Socio‐economic differentiation among African peasants: Evidence from Acholi, Southern Sudan

Abstract

AbstractThis paper is concerned with the nature and extent of inequality and poverty in a rural African economy which has yet to experience any form of modern economic growth. Southern Sudan remains one of the least developed areas in Africa, relying largely on subsistence crop cultivation and traditional pastoralism and where the only major modem sector activity is urban‐based public administration. The aim of this study is to quantify and explain the nature of differences in household well‐being in a fairly typical rural area of this economy set in the context of the Chayanov model ofpeasant behaviour. It is argued that policy‐making requires the exploration of the underlying behaviour of households and how they allocate land and labour in order to help support their survival strategies. Some general policy implications are drawn from the analysis of data collected in a small sample survey which may have a wider application in similarly neglected parts of rural tropical Africa.