Project Background

The ROA project was initiated in January 2000 and is ongoing. It is being implemented by the Agriculture and Development Economics Division (ESA) of the Economic and Social Department (ES) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Government of Japan.

Work on the project is carried out by a core staff based at FAO headquarters in collaboration with ad hoc international advisors and country based research teams.

See Project Staff for further information.

Why ROA?

In the developing world, the most immediately apparent function of agriculture is to provide food for the 800 million children, women and men who are malnourished or starving. The agricultural sector, however, plays other important roles which, though less visible, can have longer lasting effects on the well being of populations.

If properly managed, agriculture can have a positive impact on poverty alleviation, food security, rural/ urban population distribution, and the environment. Evidence suggests that these indirect contributions to welfare and their mechanisms are not well understood, seldom analyzed in the context of development, and rarely reflected in national and rural development policy strategies.

The purpose of the ROA project is to promote discussion of these roles and supply empirical data on them. The ultimate goal is to provide policy makers with the information they need to create agricultural incentives and make sound investment decisions conducive to sustainable development.

For a more detailed introduction to the roles of agriculture and a summary of findings to date, see the Project Brief.