72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly Second Committee Agenda Item 23: Eradication of poverty and other development issues

Chairperson,

Thank you for giving me the floor. 

 

Over the past 30 years, significant progress has been made in poverty reduction. But about 779 million people continue to live in extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, roughly two-thirds of the extreme poor live in rural areas, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This trend is expected to continue over the next decades, despite urbanization.

 

Fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, therefore, depends, to a great extent, on ensuring inclusive growth in rural areas.

 

This week, FAO presented the 2017 edition of the State of Food and Agriculture in the World (SOFA).

 

The report outlines a strategy to promote inclusive rural transformation, that will not only contribute to eradicating rural poverty, but also help end poverty and malnutrition in urban areas.

 

The strategy aims to leverage the untapped potential of food systems to boost small-scale farmers’ productivity and incomes, drive agro-industrial development, and create off-farm employment throughout food supply and value chains.

 

A major force behind inclusive rural transformation will be the growing urban food demand. For example, the value of urban food markets in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow from 150 billion to 500 billion US dollars between 2010 and 2030. 

 

Urbanization thus provides a golden opportunity for agriculture. But it also presents challenges for the 500 million small-scale family farmers in the world. More profitable markets can lead to concentration in farming and value chains and exclusion of smallholders.

 

But it needs to be clear: family farmers produce most of the food in many countries in the world, but they will not be able to seize the opportunity of growing urban demand without assistance.

 

Supportive public policies and investment are a key pillar of inclusive rural transformation. Policy actions that can support family farmers include:

 

• Facilitating access to agricultural inputs, credits and markets, as well as to social protection and basic services such as education and health;
• Fostering the adoption of environmentally sustainable approaches and technologies, adapted to local needs;
• Revitalizing agricultural extension systems and rural advisory services;
• Strengthening small-scale producer organizations; and,
• Securing land tenure rights. With regards to this last point, let me point out that this week the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure celebrated its fifth anniversary. FAO supports their implementation in nearly 80 countries, thanks to funding from Belgium, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

 

In this context, I would like to stress the importance of building resilience of rural communities so that they are less vulnerable extreme weather events that can revert development gains.

 

I also would like to highlight the importance of adopting strategies that are not only sustainable, resilient and inclusive, but are also nutrition-sensitive, gender-smart and that respond to the aspirations of the youth.

 

The development of agro-industry and the infrastructure is another crucial element to connect rural areas and urban markets. Today, we often see people, especially youth, leaving low paying and low-productivity agriculture in search for better jobs in cities or other countries. However, most of them end up moving into low paying informal jobs.

 

A dynamic agro-industrial sector and growth of services in rural areas would create jobs in local economies, especially for women and youth. These opportunities are crucial to face many of today’s challenges, will increase incomes and support overall gains in food security, nutrition, and health.

 

To make this, happen, however, investment is needed in essential infrastructure – from rural roads and electrical power grids to storage and refrigerated transportation.

 

Finally, inclusive rural transformation requires a territorial focus in rural development planning, designed to strengthen the physical, economic, social and political connections between small urban centres and their surrounding rural areas. While connecting to mega-cities is important, keep in mind that about half of the total urban population in the in the developing world lives in cities and towns of 500 000 inhabitants or less.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

I want to end that by emphasizing that choosing to invest in rural areas does not mean choosing rural populations over urban populations, or neglecting the rapid pace of urbanization throughout the globe.

 

As SOFA points out, increasing investment in rural areas is a way to reach many of those being furthest left behind and that can transform not only the countryside but also produce significant benefits for cities and urban dwellers.

 

Thank you for your attention.