Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

This paper highlights the important role of agriculture in achieving the Millennium Development Goals:

Of the eight Millennium Development Goals, the first goal is the one whose attainment most clearly involves the agricultural sector: The poor around the globe are disproportionately farmers and herders, and, perversely, the hungry also most commonly find their livelihoods through agriculture. The impact that a dynamic agricultural sector will have on the attainment of the other seven goals is less direct. Nonetheless, important gains in these can be made through explicit attention to agriculture.

Policy action and increased investment in the critical arenas of sustainable agriculture productivity and food and nutrition security will be essential for responding effectively and responsibly to reach the Millennium Development Goals.