Yet, in contrast to the situation in most other regions of the world, SSA's per capita agricultural production continues to decline, and soil degradation is a leading cause of this decline. Given current demographic and population trends, this level of poverty will affect more than half of the population by 2000. The majority of Africa's poor dwell in rural areas and depend on subsistence agriculture.
Women carry out most of the small-scale farming.
Collectively, they account for most of the food production. However, they suffer disproportionately from poverty and have inadequate access to the financial resources, technologies, and knowledge that would enable them to restore productivity on their farms. PLAW's goal is to promote equitable, sustainable, and productive use of land and water resources by rural women and men in stressed ecosystems of Africa and the Middle East to enhance their income, food, and water security. This goal is pursued through research that will lead to better management of the systemic and external factors in both the degradation and the improvement of the productive capacity of land and water resources. PLAW supports the development of local and national policies and institutional arrangements to equitably increase access to and availability and quality of land and water resources.