---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: IRIN <[email protected]> Date: Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 4:32 PM Subject: Staples, not export crops, key to tackling Africa's poverty - report To: Elisabeth Janaina <[email protected]>
Staples, not export crops, key to tackling Africa's poverty - report NAIROBI, 18 January 2013 (IRIN) - Africa could reduce its poverty levels faster by focusing more on the production of staples rather than export crops, according to a study [ http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ib73.pdf ] by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Authors of the study, conducted in 10 countries south of the Sahara, noted, "One important finding is that producing more staple crops, such as maize, pulses and roots, and more livestock products tends to reduce poverty further than producing more export crops such as coffee or cut flowers." According to the study, while more public resources would be required to generate more agricultural growth, "such public investment in staple sectors is probably cost effective". The authors argued that growth in the staple sector was more likely to benefit the poor than growth in the agricultural export sector. Enoch Mwani, an agricultural economist at the University of Nairobi, concurred. "The agricultural export sector is generally associated with large corporations, but the poor rely predominantly on staples to survive." Mwani added that growth in staples had the effect of not only reducing poverty but also ensuring food security. "[Governments that] invest in staples have the opportunity to increase food availability and, at the same time, create wealth for smallholders," Mwani told IRIN. To spur development in sub-Saharan Africa, the study's policy conclusions call for a focus on accelerating agricultural growth; promoting growth in large agricultural subsectors; supporting growth across several agricultural subsectors; and promoting growth in subsectors with strong linkages to the overall economy and the poor. ko/rz [END] This report online: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=97278 © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org/ [This item comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions: http://www.irinnews.org/copyright IRIN partners: UAE, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the IHC. More information: http://www.irinnews.org/donors This mail is from an automatic address. Contact IRIN at: [email protected]. Revise/stop your subscription: http://bit.ly/9nCoUP ] Subscribed email: [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
