Poverty and agricultural development in Sudan

Abstract

The author's analysis of data on agricultural development and the proportion of the rural population below the poverty line suggests that the adoption of the water-fertiliser-HYV technology has led to a decline in poverty. The decline is also associated with increase in agricultural and foodgrains production. If the decline in the proportion of the poor in rural India has been relatively small, it is not because the 'trickle down modified' thesis is not valid in the Indian situation, but because the rate of agricultural growth has been low and has been heavily dependent on the vagaries of nature. Against this background, the author argues that land reform in the sense of 'land to the tiller' is the one measure that is needed for an enduring solution of the problem of rural poverty. Land reform is needed to break the power of the rural oligarchy and initiate the process of rapid agricultural and rural development. The other solution lies in providing water management, fertiliser, HYV seed, credit and extension service in a big way, free from bureaucratic red-tape, for rapid agricultural development. On the other hand, the 'target group oriented schemes' approach to poverty alleviation, which is essentially an euphemism for charity and distribution of doles, furthers the imperialist attempt to increase the stranglehold of bureaucratic and semi-feudal structures on the Indian economy and to erode the resources needed for accumulation and development of technology. This approach also suits the rural oligarchy and bureaucracy.