Presentation by

Atiqur RahmanLead Strategist and Policy Coordinator

IFAD

#214886-v1

Experience with rural poverty alleviation: What has worked, what has not?

900 million of the extreme poor

live and work in rural areas!

Today 1.2 billion live in extreme poverty

Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Latin America &Caribbean

67 %22 %

8 %3 %

Near East & North Africa

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report 20012001

Poverty is not just economic deprivationand

the poor are highly diversified

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Rainfed farmers

PastoralistsArtisanal Fishermen

Smallholder farmers

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Wage labourers/landless

Indigenous people/ scheduled casts/ tribes

Female-headed households

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

They are disadvantaged in many ways: lack of nutrition high mortality lack of income opportunities discrimination in pay and in access to

land, legal systems and credit

Women are often principal earners

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

The rural poor...

•live in remote areas•have few opportunities off the land•suffer from hunger and disease

Access to food, either through production or exchange, is critical for the rural poor

Increasingly the poor are becoming dependent on non-farm incomes

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

GROWTH

is important for poverty reduction

But growth has to be broad based and accommodate non-farm production and

market based exchange

Efforts to reach the UN commitment to reduce the proportion of the poor by half

by 2015 must focus on AGRICULTURAL and RURAL

development

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Washington ConsensusDecline in investment in

agricultural and rural developmentProject approach has produced

mixed resultsRural poverty has been too often

secondary to urban poverty

What has not worked?What has not worked?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

ASSETS...

For the majority of the world’s poor, particularly for women, land and water assets are most

pressing

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has not worked?What has not worked?Access to landAccess to land

Top-down, confiscatory land reforms

Land reform without appropriate infrastructure and services

Gender mainstreaming

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has worked?What has worked?Access to landAccess to land

Confiscatory land reforms

Support of post-reform farmers

Decentralised, consensual or citizen-driven reform processes

More widespread access to farmland assets remain central to poverty

reduction.

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has not worked?What has not worked?Access to waterAccess to water

Major dams

Water subsidies

Water charges

Diversion of commercial water

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has worked?What has worked?Access to waterAccess to water

Small-scale irrigation

Training of women’s groups

Formation of water user associations

User financing of recurrent costs

Hygiene education

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has not worked?What has not worked?Access to human assetsAccess to human assets

Urban bias

Unfavourable socio-economic conditions

User fees

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has worked?What has worked?Access to human assetsAccess to human assets

Human-asset-improving in rural areas

Nutrition improvement

No targeting

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

ASSETS...

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

serve two functions: They generate a flow of income and they provide a

means of buffering consumption in the face of income and other shocks

Without secure property rights, farmers lack the incentive to invest in land

and water management

Pro-poor assets policy:

Legal rights to land Control over water assets Improving human assets

ASSETSASSETS

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

TECHNOLOGY...

needs to work for the rural poor

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has not worked?What has not worked?

Large farm focus

High potential area focus

Labour replacing technologies

Neglecting crops of the poor

Labour displacement technology

Privatisation of agricultural research

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has worked?What has worked?

Green Revolution - public research

Integrated pest management

Improved Land Management Technology

Collaboration between farmers and researchers

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Bio-agricultural research can help the poor through developing crop varieties

which are

water stress tolerant,

high yielding and

pest resistant

BIO-TECHNOLOGYBIO-TECHNOLOGY

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

BUT...Caution needs to be exercised

Redirect technologies from the needs of the ‘rich’ to the ‘poor’

Environmental effects need to be assessed carefully and taken seriously

And adapt to the environmental conditions of the developing countries

The poor and the CSOs have to participate in deciding, clarifying ‘which technology’ and ‘how’

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

MARKETS...

If It’s Fair, It’s Good

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has not worked?What has not worked?

Liberalisation and commercialisation in societies with high inequality

Liberalisation without preparing the people for open markets

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

What has worked?What has worked?

Farmer groups or associations

Provision of market information

Rural Roads

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Globalisation: If It’s Fair, It’s Good

Access to local marketsEnabling access to global markets

elimination of trade restrictions, reduction of subsidies, producer co-operations

MARKETMARKETSS

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Markets...

Markets are central institutions for sustainable rural development

For the poor to gain access to markets, they need organisations

Question:

How can the poor be supported to create their own organisations to access

markets?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

INSTITUTIONS...

empowerment

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Rules of the game

Mechanisms to structure political, economic and social interaction

Central question:

How can the poor benefit from institutions?

What are institutions?What are institutions?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Difficult to answer but institutions which exclude either the rich or the poor have not worked and will not work in the future

More important is the question:

How can the poor benefit from institutions?

What has, what has not worked?What has, what has not worked?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

DECENTRALISATION...

Redefining the boundary between state and market

Local institutions tend to be more accountable to local people

Question:

What are the conditions under which decentralisation can work?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

DECENTRALISATION...

Common property resources management for sustainability of resources

Poverty reduction too often a secondary goal

Question:

Can cooperation emerge when vast inequalities and assymetries between rich

and poor exist?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Financial Services...

Credit helps the poor to smooth consumption and acquire assets

Range of financial services: savings, credit and insurance

Poor must devise ways to spread risks

Question:

How can it be ensured that savings, credit and insurance are treated in a unified

way?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Coalition building...

Coherent anti-poverty strategy requires stable partnerships

Putting the poor at the centre of the process: empowering them

Strengthening the coalitions of the poor is essential

Question:

How can the poor participate as partners in development processes?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

INSTITUTIONS...

How can the poor benefit from institutions?

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

Reaching the 2015 targets will require:

increased ODA;

more allocation towards rural development and agriculture;

increased national effort

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion

ConclusionConclusion

Conclusion

More questions than solutions

No universal blueprints for poverty reduction

There are many pathways for ending rural poverty

Introduction

Assets

Technology

Markets

Institutions

Conclusion