With a Little Help : Shocks, Agricultural Income, and Welfare in Uganda
Global poverty is becoming increasingly concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and among households engaged in subsistence agriculture in environments characterized by uncertainty. Understanding how to achieve sustainable increases in household incomes...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/209501483980067882/With-a-little-help-shocks-agricultural-income-and-welfare-in-Uganda http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25944 |
| Summary: | Global poverty is becoming increasingly
concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and among households
engaged in subsistence agriculture in environments
characterized by uncertainty. Understanding how to achieve
sustainable increases in household incomes in this context
is key to ending extreme poverty. Uganda offers important
lessons in this regard. Uganda experienced conflict,
drought, and price volatility in the decade from 2003 to
2013, while at the same time experiencing the second fastest
percentage point reduction in extreme poverty per year in
Sub-Saharan Africa. This study analyzes a nationally
representative panel of 2,356 households visited four times
between 2006 to 2012, in combination with data on conflict
events, weather, and prices. The study describes the type of
income growth households experienced and assesses the
importance of these external events in determining progress.
The study finds substantial growth in agricultural incomes,
particularly among poorer households. Many of the gains in
agricultural income growth came about because of good
weather, peace, and prices, and not technological change or
profound changes in agricultural production. Therefore,
although overall progress during this period was good, there
were years in which average income growth was negative. This
was particularly the case in the poorer and more vulnerable
Northern and Eastern regions, and thus their overall income
growth was also slower. |
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