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.
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