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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Rural Folks: The Neglected Lot of Zimbabwe |
Author: | Chikwanha-Dzenga, Annie Barbara |
Year: | 1999 |
Periodical: | Journal of Social Development in Africa (ISSN 1012-1080) |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 39-49 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic terms: | Zimbabwe Southern Africa |
Subjects: | rural poverty Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology rural development subsistence farming development planning poverty |
Abstract: | More than 70 percent of Zimbabwe's population live in harsh subsistence conditions in the communal areas. Their main concern is basic survival. The task of catering for the well-being of Zimbabwe's rural poor is left largely to NGOs. Government policy is based on a welfare approach and lacks consistency, with virtually no attention paid to removing barriers to food production or issues such as rural financing, food processing, and inputs. None of the three development plans formulated and 'partly' implemented have paid attention to poverty alleviation in rural areas. The quality of life in the rural areas is dismal. The rural poor attribute their condition mainly to environmental factors and unemployment, rather than shortage of land, and give priority to allaying shortages of food, clothing and lack of draught power, implying the prescription of a continued welfare approach to alleviating their plight. However, any strategy for alleviating poverty in the rural areas will have to include a long-term action plan that outlines a package of interrelated programmes to improve agricultural productivity, create opportunities for increased incomes and employment, and strengthen infrastructure, basic services, and popular participation in the planning process. Bibliogr., notes, sum. |