New approaches needed to reduce poverty and hunger in rural Asia - ADB forum

from Forbes

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Policymakers, development experts, and civil society members from across Asia and the world have called for new approaches and actions to reduce poverty and hunger in rural Asia at an international forum hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)in Manila.

'Millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, but millions more remain, particularly in rural areas. New approaches to promote agricultural and rural growth, along with innovative social protection measures, are needed to help the poor who have been left behind,' director general of IFPRI Joachim von Braun said.

Despite unprecedented economic growth and poverty reduction achieved during the past three decades, hunger and poverty still persist across Asia. An estimated 600 mln people in the region currently live in poverty (living on less than 1 usd a day), and mostly in rural areas.

'Ironically, East Asias remarkable economic growth, which built upon strong agricultural gains, is now contributing to expanding income inequalities between those living in cities and those in rural areas. This growing gap is not economically or politically sustainable over time. Inclusive growth is a must and inclusive growth requires rural development,' ADB vice president C Lawrence Greenwood said.

Greenwood added that ADB plans to increase its assistance in the agriculture and natural resources sector in the coming years.

ADB's annual lending in the sector topped 800 mln usd in 2006 after a low in 2002 and 2003 with less than 200 mln usd.

Today, Asia's poorest people remain concentrated in rural areas and dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. By 2015, the region will still be home to half of the world's poor and best projections indicate that three-quarters of these poor will live in rural areas.

At the same time, Asia is projected to contribute nearly half the worlds gross domestic product.

In the decades ahead, agriculture and rural development will play as critical a role as ever in alleviating poverty and hunger throughout Asia.