RURAL DEVELOPMENT CRITICAL TO MEETING ANTI-POVERTY GOALS SET AT 2000 MILLENNIUM SUMMIT, ECOSOC TOLD

Economic and Social Council

High-Level Segment Preparatory

AM & PM Meeting

RURAL DEVELOPMENT CRITICAL TO MEETING ANTI-POVERTY GOALS SET

AT 2000 MILLENNIUM SUMMIT, ECOSOC TOLD

Series of Round Table Discussions Held

in Preparation for High-Level Segment in Geneva

The importance of a coordinated United Nations system approach to rural development and the critical importance of such development to meeting the goals established at the 2000 Millennium Summit was the focus of a meeting of the Economic and Social Council today with the heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes. 

In preparation for the high-level segment of its annual substantive session, beginning on 30 June in Geneva, the Council met this morning on the priority theme for that segment, “The role of rural development in the achievement and implementation of internationally agreed development goals including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration”.

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders set specific targets to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty, provide clean water and basic education for all, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and reach other development goals.  The target date for most of the Millennium Development Goals is 2015. 

Today was the second time the Council convened dialogue sessions in preparation for the high-level segment.  The first, on 24 March, brought together various actors to discuss rural sustainable development, focusing on implementation, and to brainstorm on how to achieve greater impact on the ground.

Reporting on the outcome of last month’s meeting, the Council’s Vice-President, Marjatta Rasi (Finland), said that it was felt that past efforts to promote rural development had not been successful because the complexities of the poverty problem had not been fully understood.  It was agreed that both a top/down and bottom/up approach was needed to address the issue.  Also, it was necessary to harness the potential of globalization to improve rural development. 

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), three-quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihood.  Therefore, today’s panellists stressed, it was not possible to achieve poverty reduction goals without addressing rural development. 

Rural development, stated IFAD President Lennart Bäge, required a comprehensive approach, coordination and coherence in the international response.  Towards that end, the United Nations Chief Executive Board had developed a work programme, focusing on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 

Mr. Bäge, who also chaired the discussion, added that agriculture must be the basis for the development agenda of the poor countries.  It was normally the biggest employer and the largest export earner.  He also stressed the importance of access of the rural poor to land and water, as well as to markets and credit.  Appropriate technology was also important for them, as were the creation of institutions to support them.

Noting that, if current trends continued, the goal of halving poverty would only be achieved by 2050 instead of 2015, Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, emphasized the need to focus on sustainable rural development.  It was not possible to achieve poverty reduction targets, he said, without focusing on the 75 per cent of the population that lived in rural areas and lived off agriculture.  In that regard, priority must be given to water management to create a solid basis for rural development

Ibrahim A. Gambari, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, focused on the role of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as a vehicle for enhancing and strengthening coherence in development cooperation in Africa.  The United Nations system organizations should work together more closely by using existing country-based programming and regional level coordination mechanisms in delivery of assistance to African countries.  African governments, as well as their development partners, should build on the strong convergence of priorities between NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals.

Without sustained investment in, and support for the needs and development of the rural poor and the marginalized, the achievement of various conference goals, as well as the Millennium Development Goals, would be severely limited, he noted.  Ways and means should be found to recognize and reward the work of the rural poor, especially women, and to ensure that they gained access to and control over resources.

The common elements of a coordinated approach were well known, remarked Bruce Jenks, Director, Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  They included the creation of an enabling macroeconomic environment conducive for poverty eradication and sustainable development in rural areas, reversing the decline in private domestic resources and official development assistance to rural areas, and establishing conditions to attract investment in the rural sector. 

Also important were increasing public investment in agricultural research, increasing access of the rural poor to land and water resources and giving the rural poor greater voice in decision making, particularly in matters relating to resource allocation.  What was common to those elements, was the requirement of setting national priorities and the allocation of resources. 

Summary of Roundtables

As part of today’s programme, seven round tables, hosted by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, were convened on themes of critical importance for achieving rural development.

