The Challenge of rural poverty : a progress report on research and advisory services with special reference to rural employment, agrarian institutions, and policies, 1975-1981 /

Bibliography: p. 43-51.

Progress in reducing rural poverty has stalled. In the 1990s, it fell to less than one third of the rate needed to meet the United Nations' commitment to halve world poverty by 2015. Although three quarters of the world's 1.2 billion extremely poor people live and work in rural areas, aid to agriculture, their main source of income, has fallen by two thirds. In this Rural Poverty Report 2001, the International Fund for Agricultural Development argues that, to be successful, poverty-reduction policies must focus on rural areas. To overcome disadvantages stemming from remoteness, lack of education and health care, insecure and unproductive jobs, high fertility and (often) discrimination as women or ethnic minorities, the rural poor need: legally secure entitlements to assets (especially land and water); technology (above all for increasing the output and yield of food staples); access to markets; opportunities to participate in decentralized resource management; and access to microfinance. Such policies not only promote economic growth but also help alleviate urban poverty. A sustainable reduction in poverty calls for the creation of a pro-poor policy environment, and allocation of a greater volume of resources targeted to the poor with greater effectiveness. This needs to be complemented by better partnership among government, civil society and the private sector so that the poor are empowered to take responsibility for their own development. Available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

aia 13/03/2019

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