PRESS BRIEFING ON IFAD RURAL POVERTY REPORT 2001

There was a misconception that poverty had moved from the countryside to the burgeoning mega cities of the developing world, Fawzi Al-Sultan, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing to answer questions about IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report 2001 this morning.  Not only was this wrong, but it was, in itself, a reason for the failure of efforts thus far to combat poverty.

The majority of the world's poor would still live and work in rural areas well into the twenty-first century, Mr. Al-Sultan explained.  Yet, the share of international aid that went to the rural poor, or to agriculture and rural development, was small, and falling in real terms.

Seventy-five per cent of the world’s extremely poor -- nearly 1 billion people -- live and work in the rural areas, he continued.  And even though that figure was expected to drop to 60 per cent in 2020, the countryside would still be home to the majority of the world’s poor.

IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report for 2001 is entitled "The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty".  With Mr. Al-Sultan at the briefing were IFAD’s North American Liaison Office Director, Vern P. Weill-Hallé; its Lead Strategist, Atigur Rahman; and the Director of Sussex University’s Poverty Unit, Michael Lipton.

The report documents an international failure to respond to the needs of rural populations, Mr. Al-Sultan said.  It also demonstrates that improved small-scale agriculture in developing countries was not only essential for meeting poverty reduction targets, but would also contribute decisively to the overall development process.

The global rate of poverty reduction from 1990 to 1999 was less than one third of the rate that would be needed to halve poverty by 2015, Mr. Al-Sultan stated.  Without changes and improvements, "we will, therefore, not be able to meet that target", he warned.

Mr. Al-Sultan said rural women and girls constituted the majority of the rural poor.  Their poverty was often reinforced through social, cultural and legal obstacles.  And poverty itself had many dimensions.  The rural poor identified themselves as suffering from hunger, ill health, lack of education, vulnerability, low self-esteem, as well as from disrespect from government officials who were often unresponsive to their needs.

Mr. Al-Sultan said that, according to the Report, the main goal of development must be sustainable reduction of poverty, and stressed that the commitment to halve world poverty by 2015 must focus on reviving agriculture and rural development.  The challenge to the international community was to help the rural poor help themselves.  The poor must be empowered to build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.  Economic growth, while essential for poverty reduction, would not eliminate rural poverty.  Sustained poverty reduction required providing the poor with access to assets like land, water, capital technology, and markets.

At a time when globalization promised great benefits, most of the goods produced by the poor faced international trade barriers that must be lifted,       Mr. Al-Sultan went on to say.

A focus on increases in production and yield in the food staples sector, and increased employment in that sector, would provide the initial key to poverty reduction, the IFAD President continued.  It would serve as a springboard for progressive diversification into non-staples production and off-farm activities.

A correspondent noted that faster poverty reduction had been achieved between 1970 and 1990, and asked why the momentum had died down.  He also asked why agriculture had been neglected when structural reforms had taken place in many countries.

Mr. Lipton said that not everyone who was in favour of structural adjustment and liberalization was concerned with just efficiency and growth.  They thought, quite rightly, that there were enormous biases against farm prices –- farmers getting far less than they should because of the ways governments managed foreign exchange and foreign trade.  It was, therefore, hoped that, through structural adjustment, the balance could be turned in favour of the rural sector.

To some extent, Mr. Lipton continued, that was achieved.  But, unfortunately, at the same time, there was a severe fiscal squeeze on governments.  Aid donors also turned their attention away from agriculture.  The real value of aid to agriculture was now one third of what it was 10 years ago –- it was a total collapse.  So the green revolution that did so well in the early 1970s had slowed right down.  There was, therefore, a desperate need to reinvigorate agricultural research, redirect it towards better water management, and turn the fruits of biotechnology towards the needs of the rural poor.

Another correspondent asked whether the promise by world leaders to halve poverty by 2015 was a mistake.   Mr. Al-Sultan said the question was, rather, what did it take?  For some leaders, even reducing poverty by half was still too little.  Nevertheless, the goal was a good one.  The Report had some very strong messages about what needed to happen to achieve it.

A correspondent noted that the picture painted of sub-Saharan Africa was a very grim one and asked if there was any hope for rural Africans.  Mr. Al-Sultan said there were many reasons why Africa lagged behind.  The green revolution, for example, had not happened on that continent.  Technologies, which had helped the Asian economies to move a lot faster, had not gone to Africa.  In addition, a great deal of agriculture-related infrastructure had not been put in place.  Also one had to look at Africa's continuous problems with drought, crises, and conflicts.  There was still hope, because there had been progress in some countries.  Nevertheless, the larger problems had to be resolved, he added.

Mr. Lipton said the proportion of land in sub-Saharan Africa which was irrigated was about 3.5 per cent; whereas in South and East Asia, 35 per cent of cropland had effective water control.  Yet, it could not be just a matter of having large-scale irrigation schemes all over sub-Saharan Africa.  A cautious and thought thorough expansion of reliable water management was probably a precondition.  There had to be a blue revolution if there was to be a green one.

Responding to a question on technology in Africa, Mr. Al-Sultan said a lot could be achieved by simply bringing available technology to the rural parts of the continent. 

* *** *