presentation by atiqur rahman lead strategist and policy coordinator ifad #214886-v1 experience with...
TRANSCRIPT
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