2020 Focus No. 15After 30 years of dynamic growth and substantial poverty reduction in Asia, do agriculture and rural development still have a role to play in that region? The policy briefs in this collection provide abundant evidence that they do. Although the incidence of people living in poverty fell from more than 50 percent in the mid-1970s to 18 percent in 2004, and the incidence of hunger fell to 16 percent, Asia is still home to more than half of the world's poor, most of whom live in rural areas. Agriculture and rural development are thus still key to reducing poverty and hunger in the region.
These policy briefs explore how agriculture and rural development can play this vital role. The authors examine the scale and nature of poverty and hunger in rural Asia and explore growth and structural changes in Asian agriculture and rural nonfarm activities. They discuss strategies for economy-wide and trade policies to encourage inclusive rural growth, key emerging risks such as climate change, and instruments for mitigating and managing risks.
These briefs arise out of a high-level policy forum, Agricultural and Rural Development for Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Asia: In Pursuit of Inclusive and Sustainable Growth," organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila in August 2007. The forum brought together about 100 leaders and stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society from all over Asia and around the world. This forum was part of a wider consultation process leading up to the IFPRI-facilitated conference "Taking Action for the World's Poor and Hungry People," held in Beijing in October 2007.
We are very grateful to Nurul Islam for conceptualizing the policy forum and editing this collection, and to the contributors for their insightful briefs. We also thank Ruth Vargas Hill for the key role she played throughout this process. We deeply appreciate the collaborative partnership with ADB in organizing the forum. We hope that the findings and recommendations presented here will contribute to a broader consensus on the role of agricultural and rural development in reaching and going beyond the Millennium Development Goals and in achieving inclusive and sustainable growth in Asia.
Joachim von Braun, Director General
Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Head, 2020 Vision Initiative
Full Text of all Briefs
Individual Briefs in Focus 15:
- Agricultural and Rural Development for Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Asia: Past Performance and Priorities for the FutureNurul Islam and Joachim von Braun
- Poverty in Asia and the Transition to High-Priced Food StaplesC. Peter Timmer
- Asia's Poorest and Hungry: Trends and CharacteristicsAkhter U Ahmed, Ruth V. Hill, Doris M. Wiesmann, and Lisa C. Smith
- Economic Exclusion and Poverty in Asia: The Example of Castes in IndiaSukhadeo Thorat
- Women's Status and the Changing Nature of Rural Livelihoods in AsiaAgnes R. Quisumbing
- Agriculture in Asia: Challenges and OpportunitiesMark W. Rosegrant, Claudia Ringler, Timothy B. Sulser, Siwa Msangi, Tingju Zhu, Rowena Valmonte-Santos, and Stanley Wood
- Asian Food Market Transformation: Policy Challenges to Promote Competitiveness with InclusivenessAshok Gulati and Thomas Reardon
- Changing Sources of Household Income and Poverty Reduction in Rural Asia, 1985-2004Keijiro Otsuka and Jonna P. Estudillo
- How and When Road Investments Encourage Inclusive Growth: Learning from the Asian Development Bank's ExperienceHemamala Hettige
- Strategies for Developing and Disseminating Improved Rice Technologies for the PoorRobert Zeigler
- Climate Change in the Context of Asia: Pro-Poor Adaptation, Risk Management, and Mitigation StrategiesGary Yohe, Ian Burton, Saleemul Huq, and Mark W. Rosegrant
- Risks Faced by Rural Households and Private-Sector Insurance Initiatives in IndiaD. Sattaiah
- Developing Rural Institutions That Strengthen the Voice of the Rural PoorEduardo T. Gonzalez
- Decentralization and Public Service Delivery to the Rural PoorKamiljon T. Akramov
- Investment Priorities for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in AsiaShenggen Fan, Joanna Brzeska, and Ghada Shields
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