SHEILA SISULU, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), reported on the outcomes of the round table on primary education and girls’ education in rural areas.  It was stressed that rural primary education and girls’ education were key to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  Among the issues discussed, were policies on free and compulsory education, policies on retention in schools for pregnant girls, the impact of HIV/AIDS on girls’ education, technology and education and the importance of school gardens.  The Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had emphasized that no issue was personally more important to her than girls’ education, which she identified as the single most important investment there was, given its multiplier effects on achievement of all other development goals.

Summarizing the roundtable on interconnections in the context of HIV/AIDS and feminized poverty, NOELEEN HEYZER, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), noted that poverty in the rural areas had a feminine face.  The issue of feminized poverty was not a static issue, but a process that evolved over time.  Among the issues raised was the high burden of the HIV/AIDS crisis.  A change was also being seen in the patterns of households due to the disease, particularly an increasing number of households headed by children and older persons.  Because life was difficult in the agricultural sector, there was a large movement of people from rural areas to urban areas.  That migration also impacted on the situation of women in rural areas.

Reporting on the outcome of the round table discussions on population and reproductive health in the rural context as critical determinants, THORAYA OBAID, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said her panel’s discussions centred around four areas:  reproductive health and the Millennium Development Goals; gender and women’s empowerment; data; and resources.  The panel underlined the right to development, emphasizing that the right to reproductive health was crucial for rural development and for supporting poverty reduction.  It noted the importance of economic growth for increasing revenues for social sector investments.  However, it was pointed out that that alone did not guarantee better reproductive health status for the rural poor.  The Millennium Development Goals must be dynamic and strategies must be devised to meet them.  The panellists stressed the importance of regular and reliable data for building the evidence base for interventions targeted at the rural poor.  As regards resources, they noted the growing unmet needs for reproductive health services, especially in situations of financial crises.  They stressed the need for investing in reproductive health, and how it was cost effective.

ROBERT GUBA AISI, Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea to the United Nations, presented the outcome of the round table on increasing productivity of rural work.  He said that the discussions covered various ways of improving rural development.  Among the issues referred to, was the empowerment of women and representation of rural populations in the development process.  There was also reference to the role of rural financial markets in increasing rural productivity and the difficulties encountered, such as high transaction costs and imperfect information.  They also stressed the importance of access to credit.  One

panelist, he said, spoke about how financing institutions could create opportunities for rural people. 

Reporting on the panel discussion on agriculture, IAN JOHNSON, Vice-President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, said panellists noted the marginalization of rural agricultural workers.  They concluded that agriculture was essential to economic growth, and that it was central to poverty eradication.  They talked about the lessons that had to be drawn, the success of the green revolution of South-East Asia and how Africa was left behind in that agricultural revolution.  Environmental and social responsibility was also discussed, as were marketing systems and their role.  The panellists also covered the issue of trade and the millions spent on subsidies by the rich countries, which undermined agricultural production in developing countries.

MESFIN ABEBE, Minister and Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, reported on the round table on rural development and rural energy development.  It was noted that there was a dearth of information, as well as lots of discussion on rural energy.  It was agreed that, while there was ample technology, due to lack of financial assistance, expectations had not been met.  It was also noted that there was no specific Millennium Goal on energy.  Therefore, it was necessary to link the Millennium Development Goals and rural energy, since none of the Goals could be met without energy.  Providing simple, affordable energy, it was stated, could contribute to the Goals related to health, education, women and sustainable development.  Also important were partnerships on rural energy between non-governmental organizations, the private sector and public institutions.  Equally vital was the assistance of the international community in rural energy development.

Reporting on the round table on commodities, markets and rural development, EDWARD RUGUMAYO, Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry of Uganda, said that agriculture and mining in rural areas had been the focus of discussions.  The round table had examined the commodities sector and its importance, given that it employed over 75 per cent of the rural population in developing countries, was a source of principal export earnings for those countries, and contributed to social stability, among other things.  When examining the question of prices, it was agreed that price was not the whole issue, since even with increased prices, living conditions would not necessarily improve.  Also, the interests of commodity producers were not taken into account in negotiations at the international level.

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