FAO leads UN efforts to eradicate rural poverty
FAO introduced the UN Secretary-General’s report on the eradication of rural poverty to the Member States of the Second Committee, on the occasion of the 75th UN General Assembly Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee). The report was welcomed by all participating Member States. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/237, FAO was requested to lead the preparation of this report, in close collaboration with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and with key contributions from the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, UN-Women, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
The Eradicating rural poverty to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development report highlights progress made in eradicating rural poverty and reducing inequality, while taking into account the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. It underscores the role of inclusive food systems in reducing poverty and promoting economic inclusion in rural areas.
Indeed, around 4.5 billion people depend on food systems for their livelihoods. Moreover, considering that 80% of the extremely poor live in rural areas, and that inequalities between urban and rural areas remain significant, the report calls for global development efforts to have a greater focus on rural areas to eradicate poverty and promote a sustained economic inclusion. The report further recalls that rural development is at the centre of the 2030 Agenda, since around 70% of the SDG targets relate to rural areas. Recent projections by the World Bank estimating that the pandemic could bring the total number of new poor to between 110 and 150 million by 2021 add urgency to this agenda.
According to report findings, strengthening public, private, and non-state institutions at national and territorial level would go a long way in addressing the problem to ensure no vulnerable group is left behind. “Investing in agriculture alone is not enough,” noted Benjamin Davies, Director of FAO’s Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equity Division. “The rural poor must also have access to social protection, decent employment opportunities, and to financial services”, amongst others. Rural development policies must thus be inclusive of the rural poor, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups such as rural women, indigenous peoples and migrants.
The report serves as a call to mobilize additional resources to tackle the scale and urgency of the challenge of eradicating rural poverty.
Chaired by His Excellency Amrit Bahadur Rai of Nepal, the Second Committee deals with economic growth and development topics, as well as with issues relating to groups of countries in special situations.
The full statement by Benjamin Davis is available here.