Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Book Book Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Sub-Saharan Africa betwixt and between: rural livelihood practices and policies
Author:Bryceson, Deborah FahyISNI
Year:1999
Issue:43
Pages:73
Language:English
Series:ASC working paper
City of publisher:Leiden
Publisher:Afrika-Studiecentrum
Geographic term:Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:agricultural development
household income
rural households
External link:https://hdl.handle.net/1887/12912
Abstract:Drawing on research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden, this paper compares changing economic and social patterns in a wide variety of rural settlements in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently emerged or refashioned income diversification tendencies are highlighted and linked to the blurring of strong rural-urban contrasts. After a schematic consideration of continental trends, followed by a more detailed examination of rural livelihood patterns, the author teases out some of the major tensions embedded in the broad-based reorientation of rural livelihoods, leading to a discussion of how effective current government and donor policies are in addressing this rural transformation. The conclusion returns to the issue of sub-Saharan Africa's 'betwixt-and-between' status (the balancing act of African rural dwellers caught in between farm and nonfarm, family and individual, and rural and urban contrasts), arguing that the uncertainty could be alleviated with a more directional policy approach, an approach that facilitates provisioning of rural households and communities local-level, daily needs, and strengthens public policy, training facilities and infrastructure for future occupational diversification and specialization.
Views