Top-Down to Bottom-Up Development

Evelyn Kiapi Matsamura writes "...Decentralisation - the transfer of power from governments in often distant capitals to local authorities - is frequently depicted as one of the strategies that hold the greatest promise for helping the rural poor. At present, most of these people rely on agriculture for their livelihood. Yet, they have tended to exercise little control over the policies which are drawn up for rural areas, and which have a direct effect on the success of farming (for example)..."