Policy lessons from China's success in poverty reduction and how they can benefit global anti-poverty governance in the agricultural sector - case of Uganda

More Investment and Freer Market

In Uganda reducing poverty through agriculture will not be easy. It will require investments in agricultural research and development, tailored to Africa’s often rain-fed conditions, and efforts to bring research results to African farmers. It is also important to note that higher agricultural growth will also require investments in rural infrastructure, which is worse no win Uganda and many other African countries than it was around 1980 in China, when the rural reforms began. The World Bank 2007, Part 2 contains a detailed discussion of the policy instruments available for promoting pro-poor agricultural development.

As long as Uganda and Africa in general makes the right investments in supporting agricultural growth there should be no difficulty finding the market for its produce, including in China, which is now more open to agricultural imports after its entry into the WTO. China’s success against poverty illustrates well the generic point that freer markets can serve the interests of poor people. China’s farmers responded dramatically to market incentives when the institutional reforms gave them the chance to do so.Ugandan or African farmers are not likely to be any different in this respect.