Agricultural and Rural Development reconsidered

The main focus of the publication is set on Africa - the region with most low-income countries, with highest proportion of rural population and where agriculture and rural development are requiring most attention and are still seen as problematic. The authors also draw comparisons to the rural development process in other regions like Asia and Latin America, while accentuating on two issues, namely gender and migration.

The African continent shows the greatest changes in agricultural and rural development since 2000. There are numerous new opportunities for farmers, the political interest in agriculture has been revived, donors’ investments in the sector have risen and a new narrative was created. Development partners are focusing increasingly on growing agricultural productivity, on changing the way agriculture is viewed more as a business opportunity and on enabling farmers to sustainably intensify their production. But there is also a counter-narrative focusing on protecting the environment and on fairness rather than efficiency. The report also highlights civil society’s concerns that markets often fail smallholder farmers; especially disadvantaged farmers and remote farms lack access to assets of any kind. In summary, future ARD will depend on solving market failures, ensuring inclusive growth and strengthening rural-urban linkages.

In contrast to Africa, Asia’s population growth has slowed down and industrialization/urbanization is continuing. Furthermore the quality of life has changed as people have more diverse diets and the incomes of farmers have increased following the steady rise of food prices in the region. The region is also seeing a growing “divergence between rural areas that are well connected to cities and more remote, marginal rural areas. The one uncertainty that defines agricultural and rural development in Asia is the environment.

Latin America has experienced a limited small decline in rural populations. Therefore agricultural issues in the region are getting less important for the economic development. Rural development programs in the continent have further explored the rising opportunities for export of agricultural products.

The report focuses on two major issues: gender and migration. The interest in both, throughout the regions, has risen over the last decades. The policy focus has been on supporting women empowerment, as it is now accepted that helping women contributes to better and more efficient farming and rural entrepreneurship. Development partners have drawn some common conclusions from these developments that include acknowledging that liberalization of markets is not enough to generate the desired economic growth.