POVERTY: IFAD report on Rural Poverty 2011

“The Rural Poverty Report 2011 is a valuable contribution to the effort to restore this critical topic
to the global development agenda. It provides a clear assessment of the problems that poor rural people face
in their struggle for a better life, and offers practical advice on setting priorities and policies for changing
the overall economic environment in rural areas so that it supports investment, innovation and risk-taking.
I have high hopes that the Rural Poverty Report will help open the door to transformative change, enabling
multitudes to leave behind subsistence farming, run their farms as businesses and market their surpluses
– and to collectively deliver large-scale results that will put an end to hunger and poverty.”
Mr Kofi A. Annan
Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

“In addition to being an in-depth evaluation of the status of rural poverty and its consequences for all people, this report makes important recommendations on policies and investments that will help rural women and men move out of poverty and, in the process, become part of the solution to the global food security challenges of the next several decades.”
Sir Gordon Conway
Professor of International Development; Centre for Environmental Policy; Imperial College London


This report is a product of staff of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the findings and conclusions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of its Member States or their representatives to its Executive Board. IFAD does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IFAD concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The designations “developed” and “developing” countries are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.

ISBN 978-92-9072-200-7

POVERTY: IFAD Rural Poverty Report

The Rural Poverty Report 2011 provides a coherent and comprehensive look at rural poverty, its global consequences and the prospects for eradicating it.




Since the last Rural Poverty Report was published by IFAD in 2001, there has been progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals. But 1.4 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty – and more than 70 percent of them are living in rural areas of developing countries, while the latest measurements show that 925 million of them are undernourished.
Young people and children make up the single largest group among poor rural people, and the Report emphasizes the importance of creating new and better opportunities for them – in particular, with a focus on expanding educational opportunities that specifically address the skills young people will need to succeed in the rural context.
The key global challenge underlying this report is that to feed the nine billion people who will inhabit the Earth by 2050, food production will have to be raised 70 percent and agricultural output in developing countries will have to double. Addressing this challenge will require that smallholder agriculture play a much more effective role in these countries, that rural areas make the most of opportunities for non-farm employment growth, and that greater and more effective efforts are made to address the concerns of poor rural people as food buyers.
Through extensive research by a team of international, regional and national experts in the field of poverty reduction – as well as through case studies and interviews with poor rural people themselves – the report provides unique insights into rural poverty around the world and how the livelihoods of the rural poor are changing. It explores the challenges that make it so difficult for rural people to overcome poverty, and identifies opportunities and the way forward to greater prosperity. And it highlights policies and actions that governments and development practitioners can take to support the efforts of rural people to overcome poverty.
http://www.ifad.org/rpr2011/index.htm