You'll find an awful lot of impoverished countries don't have some factors which we Westerners tend to take for granted: the rule of law and protection of property rights, to name two. How can you you try to pull yourself out of poverty when some thug from the army (or the rebel forces) could come through at any time and "tax" your small business or farm (steal from you), with no way in which you can respond to protect yourself and your investment. This is the case in many, many African countries. Look at Nigeria: oil rich, but always begging for IMF and World Bank loans and debt forgiveness, all such payments which end up in the pockets of corrupt govt officials. The lowering of Western trade barriers against agricultural products could be a step in the right direction; indeed has been. Refusing to forgive the debts of corrupt govts who will simply continue to suck the economic life out of their countries in order to maintain inapproprately luxurious lifestyles while their countrymen have subsistence level existances is another - force the buggers to play fair! For some examples of why poor countries continue to be poor, this is a good site:
http://www.overpopulation.com/
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others." - Groucho Marx