One in five people in developing countries live on less than $1.9 dollars a day. Seventy-five percent of these people live in rural areas. They depend directly on small-scale farming, forest resources, livestock and fishing for their subsistence. Philippe Ankers, Senior Programme Advisor of the FAO Strategic Programme on Rural Poverty Reduction together with Susan Kaaria, Senior Officer of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division explain how empowering people and strengthening rural institutions including small-scale producer organizations can significantly contribute to reducing rural poverty and eradicating hunger. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages. This video forms part of a series of policy and governance videos being produced by FAO in 2016.