Agricultural and Rural Development for Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Asia: In Pursuit of Inclusive and Sustained Growth

9-10 August 2007, ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines

 

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized a high-level policy forum ?Agricultural and Rural Development for Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Asia:

In Pursuit of Inclusive and Sustainable Growth? in Manila from 9-10 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 to examine the role of agricultural and rural development in reducing poverty and hunger in today?s Asia. Participants examined the scale and nature of poverty and hunger in rural Asia and explored growth and structural changes in Asian agriculture and rural non-farm activities. Strategies for economy-wide and trade policies to encourage inclusive rural growth were discussed, and key emerging risks such as climate change and instruments for mitigating and managing risks were examined.

 

The Forum identified the following priority action areas for achieving inclusive agricultural and rural development:

 

 ? Increasing technological innovation capacity in new agricultural supply

          chains;

       ? Investing in infrastructure and communications systems to reduce

          spatial disparities and foster rural?urban linkages;

       ? Developing ecosystems services through public-private cooperation for

          meeting the challenges of water scarcity and climate change;

       ? Facilitating the health benefits of agriculture and reducing the risks,       

          especially the transmission of animal diseases;

       ? Encouraging development of finance and insurance interventions for the 

          poorest;

       ? Providing effective safety nets and nutritional improvement in rural

          areas.

 

      Future policy research questions that need attention include:

 

?        ? What policies and services are needed to provide asset-poor farmers with access to emerging market opportunities, such as high-value agriculture? This work should include attention to new forms of cooperation and contract farming as well as information services regarding prices, quality, and standards.

?        ? What types of nonfarm activities (especially those undertaken by the poorest) comprise the rural nonfarm sector, and what types of policies encourage the growth of these activities? This work should include new ways of strengthening rural?urban linkages as well as rural services and innovative rural financial institutions that embrace remittances and rural small- and medium-sized enterprises.

?        ? What types of opportunities may evolve for biofuels in different settings in Asia, and what policies and regulations are needed for a balanced approach that may include smallholder farmers and small-and large-scale biofuel producers?

?        ? What policies exist for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Asian agriculture? This work would include studies on carbon trading regimes and related programs and policies.

?        ? What new policies are there for making water and irrigation systems in Asia more sustainable and pro-poor? This work would focus on the need for enhanced supply response in irrigated agriculture in different settings in Asia and emphasize water quality in the context of irrigation, which is so critical for the poor.