National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP).

This National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty is a 5-year nationwide multi-sectoral document, built on other poverty reduction papers developed in the country, aiming at (i) reducing poverty, understood as the sum of a series of deficiencies at several levels, such as hunger, diseases, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women; (ii) widening the space for country ownership and effective participation of civil society, private sector development, and local and external partnerships in development and commitment to regional and other international initiatives. The Strategy includes also some cross-cutting issues that negatively impact on income and non-income poverty, including imbalances in gender relations, environmental issues, and HIV and AIDS. The Strategy is elaborated around three major clusters of desired outcomes for poverty reduction, namely, (i) growth and reduction of income poverty; (ii) improved quality of life and social well-being; and (iii) good governance and accountability. The document underlines that even if the growth is necessary for poverty reduction, it is not sufficient if it is not accompanied by equity and conditions that foster it.
To improve the production, the Strategy proposes different interventions, including (i) increase and develop more efficient use of water and irrigation schemes; (ii) promote rainwater harvesting; (iii) adopt and invest in more productive technological packages in agriculture (farming and husbandry) and increase access to mechanization and use of appropriate technologies, including rural energy services, that reduces drudgery; (iv) strengthen capacity for timely control of crop pests and disease outbreaks; (v) improve and increase access to support services with particular focus on research and extension; (vi) increase training and awareness creation on safe utilization and storage of agrochemicals (including agriculture and livestock inputs), and the use of integrated pest control, eco-agricultural techniques, and use of traditional knowledge; (vii) provide targeted subsidy to selected food crops and support production of crops with high returns, identifying and promoting modern farming technologies; (viii) promote efficient utilization of rangelands and empowerment of pastoral institutions.
For a more adequate nutrition, the document mainly focuses on guaranteeing food security through as follows (i) promotion of food storage technologies and facilities; (ii) improvement of stock management and monitoring of food situation; (iii) improvement of access to inputs by farmers through targeted subsidies to selected food crops and increasing of accessibility to microfinance credits; (iv) a review of the maize supply chain, and management and monitoring of emergency food supplies. However, attention is also paid to the feeding of infants and children, as well as to pregnant women by (i) promoting community programs on improved nutrition; (vi) improving neonatal care and infant care; (vii) developing targeted nutrition education and supplementation (to address micronutrient deficiencies) for pregnant women.
The protection of the environment is pursued through (i) enhancement of agro-processing and environmentally friendly farming technologies and practices; (ii) guidelines and regulations for reduction of energy in transportation, transmission, and distribution losses; (iii) improvement of land management including tree planting; (iv) development of mineral and energy database systems; (v) alternative rural energy, and energy efficiency schemes; (vi) sustainable management of water catchments areas and maintenance of forest cover in critical highland catchments areas; (vii) programs for increasing local control and earnings in wildlife management areas, and establish locally managed natural resources funds, taping on local traditional knowledge; (viii) promotion of environmental best practices in processing and production; (ix) implementation of pollution control, occupational health and safety standards and environmental management; (x) implementation of mechanisms and policies to mitigate against environmental disasters (e.g. flooding, drought, and refugees influx) and put in place post-disaster actions/responses.
A more inclusive growth foresees (i) enhancing life-skills and entrepreneurship training for rural population; (ii) increasing access to rural micro-financial services for subsistence farmers, particularly targeting youth and women; (iii) investing in rural infrastructure to facilitate marketing of rural produce; (iv) promoting off-farm activities and value-addition schemes through agro-processing SMEs and cooperatives; (v) ensuring reliable supply of essential utilities, including energy and water and sanitation; (vi) supporting a safer, gender sensitive, children-friendly and more conducive environment for efficient and effective delivery of education; (vii) improved survival, health and well-being of all children and women and especially of vulnerable groups; (viii) increased access to clean, affordable and safe water, sanitation, decent shelter and a safe and sustainable environment and thereby, reduced vulnerability from environmental risk; (ix) adequate social protection and rights of the vulnerable and needy groups; (x) involvement of rural communities in construction and management of rural roads; (xi) education on basic rights of a child including the fight against child labor; (xii) reducing income poverty of both men and women in urban areas.
As for Governance, it is necessary (i) effective, transparent and accountable use of resources in a fair and corruption free system; (ii) public access to information to facilitating effective policy implementation, monitoring and accountability; (iii) systems of government managed openly and in the interests of the people they serve; (iv) sector specific reforms towards good governance outcomes, improved public services delivery, better economic management, positive cultural change and democratic development.