Briefing Papers Number 3, June 2008 | Page 5

spurt. Extreme poverty has declined from 58 percent of the population in 1993 to 16 percent in 2006.22 Vietnam’s progress is due to a combination of economic reforms and technological innovations in its agricultural sector, very much in the vein of the Green Revolution. The most significant policy changes were loosening state controls on agriculture while implementing land reforms that provided market incentives to farmers. These changes were followed by permitting more private sector activity in agricultural processing and marketing. Farmers responded by increasing production, growing two or even three successive crops on the same piece of land each year. More use of irrigation and the development of new rice varieties requiring shorter maturation periods helped them accomplish this. From 1993 to 2006, per capita food production grew at 3.8 percent per year, a rate that was equaled or surpassed by only five countries in the world. There are many other examples of how agricultural growth has fueled poverty reduction. The general point is the same: Improving agricultural productivity among poor farmers is the most effective way to ensure that economic growth will be broad-based. Equitable eco nomic growth not only increases family incomes and disposable incomes, but expands and sustains investments in social services like health and education. Targeted programs to address the more intractable cases of poverty depend on sustained growth in the broader economy. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania said recently, “No country can develop through investing in the social sector alone. Indeed, Tanzania’s impressive strides in the social sectors were quickly eroded when the domestic economy could not grow fast enough to generate domestic capacity for expansion, maintenance, and sustainability.”23 As national incomes grow, more resources are available to government, enabling it to finance spending on health, education and other social sectors. Ultimately, countries will be able to “graduate” from foreign aid. An official in the U.K. Department for International Development noted: “Countries that are growing rapidly are on-track to achieve most of their MDGs, and those that are not are failing.”24 Chronic Underinvestment in Agriculture and Rural Development Over the last 20 years, instead of increasing resources for agriculture and rural development, most donors have been partners in a progressive decline in support.28 From 1985-2005, agriculture’s share of U.S. Official Development Assistance (ODA) declined from more than 12 percent to just 3.1 percent.29 In absolute terms, support for agriculture went from a high of about $8 billion in 1984 to $3.4 billion in 2004.30 The international donor community has also undercut prospects for African agricultural development through a combination of misguided policy advice, trade restrictions, and subsidies for its own agriculture. The “Washington consensus”31 policies www.bread.org Agriculture and the Millennium Development Goals Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger: The majority of poor people reside in rural areas and rely on agriculture. Improvements in agriculture pave the way for economic growth in poorer nations. Meeting the first MDG will contribute to progress on all. Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education: By rais- ing incomes, agricultural growth enables parents to send children to school rather than to work. Education prepares children, particularly girls, to take advantage of economic opportunities. It empowers poor men and women in all aspects of life. Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women: Women play a critical role in agriculture in much of the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Formalizing their legal and economic rights will help boost agricultural productivity. Goals 4 & 6: Reduce child mortality and improve maternal health: More children die before the age of five in rural than urban areas. About half of these deaths are due to malnutrition. Increased and diversified agricultural production is one of the most reliable, sustainable interventions to improve nutrition and reduce child malnutrition and mortality.25 Goal 5: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases: When people with HIV lack sufficient food and proper nutrition, they develop AIDS more rapidly.26 The agricultural sector in developing countries can help by generating income to purchase food and increasing the availability of nutritious food. Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability: Many agricultural practices that increase productivity may also cause damage to the environment. Overuse and misuse of agricultural chemicals can pollute surface and ground water supplies and leave dangerous residues in food. But agriculture’s large environmental footprint can be reduced. Agriculture can also help protect the environment through carbon sequestration. Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development: Domestic agricultural policies in rich countries hurt many poor countries. Rich countries subsidize their farmers to overproduce, which makes it difficult for the world’s poorest farmers to compete and therefore to earn a living.27 Agricultural protection in rich countries remains solidly in place despite agreements to bring agriculture within the purview of the World Trade Organization and negotiate fairer policies. Bread for the World Institute  5