World Food Policy WFP Volume 4, No. 2, Spring 2018 | Page 53

Facilitating Inclusive Rural Transformation in the Asian Developing Countries
moderate rural poverty reduction.
crops, livestock and fishery products.
With shifting agricultural production
structure to higher-valued products, ag-
ricultural labor productivity increased.
This rural transformation within ag-
riculture was the key to reductions in
rural poverty and improvement in
household food security. Further rural
transformation and poverty reduction
has relied on a shift out of agriculture.
In this stage of rural transformation,
Asian—largely small-scale—farmers
have increasingly undertaken off-farm
income-generating activities that are
generated from the structural transfor-
mation. These off-farm activities have
continued to increase farmers’ incomes
and reduce rural poverty.
Differences in the path and speed
of structural and rural transformations
lie mainly in the growth of productivity
and the extent to which employment can
be generated in the farm and non- farm
sectors in both rural and urban. While
initial conditions matter, this study sug-
gests that institutions (e.g., land), poli-
cies (market reform and trade policy),
and investments (e.g., technology, irri-
gation, and road) are likely the primary
factors determining the path, speed and
inclusiveness of rural transformation.
The results of this study have
several policy implications for inclu-
sive rural transformation. Strategies to
facilitate inclusive rural transformation
needs strategic focuses:
Structural transformation and
rural transformation are interlinkage
and affected each other. Successful ru- • Using both structural transforma-
tion and rural transformation as
ral transformation has stimulated eco-
two of major national strategies to
nomic growth and urbanization, and
enhance inclusive rural transfor-
therefore overall structural transforma-
mation. Growth and inclusiveness
tion; vice versa, structural transforma-
are outcomes of ST and RT. With-
tion has further enhanced rural trans-
out both significant ST and RT,
formation, particularly the ST through
it is hardly to achieve sustainable
labor-intensive industrialization that
growth and significant inclusive ru-
creates more jobs for rural labor.
ral transformation.
Path and speed of ST and RT af-
fect the inclusiveness of the transforma- • For each developing country, iden-
tions. Based on nine countries studied,
tify the stage of its rural transfor-
our typological analysis shows that the
mation and seek for the most ap-
countries with both significant ST and
propriate institution, policy and
RT have also reduced rural poverty sig-
investment that can enable the
nificantly, the countries with slow ST
country to shift or graduate faster
and RT have always accompanied with
from the current to the next stage of
slow reduction of rural poverty, and the
rural transformation.
countries with one of significant ST and
RT and the other with slow ST or RT • Category I countries with fast in
ST, RT and poverty reduction: 1)
have often experienced with slow to
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