introductory text...)

The policy of developing smallholdings as well as the basic needs strategy of which it formed an essential feature were widely publicized by the World Bank, with all its vast financial power, which made itself their leading promoter. They raised hopes that were sometimes sincere, as well as many illusions. They left nobody indifferent, whether researchers or decision-makers. Given that Africa is in this regard the region in the world most implicated because it has the largest percentage of poor and rural-dwellers, we feel it necessary to look more closely at this policy as well as the strategy underlying it.