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Rural poverty in Uganda

Uganda has made enormous progress in reducing poverty, slashing the incidence of poverty from 56 per cent of the population in 1992 to 31 per cent in 2005. In urban areas the decrease has been even sharper, to 12 per cent. But poverty remains firmly entrenched in the country’s rural areas, which are home to more than 85 per cent of
Ugandans. About 40 per cent of rural people – some 10 million men, women and children – live in poverty.

Who are Uganda's rural poor people?

The poorest Ugandans include millions of subsistence farmers who live in remote, scattered locations throughout the country. Remoteness makes people poor. It excludes them from participating in the benefits of the country’s steady economic growth and dynamic modernization process. In remote rural areas smallholder farmers do not have access to the vehicles and roads they need for transporting produce to markets, and market linkages are weak or non-existent. Farmers lack inputs and technologies to help them increase production and reduce pests and disease. And they lack access to financial services that would enable them to raise their incomes by improving and expanding their production and establishing small enterprises.

Where are Uganda's rural poor people?

The poorest regions of the country are the north and north-east, where outbreaks of civil strife have disrupted the lives and agricultural production of small-scale farmers. These regions are fragile, dry and sub-humid areas where the extreme variability of rainfall and soil fertility makes farming a challenge. In these regions production falls short of minimum household needs and people are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Nationwide, about 5 per cent of rural households continue to experience food insecurity.

Why are Uganda's rural people poor?

Health and social issues weigh heavily on rural poverty in Uganda. The population of about 30 million is growing at a rate of 3.2 per cent a year, doubling every 20 years. Although the country has been successful in dramatically reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS, the pandemic has caused the death of large numbers of young adults, leaving an estimated 1 million children without parents. Rural women are particularly disadvantaged because of the lack of health care and other social services. They work longer hours than men and have limited access to resources and little control over what they produce. They bear the burdens of seeing that their households are fed adequately and providing care for the sick, the elderly and orphaned children.

Source: IFAD