Author : Derek Byerlee
Publisher :
Page : 22 pages
File Size : 34,4 MB
Release : 2003
Category : Agriculture
ISBN :
Considerable empirical evidence indicates that agricultural growth is a priority for reducing poverty in developing countries. Investment in agricultural research is a major source of agricultural growth, and can provide powerful direct and indirect impacts on rural and urban poverty. The World Ban's Rural Strategy identifies agricultural science and technology as a high priority for future support, but this support must be more focused on the Bank's overarching objective of poverty reduction. Several decades of experience provide evidence that a broad-based approach to promoting agricultural growth can have substantial impacts on poverty reduction where: (a) agriculture is important to the incomes of rural poor; (b) the agro-ecological base allows significant potential for productivity growth; (c) land distribution is relatively equitable; and (d) the poor consume nontradable food staples. Without these preconditions for win-win productivity growth and poverty reduction, agricultural research may still have strong poverty reduction impacts, but must be carefully targeted on poor producers and consumers.