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Beyond agriculture? The promise of the rural economy for growth and poverty reduction

Year of publication 2007

Author Gustavo Anríquez;Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis Division

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) In January 2006, the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of FAO gathered experts from around the world to a workshop to discuss major issues of relevance for rural development and rural poverty alleviation in today’s rapidly changing and globalizing world. Agricultural markets are changing at unprecedented speed through vertical integration of supply chains and demands for ever more stringent food safety standards. Another significant trend affecting the rural world is the growth in migration and remittances, which can imply an increased availability of private funds to promote rural development but, at the same time, carries the risk of constraining farm output as working hands leave the fields behind. Also, the rural non-farm economy is becoming increasingly important as a source of employment and income in the rural areas, pointing towards possible new development paths for poor rural economies. All of these factors are causing transformations in agricultural systems on a scale and pace perhaps never seen before. It is in this new context that FAO asked an international group of experts to help re-think rural development policies in a changing rural landscape.

Language English

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    Beyond Agriculture?: The Promise of the Rural Economy for Growth and Poverty Reduction. Workshop Synthesis
    Rome, Italy, 16-18 January 2006
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    The workshop entitled “Beyond Agriculture?: The Promise of the Rural Economy for Growth and Poverty Reduction” was held at the FAO headquarters in Rome from the 16th to the 18th of January. In organizing the workshop, FAO was seeking to raise awareness on how recent trends and changes such as globalization shape the context in which rural economies operate and what are the implications for policies to reduce rural poverty. More than 70% of the poor live in rural areas where the agriculture sector plays a fundamental role. In this context, the purpose of the workshop was to gain a better understanding of how the current rural development paradigm is evolving, what are the drivers of these changes, what can make rural development strategies more effective and which role FAO could most strategically play in the effort of efficient and effective rural development. The meeting’s objective were fivefold: (1) understand how changes in “drivers” (such as globalisation and changes in fo od systems) may cause a shift in the prevailing Rural Development paradigm, and what may the regional characteristics of such a paradigm be; (2) raise awareness on a poverty reduction/rural development strategy and the role of agriculture in such a strategy; (3) examine rural household strategies for getting out of poverty; (4) produce guidelines or a checklist of issues to be considered in guiding rural development policy; and (5) learn how the paradigm shift translates into analysis and policy directions primarily for FAO. The workshop combined a number of background papers and studies, some of a more general and theoretical level and some with a more regional or country focus. This format allowed firstly to set the scene of the specific topic and subsequently to delve into more specific facets of the specific issue under investigation. The workshop lasted two days and a half and set off with an opening plenary session and was concluded by a closing round-table discussion. The workshop was divided into seven sessions, each of which contained the presentation of one background paper and two study papers then followed by the comments of a discussant. At the end of each session the floor was opened to a broader discussion with the participation of all present. The first session set the scene of the workshop with an overview of definitions and current trends aiming at investigating the evolution of rural development policy and the paradigm shift. The second session discussed transformations in agriculture and the impacts on rural development. The third session focused on gaining a better understanding of rural non-farm generating activities: whether the latter are refuge/survival strategies or a pathway out of poverty. The fourth session aimed at gaining a better understanding of the reasons and effects of migration in an agricultural context and whether migration out of rural areas is promoting or hampering rural development. Session 5 addressed the issue of government spending and the impact of government spending for public goods vis-à-vis the productive sectors of the rural economies. Session six analyzed the variation in institutional frameworks in the context of rural development and the paradigm shift. Session 7 provided an overview of how multilateral banks are promoting their rural development strategies and what changes are being promoted
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    Using information technology in the agriculture of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies and beyond – The potential of Wisdom Agriculture for poverty reduction and improved food security 2017
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    The aim of this discussion was to explore how applying information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agriculture can contribute to poverty reduction and increased food security, and to discuss the specific challenges and bottlenecks for realizing the holistic use of ICTs for agricultural development – an approach conceptualized in China as “Wisdom Agriculture”. In addition, participants were asked to share information on the status of the use of ICTs in the agricultural sector of their re spective countries, and to share examples of effective ICT applications in this regard.
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