UNGA 76 Second Committee: Introduction of the Report of the Secretary General on Eradicating rural poverty to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Excellencies,  

Distinguished delegates,  

Ladies and gentlemen,  

I have the honour to present the report of the Secretary-General on Eradicating rural poverty to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its drafting was led by FAO, in close collaboration with UNDESA and benefitted from contributions from ECLAC, ILO, IOM, UNCTAD, UNICEF, UN-Habitat, UNIDO, UN-Women and WHO. 

The report presents the state of rural poverty and discusses the impact of COVID-19 on it.  

It places the effort of eradicating rural poverty in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the decade of action to deliver on the SDGs, since at least 70 per cent of the SDG targets relate to rural areas. 

It also identifies major gaps and challenges in areas where urgent action is needed including: data, education; health; food security and nutrition; gender equality and inclusion of indigenous peoples; social protection; agriculture development and rural livelihoods; decent employment; financial inclusion; climate change; rural institutions; and, policy coherence and financing of rural poverty eradication. 

In this regard, the report recommends actions to scale up responses to bridge the gaps and address the challenges. 

Furthermore, the report also highlights the nexus between the goal of eradicating poverty in rural areas and the agri-food systems transformation and climate mitigation and adaptation agendas, since around 2.7 billion people derive their livelihoods from small-scale food production. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Extreme poverty as measured by income was already predominantly rural before the pandemic: around 80 per cent of the world’s extreme poor lived in rural areas in 2018, despite rural populations representing only 48 per cent of the world’s population. Similarly, of the 1.3 billion people who were estimated to be multidimensionally poor before the pandemic, over 84 per cent lived in rural areas. Indeed, populations living in rural areas continue to have significantly less access to basic services and infrastructure, social protection, and employment opportunities than their urban counterparts.  

The report also emphasizes that, even though the “new COVID-19 poor” might be more urban, the absolute number of new poor generated by the crisis will likely be larger in rural areas—which shall be corroborated as evidence continues to emerge. We must not forget that the COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated data collection. 

The report also stresses that the pandemic amplified the vulnerabilities faced by rural women, rural working migrants and indigenous peoples, who are, on the other hand, key players in rural and agri-food systems development.   

The report makes the case that transformative action is urgently needed to reduce the structural constraints that the rural poor and extreme poor face, to promote inclusive rural development, and to close the rural-urban divide.  

It emphasizes the potential of an inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems transformation to eradicate rural poverty.   

And it presents proposals for scaling up policies and investments necessary for such transformation.  

In this regard, the report recommends that countries increase their investment in human capital and highlights concrete solutions to include small farmers in agri-food systems and markets in a sustainable way, including contract farming, pro-poor credit reforms to increase access to assets, and increased land tenure security among others.   

It calls for bold multisectoral policies that address structural inequalities in rural areas and promote an inclusive, sustained, and sustainable development, emphasizing the central role of governments in leading this agenda, building on strong partnerships with civil society and the private sector, and strengthening rural institutions.  

And the report also underscores the need for immediate action to expand and strengthen social protection systems, and increase policy responses to mitigate climate change impacts on rural poor’s livelihoods and support their adaptation. 

Madam/Sir Chair, 

Distinguished delegates, 

I thank for your attention and trust that the main findings of this report of the Secretary-General will enrich and support your deliberations on the urgent agenda of the eradication of rural poverty. Thank you.