Challenging rural poverty

In June 1983, several East African scientists met at Alemaya, Ethiopia to discuss their research results and experiences on the critical and timely subject of rural poverty. The collected papers presented in this volume were presented at the First Congress of the Organization of Social Science Research in Eastern Africa. Challenging rural poverty includes papers on a range of topics reflecting upon the alternative development experiences of Eastern African countries. It is an attempt to unveil the causes of development crisis in Africa. Focusing in particular at aspects of institution-building and popular participation in rural development, these collected papers provide a critical assessments of experiences ranging from the problem of famine and the role of women in commodity production to the problems of administration, particularly center periphery linkages and agrarian reform. The research results reported here reflect conditions and experiences in East Africa in general, with case studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Dr. Fassil G. Kiros, the editor, is a senior member of the staff of the Institute of Development Research and Department of Economics, Addis Ababa University. He has done extensive research writing in the field of rural development, and is the first executive secretary of OSSREA.