ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to analyse the impact of stabilization and/or structural adjustment programmes on the poor in general, and the rural poor, in particular, with emphasis on smallholders. During the 1970s and the early part of the 1980s, many African countries, particularly sub-Saharan countries, experienced various social and economic setbacks. Africa's agro-export has been strongly affected by the international economic crisis. Any policy strategy which affects the productivity of smallholders is likely to have an impact on the welfare of both the urban and the rural poor. In some cases, of course, male labour migration leaves women and children behind to deal with agricultural output. The smallholder farm, pastoral and fishery populations of Africa constitute the bulk of its rural poor. Smallholder agriculture is of major importance in any balanced development strategy because it represents a source of labour and of nutritional safety for the great majority of developing countries.
