PRODUCTION BY POOR PEOPLE

Almost one third of all sub-Saharan Africans are absolutely poor- That proportion is rising whereas in the only comparable case - South Asia - it is falling. Absolute poverty damages a polity and a society - no t only those who are themselves poor. It is also economically costly. Linkage and macroeconomic as well as household livelihood consideratio ns mean that investing in enabling poor people to produce more is like ly to be relatively high payoff especially in post-drought or war rest oration of livelihoods and production contexts. The main challenges to acting today are lack of mainstream, strategic formulations and of co ntextual (including gender), decentralized data provision plus program me articulation and operation capacity. Space to do more is growing-in SSA and with donors - but requires much work to occupy effectively.